ITV

Category: Cable TV

  • DAS Phase III: MSO Alliance heading towards Caveat route in multiple states

    DAS Phase III: MSO Alliance heading towards Caveat route in multiple states

    MUMBAI: The Digital Addressable System (DAS) Phase III deadline came and went and what it’s left behind is chaos and carnage. The analogue signals, which went off for a day or two in some territories, are all back now. Last mile operators (LMOs) who faced the set-top-box shortage crisis have taken the judicial route to challenge the deadline given by the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting (MIB). In six states so far the High Court has permitted an extension where as in Assam’s Kamrup district, the District Magistrate after reviewing the petition allowed an extension.

     
     
    Now multi system operators (MSOs) are also exploring various legal routes and if sources are to be believed, then the MSO Alliance is moving the Uttaranchal and Jharkhand High Courts to file a Caveat. “We sense that the LMOs will go to the honorable court in the two states and hence before they reach out in order to aware the court about the scenario, we are filing a caveat,” a source close to the development tells Indiantelevision.com. 
     
    The DAS Phase III dilemma has also opened the piracy floodgates says a senior cable operator in Assam. “We have migrated from analogue to digital and therefore did not have the infrastructure to provide analogue signals, which we were ordered to be discontinued. But others continued with their analogue signals. ACC in Assam had the analogue signals running all throughout, which is piracy. Now the district magistrate has also ordered the extension in a particular territory, but the analogue signals are running all across Assam. Is it not piracy?” he questions. 
     
    The path ahead will be watched keenly as various stakeholders pull rabbits out of their hats in the coming days.
  • MIB burning midnight oil to find ways to counter battery of High Court orders staying DAS

    MIB burning midnight oil to find ways to counter battery of High Court orders staying DAS

    NEW DELHI: Considering the odds it is facing from various High Courts all over the country for extending the deadline for implementing Phase III of Digital Addressable System (DAS), the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting (MIB) has to find a way to get even justice for the ultimate stakeholder — the consumer.

     

    Perhaps because of that, the last few days have been very busy in the corridors of fifth and sixth floors of Shastri Bhavan in the capital, which houses the MIB, with officials holding several meetings to find a way to stop the snowballing of the orders that commenced from Hyderabad and found a boost in the arguments in the Bombay High Court based on the Kusum Ingots case of 2004, which encouraged multi system operators (MSOs) and local cable operators (LCOs) in other states.

     

    At present, the implementation remains stayed for varying periods in the states of Andhra Pradesh, Assam, Maharashtra, Orissa, Sikkim, and Telangana, apart from Tamil Nadu where prolonged legal cases have been pending since Phase I. A petition has already been filed in the Karnataka High Court and is listed for 8 January.

     

    Ministry sources confirmed to Indiantelevision.com that meetings had been held with legal experts and particularly with Government counsel.

     

    There was also general consensus on filing a petition by the Government in the Supreme Court, particularly as the apex court had on an earlier occasion relating to the Cable Television Networks (Regulation) Act 1995 and orders issued thereunder that High Courts have to be cautious when giving orders on matters relating to policy.  

     

    Government legal experts advised that an appeal could be filed against any of the High Court orders in the Supreme Court and the apex court could be asked to transfer all linked matters to Delhi to be heard together.

     

    However, it needs to be seen whether this will be in the form of a writ petition or an appeal against the various High Courts – a decision left to a battery of legal experts.

     

    MSOs said, however, that this would impose a lot of financial burden on them as they could ill-afford to hire counsel in the Supreme Court. 

     

    Even as the Ministry would obey the directives of the various High Courts, which had extended the DAS deadline by various periods ranging between eight to 12 weeks, it would prepare to oppose the decisions.

     

    A senior Ministry official said that even as the Ministry was waiting to see all the High Court orders, it was working on how plans to thwart the implementation of Phase III could be prevented – if necessary through legislative processes.

     

    The official also expressed the view that the cases would in fact benefit the direct to home (DTH) and Headend In The Sky (HITS) players and would affect the last mile operator (LMO).

     

    The sources said they had evidence to show seeding of set top boxes (STBs) to the extent of 76 per cent as revealed in the 13th Task Force meeting on 30 December. 

