Moscow cable operator Mostelecom, a subsidiary of National Telecommunications (NTC), is progressively transferring its subscribers from analog to digital TV, as reported recently by TeleSputnik.ru.
Mostelecom selected Conax, a company specializing in content protection, to secure Mostelecom’s new digital platform. Conax will use CI Plus (CI+) technology to provide a conditional access system (CAS) and content security.
Svyazinvest, the new owner of NTC, expects to take a leading position in the pay-TV market — projected to reach $2.65 billion in 2015 — owing to the adoption of digital technology. For Mostelecom to become a leader, however, Svyazinvest must invest significantly to upgrade Mostelecom’s analog infrastructure.
Svyazinvest entered the markets of broadband Internet access and pay TV in certain key regions of Russia in February 2011, when it purchased 71.8% of NTC for 27.9 billion rubles ($1 billion).
Svyazinvest, or Svyazinvest Group, is a holding company and the largest group of telecommunications companies in Russia, occupying about 56% of the local telecommunications market and 31% of the broadband access market. The holding’s EBITDA increased in 2010 by 6.4%, reaching 94.1 billion rubles.
NTC, part of NTC Group of Companies, is one of the leaders in Russia’s cable-TV market. NTC Group of Companies provides services for both analog and digital television, broadband Internet access, and telephony. Its operators’ networks cover more than 5 million residences and serve more than 4.5 million subscribers in Moscow and its surrounding regions, St. Petersburg, Yekaterinburg, Novosibirsk, and Kurgan.
