TECHNOLOGY

Zee entertainment Enterprises Limited (ZEEL) and its services are available today in over 120 countries via highly advanced networking facilities and technology tie-ups with satellite and cable system operators. This places Zee ahead of any other South Asian broadcast network in terms of availability and local content ingestion.

Zee has been at the forefront in the use of satellite networking, secure encryption, subscriber management services & call centre technologies. Zee introduced encryption to India in year 2000 with Mediaguard (a Canal Plus Technology) Encryption System, which covers its entire Asian footprint. The encryption system is hosted at the Noida uplink facility in India and provides encryption services to both the Noida and Singapore uplinks.

The Network uses Iredato Access in Europe. Other channels are encrypted depending on which DTH platform they are provided through. Zee operates its own subscriber management services & call centres for its European operations, while it has outsourced subscriber management services to third parties in other jurisdictions. In 2003, the Zee Network established an integrated subscriber management services & call centre for its worldwide operations from India.

In order to improve network efficiency, a significant amount of Zee's international playouts are expected to be shifted to Singapore & Noida (India) during the course of 2003. The network channels will be carried via fibre and satellite to other continents including Africa, Europe and the Americas.