     

    Meanwhile, legal opinion is divided on whether the Kusum Ingots case, which was referred to in the Bombay High Court could be used by a High Court to direct a pan-India stay.

     

    The broadcasters and channel distributors are united on one view: the government should not give any extension on its own, as that would lead to a further delay in not just the Phase III and Phase IV (slated for December 2016) but also pockets of Phase I and Phase II, which have still not implemented digital addressable systems.

     

    It is also learnt that both broadcasters on the one hand and the channel distributors and major MSOs on the other, are pressing the government to move the apex court to get a single ruling instead of different High Court orders.

     

    However, it was admitted by the stakeholders that there was very little progress as far as indigenous STBs are concerned with just one or two players making local boxes despite the ‘Make in India’ campaign, and the government had to be proactive in this regard.

     

    The attempt would be to prevent the High Courts from staying implementation of Phase III under which analogue signals were to be switched off after midnight on 31 December, 2015.

     

    One representative of a broadcaster said switching back to analogue on getting a High Court stay did not cause any technical difficulty, but it raised problems relating to accounts and agreements already agreed upon.

     

    Be that as it may, the consumer who has already spent money on acquiring STBs hopes his efforts will not go waste in haste.

  • Siti Cable acquires stakes in 7 MSOs; to raise Rs 680 crore

    Siti Cable acquires stakes in 7 MSOs; to raise Rs 680 crore

    MUMBAI: Siti Cable Network has acquired varying amounts of equity stakes in as many as seven multi system operators (MSOs).

     

    Amongst these is also the Mumbai based cable and television service provider Scod 18 Networking, in which the company picked up a 76 per cent stake.

     

    Additionally, Siti Cable has also acquired equity stake in six other smaller companies. While the company acquired 100 per cent stake in Variety Entertainment, it picked up 51 per cent stake each in Sai Star Digital Media, Bargachh Digital Communication Network and Krishna Teja Digital Entertainment. It also picked up 49 per cent stake each in Siti Faction Digital and Siti Jony Digital Cable Network.

     

    Siti Cable Network is also planning to raise up to Rs 680 crore through issuance of warrants and optionally fully convertible debentures (OFCDs) to promoter companies.

     

    In a BSE filing the company said that the Board of Directors approved, subject to shareholders’ approval, issuance of 14,28,57,143 number of warrants convertible at option of the holder in one or more tranches to Direct Media & Cable and/or Arrow Media & Broadband, entities forming part of promoter/promoter group of the company at Rs 35 per warrant, the total value of warrants shall not be more than Rs 500 crore.

     

    The company will also issue 51,428,571 OFCDs to Digital Satellite Media & Broadband, entity forming part of promoter/promoter group of the company at Rs 35 per OFCD, the total value of OFCDs shall not be more than Rs 180 crore.

     

    A source at Siti Cable informed Indiantelevision.com that the funds for the acquisitions would be sourced internally, and that the Rs 680 crore that were being raised would be to boost internal resources.

  • Petition on MSO Arasu postponed to 28 January, status quo to continue

    Petition on MSO Arasu postponed to 28 January, status quo to continue

    NEW DELHI: The hearing of a petition by the state owned Tamil Nadu Arasu Cable TV Corporation (TACTV) challenging the failure of the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting (MIB) to grant it provisional licence has been put off to 28 January.

     

    The Court, which on 21 December ordered status quo on the issue relating to disconnection of TV signals transmitted by TACTV, is understood to have given time as some of the parties wanted more time to file their replies. 

     

    The status quo order had been given by Justice M M Sundresh on a plea filed by TACTV general manager K Priya seeking a direction to the Union Information and Broadcasting Ministry to grant provisional license for Digital Addressable System (DAS).

     

    Counsel for TACTV Abdul Saleem had then submitted that pending consideration of their application of 5 July, 2012 and 23 November, 2012 for regularisation of the licence, the status quo should be maintained.

     

    Even as it failed to give provisional licence to TACTV, the Ministry had said its signals would be disconnected if it failed to give digital signals to Phase III areas comprising municipalities and corporations by 31 December, 2015.

     

    The “inaction on the part of the Ministry is illegal, against the due process of law and violative of Article 14 and 21 of the Constitution of India,” Saleem had contended.

