MUMBAI: New Delhi Municipal Corporation (NDMC) has become the first civic body to provide high-definition cable television services to residents of Lutyens' Delhi from mid-February. The municipal body has entered into a partnership with Mahanagar Telephone Nigam Ltd and telecom company Oneott Intertainment to provide the service.

According to media reports, NDMC will provide HD satellite TV service through the underground optic fibre network. In select NDMC areas, MTNL is providing high-speed internet and voice facility through the FTTH technology. Apart from over-the-top services like Netflix, YouTube, television channels can now be accessed also. However, users have to take the MTNL-NDMC internet connection to enjoy all the services together on any screen.

"We can't offer rates below those decided by the Telecom Authority of India (TRAI) for implementation from 1 February, but we assure users they will be marginally over that," MTNL CMD Pravin Kumar Purwar said but he assured the cost would be "reasonable”.

The headend-in-the-sky (HITS) technology is also being employed along with FTTH to enable a smooth service which would not be hampered by sun or rain outage. Along with signing a MoU with MTNL, the civic body signed an agreement with leading HITS service provider Nxt Digital too.

Earlier in 2017, NDMC entered into a partnership with MTNL to offer internet connectivity through Wi-Fi service in public places and FTTH services. NDMC chairman Naresh Kumar said that success of the earlier project encouraged them to utilise the same facility for providing cable TV services.

“By 15 February, we will start publicising the service and holding camps to invite applications from subscribers for commercial connections,” he added. The services will be initially offered in Connaught Place and its neighbourhood on a pilot basis.