  • DAS Phase III: MIB’s big dilemma

    DAS Phase III: MIB’s big dilemma

    MUMBAI: The past fortnight has seen High Court directives in five different states make a mockery of the 31 December, 2015 deadline set by the government for the Phase III roll out of digital addressable system (DAS).

     

    The courts have urged the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting (MIB) to not act against multi system operators (MSOs) and cable operators who have not been able to place set top boxes (STBs) in homes for two months. In essence, the DAS sunset date has been extended in Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Sikkim, Maharashtra, Odhisa, Tamil Nadu and now Guwahati.

     

    The Bombay High Court specifically cited a Supreme Court judgment and noted that a stay granted by a high court on a central notification in one state would be applicable in other states as well. That was the case of Kusum Ingots vs the Union of India, in 2004. (http://indiankanoon.org/doc/1876565/)

     

    The question on everyone’s mind is: would other petitioners in other states under the DAS Phase III ambit also approach their respective High Courts for relief? Hence, did it make sense for broadcast networks to continue with digitally encrypted signals, which they had resorted to once the clock struck midnight of the new year?

     

    Most of them including Viacom18, Star India, Zee and Sony thought it did not. Hence, they have all switched on their analog signals a day or so after switching them off.

     

    Now that has put the MIB in a bit of a quandary. The team lead by MIB secretary Sunil Arora – and including special secretary JS Mathur, and joint secretary RS Jaya apart from other members – have been driving DAS III digitisation and were quite clear that no extension should be given. 

     

    Sources indicate that one line of action being considered by the MIB is to approach the Supreme Court for relief against the restraint orders granted by the various courts. Experts such as Supreme Court advocate KV Dhananjay have argued against the stance taken in the Kusum Ingots case by the courts. (http://www.legallyindia.com/Blogs/some-hc-judges-are-becoming-terribly-ignorant-of-our-constitution)

     

    Whether the MIB will go ahead and approach the Supreme Court or not is a moot point, but the industry is putting its might behind it. Most of the industry associations like the Indian Broadcasting Foundation, the DTH Operators Association and the MSO Alliance have all reportedly urged the ministry to move the apex court.

     

    Industry believes that the extension is unlikely to serve any purpose, as cable operators knew of the phased rollout of DAS as much as for the past three to four years and hence they could have prepared for it. Complaining about a shortage of STBs or interconnect agreements or capital post the sunset date is simply facile, professionals state. 

     

    “The analog switch off is mandatory,” says an industry observer. “Digitally encrypted signals need to be the only mode of television delivery via satellite in India in Phase III areas. Private DTH operators and the government owned FreeDish can deliver television wherever there are signal dark areas courtesy cable TV’s unpreparedness. The government needs to approach the courts to ensure that DAS Phase III proceeds as soon as possible.”

     

    We will have to wait and watch if it does.

  • Karnataka LCOs approach High Court to seek stay of DAS Phase III

    Karnataka LCOs approach High Court to seek stay of DAS Phase III

    NEW DELHI: Having a ripple effect of sorts after Telangana, Andhra Pradesh, Sikkim, Maharashtra, Odhisa and Guwahati, now it looks like Karnataka is all set to follow suit to get a court extension on the Digital Addressable System (DAS) Phase III deadline.

     

    On 8 January, the Karnataka High Court is all set to hear a petition filed by the Karnataka Cable TV Operators Association for a stay on implementation of Phase III in view of the low seeding of set top boxes (STBs), problems with interconnect agreements and other issues.

     

    As was reported earlier by Indiantelevision.com, the High Courts have already given extensions for various periods in the states of Andhra Pradesh, Assam, Maharashtra, Orissa, Sikkim, and Telangana, apart from Tamil Nadu where prolonged legal cases have been pending since Phase I.

     

    Meanwhile, senior officials in the Information and Broadcasting Ministry today met legal experts to consider options before it to counter these orders even as sources in the Ministry told this website that the orders given so far will be implemented until a counter action is found.

     

    One of the option before the Government is to ask the Supreme Court to bar any challenge to Phase III in various High Courts as this is a policy issue and the apex court had itself ruled earlier that it would not interfere in matters of policy. The second option is to oppose each case in the respective High Court, which is being done.

     

    While insisting that there will be no extension of the switch off of analogue signals beyond 31 December, 2015, the Ministry is also making a more realistic assessment of the seeding of STBs.

     

    Meanwhile, the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) is awaiting counter suggestions before it comes out with a model interconnect agreement by mid-January.

  • Guwahati gets 60 days extension in DAS Phase III

    Guwahati gets 60 days extension in DAS Phase III

    MUMBAI: The tussle between the judiciary and the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting (MIB) for the Digital Addressable System (DAS) Phase III deadline continues even as the official deadline of 31 December, 2015 has passed by.

    After Telangana, Andhra Pradesh, Sikkim, Maharashtra and Odhisa, now Kamrup District under which comes Guwahati has received an extension of 60 days to implement DAS.

    The office of District Magistrate, Kamrup Metropolitan District: Guwahati after perusing the letter submitted by Greater Guwahati Cable TV Operators Association general secretary Shwarupananda Bharali, in the interest of general public and the cable TV viewers, has extended the transmission of the analogue signals for a period of 60 days.   

    A cable operator on condition of anonymity informs Indiantelevision.com that Kamrup has over three lakh Phase III subscribers and the seeding process is very slow. He further adds, “The set top box (STB) manufacturers are not taking orders now. They are asking us to wait for at least three to four days more. After they receive the order, they will take at least 20 more days to deliver. Hence we welcome the honourable DC’s decision and hope that brings some respite.”   

    The analogue signals are restored now in the vicinity but were totally blacked out on 1 – 2 January, 2016. “There were many cases of public outrage, physical harassment but thankfully no report of loss of life or property were received,” added another cable operator.

  • Over 70% digitisation completed in Phase III across India: Chrome

    Over 70% digitisation completed in Phase III across India: Chrome

    MUMBAI: Amidst huge confusion of how much of the Phase III of Digital Addressable System (DAS) has actually happened on ground, Chrome Data Analytics & Media released extensive data on the status of digitisation.

    Chrome Data Analytics founder Pankaj Krishna says, “The government mandated an extended deadline for DAS Phase III to Dec’15; we witness 70.04 per cent of Phase III as digitised – which I feel is decent progress considering the various challenges that digital comes with. Digitisation is imperative; transparency in transactions, subscription and carriage, entry/existence of more niche channels, consolidation of cable networks (more so in 10lac below population strata), increase in retail, regional, geographical level advertising and marketing, increase in viewership of content as well as an increase in e-commerce/e-transactions (broadband connected homes) will increase as a subset of digitalisation.”

    In terms of households, Bihar leads the tally with 100 per cent digitisation as per the Chrome analysis. Goa too reached the 100 per cent analysis mark, while Punjab successfully digitised 99 per cent of the Phase III areas.

    Telangana, which legally fought its way through to a stay order on DAS, surprisingly has 82.50 per cent of the Phase III areas digitised.  

    Uttar Pradesh, which has the maximum number of cities in it, has over 30 per cent households yet to be digitised.  

    Tamil Nadu, which is yet to digitise its Phase III areas, has over 1095 cities in it, while Uttar Pradesh is not far behind with 906 cities.  

    Moreover, with the unprecedented rains and floods in December last year, Tamil Nadu is yet to start digitising the Phase III areas. Uttarakhand has over 54.32 per cent left to be digitised.

  • DAS Phase III stayed in 5 states including Maharashtra as Bombay HC issues restraining order

    DAS Phase III stayed in 5 states including Maharashtra as Bombay HC issues restraining order

    NEW DELHI: Maharashtra has become the fifth state to join the group of states, which have obtained a High Court restraint on the implementation of digital addressable system (DAS) Phase III.

     

    The Bombay High Court cited a Supreme Court judgment and noted that a stay granted by a high court on a central notification in one state would be applicable in other states as well.

     

    The Hyderabad High Court and the Sikkim High Court have already granted stay on implementation of DAS Phase III primarily on the ground of shortage of set top boxes (STBs). In addition, the implementation of DAS in Tamil Nadu remains stayed after a bunch of petitions were admitted from Phase I onwards by the Madras High Court.

     

    The Hyderabad stay is for eight weeks in both Andhra Pradesh and Telangana, and the Sikkim stay is till 28 March, which is the next date of hearing. 

     

    Justice R D Dhanuka of the Bombay High Court said the Court will hear the matter on 1 February and gave the Government time to file its reply.

     

    Citing shortage of seeding of STBs as well as problems in interconnect agreements (ICA), petitioner Nashik Zilla Cable Operator Association (NZCOA) presented copies of the stay orders by other High Courts. Other petitioners were City Cable Operator Association of Nashik and Sai Big Star Welfare Association of Jogeshwari, Mumbai.

     

    Legal experts told Indiantelevision.com that while the Bombay High Court could use the precedent of other courts and direct a stay, this would only apply to areas under its jurisdiction and not pan-India. 

     

    Earlier on 23 December, 2015 a bench of the same Court had refused to extend the deadline and held that interim agreements could be entered into until the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) comes out with a model ICA. 

     

    TRAI has already issued a Consultation Paper on the subject and hopes to finalise a model ICA by mid-January, TRAI sources told this website.

     

    The extension of DAS does not augur well for the Information and Broadcasting Ministry, which may see a catapulting of such cases as reports pour of just over 50 per cent of seeding of STBs. 

     

    In most cases, the Courts turned down a plea by TRAI to be impleaded though it was permitted to file applications for this purpose. 

     

    The directive by the Hyderabad High Court was notable in that Justice Vilas V Afzalpurkar went against an order given by a division bench of which he was a member in the same court relating to Phase III on 20 August, 2013.

     

    As reported earlier, the Maharashtra Cable Operators Federation had also expressed difficulties in the 13th Task Force meeting held on the eve of the switch-off and had in fact said that seeding pan-India was less than 50 per cent even as the government claimed 76 per cent seeding and said the percentage achievement was 86.25 if Tamil Nadu that has some legal and other issues is excluded. The meeting was told there were only 405 zero seeding areas till the last report.

     

    The first phase of digitisation covered four metro, Mumbai, New Delhi, Kolkata and Chennai. In the second phase 38 cities were covered with population more than one million. About 630 districts and 7709 urban areas will be covered in DAS Phase III aimed at all urban areas while the fourth phase by 31 December, 2016, this year will cover the rest of the country.

  • Sikkim joins three others states excluded from DAS Phase III

    Sikkim joins three others states excluded from DAS Phase III

    NEW DELHI: The extension of Digital Addressable System (DAS) by three different High Courts affecting four states does not augur well for the Information and Broadcasting Ministry, which may see a catapulting of such cases as reports pour of just over 50 per cent of seeding of set top boxes (STBs).
     
    After the extension of deadline in both Telengana and Andhra Pradesh, the Sikkim High Court has ordered a stay on analogue cable television signals switch-off until 28 March. A stay had been ordered after the first phase by the Madras High Court for Tamil Nadu, which also remains in force, though the Madhya Pradesh High Court has rejected a petition by Om Systems of Indore challenging Section 4A of Cable Television Networks Regulation Act 1995.
     
    Phase III stipulated for analogue signals to be switched off in all urban areas of the country by 31 December, 2015.
     
    Justice Meenakshi Madan Rai of the Sikkim High Court said in her order on a petition by All Sikkim Cable Operators Association that subscribers will be affected for no fault of theirs. The petition was filed through Association president Roshan Rai.
    In the arguments, it was contended that multi-system and local cable operators had to bear a high cost of migrating to a digital addressable service (DAS) and there were no investors; the difficult terrain of the state was not conducive to laying of optical fibre Cables (OFC) required for Digital networks; Set-Top-Boxes were not easily available in the country; and time limits for migration to digital regime are almost impractical.
    The court also noted that the Association had written to Information and Broadcasting Ministry Secretary Sunil Arora on 26 November, 2015 apprising him of the constraints faced by the MSOs and LCOs and requesting for an extension of the deadline but the Ministry did not care to reply.
    The Court turned down a plea by Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) to be impleaded. 
    The directive by the Hyderabad High Court was notable in that Justice Vilas V Afzalpurkar went against an order given by a division bench of which he was a member in the same court relating to Phase III on 20 August, 2013.