Category: Software

NEW DELHI: Releasing the possible freeze of new channel launches in India, the broadcast sector regulator has said that there should not be any cap on the number of channels beaming into the country.

The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India‘s (Trai) stance removes the uncertainty hanging over permissions to new channel launches on grounds of overcrowding and spectrum availability.

In January, the Information and Broadcasting Ministry had suspended receipts of new applications for permission to uplink and downlink in India until Trai submitted its report on spectrum availability. The government had commenced processing of applications in April but was awaiting Trai‘s views before going overboard on clearances.

Trai said Thursday there should not be any cap on total number of satellite based TV channels meant for downlinking and uplinking from India, but the eligibility criteria for registration of a TV channel should be revised to include experience in media sector.

It also said the period of permission for uplinking/downlinking permission should be made uniform for 10 years. The permission fee should be revised and charged annually.

In its recommendations on issues relating to uplinking-downlinking of TV channels in India released late this evening, Trai said transfer of permission should not be permitted.

The networth requirements should be revised for news and non-news TV channels and teleports; and India should be developed as a teleport hub, it further said.
 
 
The Information and Broadcasting Ministry had requested Trai on 8 October 2009 to furnish its recommendations on review of policy on uplinking and downlinking of TV channels in India in view of the growing number of channels and in view of the fact that the Ministry has given permission to around 550 TV channels and a number of applications are pending consideration.

The Ministry had asked Trai to re-visit the conditions of the present policy including the eligibility criteria and other terms and conditions of permission.

However, following the delay in the Trai report, the Ministry had commenced processing of applications but laid down certain strict criteria.

Guidelines for uplinking and down linking of channels were issued by the Ministry in 2005.

The authority after pre-consultations with the stakeholders issued a consultation paper in March 2010. These recommendations have been formulated taking into account the comments of the stakeholders and the subsequent discussions with them.

The authority also recommends that since the technology is continuously evolving, mandating a particular digital technology is not desirable.

It recommends that total Networth requirement should be Rs 250 million for first channel. This should be enhanced by Rs 100 million for each additional channel for uplinking of non-news and current affairs channel and downlinking of channels.

But the total Networth requirement should be Rs 1 billion for first channel, and enhanced by Rs 250 million for each additional channel for uplinking of news and current affairs channel.

The authority says that Networth requirement for operating a Teleport should be Rs 50 million. The networth requirement should be Rs 50 million for Kids/Scientific/Educational channels.

The authority also recommends that for recognised universities who may come up with educational channels, there should not be any networth requirement.

The authority recommends that in the applicant company, one of the persons occupying a top management position should have had 10 years of prior experience in top management positions in reputed media company for news and current affairs channels.

In so far as other channels are concerned, the authority recommends five years of prior experience in the top management position.

The Authority recommends that the applications seeking permission for uplinking/downlinking of TV channels should be processed quickly and the decision on the application should be finalised within three months from the date of submission of fully compliant and eligible application. For this purpose, the I&B Ministry should explore the feasibility of setting up a single-window clearance mechanism.

The Authority recommends that the permission fee should be as follows:

Operation Permission Fee:

Teleport Rs 200,000 (per teleport/annum)

Uplinking of TV channels Rs 200,000 (per channel/annum)

Downlinking of TV channels (uplinked from India) Rs 500,000 (per channel/annum)

Downlinking of TV channels (uplinked from abroad) Rs 1.5 million (per channel/annum). 
 
No minimum commitment period should be prescribed as part of the eligibility criteria and the revocation of permission should be resorted to only for non compliance of terms and conditions of the uplinking/downlinking guidelines by the permission holder.

The authority recommends that the renewal of permission shall not be denied to the compliant companies. Permission may be renewed for 10 years at a time, at Government’s discretion, on terms and conditions to be mutually agreed upon between the Government and the permission holder.

The content for the channels which are brought to India to be uplinked from here and not being viewed in India should not be counted as “import” because it is not being used in India and should not attract any duty.

The channels being uplinked from India but not downlinked in India should not attract the programme code and the advertisement code of India. Responsibility of content should be left to the broadcasters who have to take care of the rules and regulations of the target country for which content is being produced and uplinked.

However, the uplinked content should not contain anything which is against the sovereignty, integrity and national security of India as well as its friendly countries. For the monitoring purpose, these channels should be required to preserve the recordings of the proceedings for at least six months.

NEW DELHI: The Telecom Disputes Settlement and Appellate Tribunal (Tdsat) today reserved its orders on Viacom18‘s petition alleging material breaches, misrepresentation and under-reporting of subscriber base by the MSM Discovery distribution bouquet.

The bench headed by Chairperson SB Sinha with members GD Gaiha and PK Rastogi heard Counsel for both sides for almost 90 minutes before reserving their order.

The case has arisen out of a dispute following the decision by Viacom18 to pull out its four channels – Colors, MTV, Nick and Vh1 – before the expiry of a three-year contract which had come into effect from 1 April 2009. Viacom18 has decided to shift its channels to Sun18, a newly formed joint venture between Sun Network and Network18.
 
 
Speaking for Viacom18, Counsel Mukul Rohatgi said he wanted orders to be passed restraining MSM Discovery from distributing the channels and conveying the impression to MSOs, DTH players and cable operators that Viacom18 was still with it. Even as it was for the Tribunal to decide whether his clients had erred in not giving 90 days notice as demanded by MSM Discovery and the penalty the Tribunal may like to impose, “I cannot have two distribution agents,” he said.

He said no inconvenience had been caused to the consumers as the shift from MSM to Network18 had been a ‘seamless’ process.

He alleged that his clients had complete lack of trust because MSM had under-reported number of customers and gave the example of a cable operator who MSM had contended had 421 subscribers whereas the agreement between the operators and MSM showed he had 1093 customers.

He alleged that though the original agreement had been clear that MSM would help to increase the viewership of Colors TV channel, both Dish TV and Tata Sky had not included Colors in the same bouquets as Sony which in many ways was the main competitor. Dish TV had Sony in all its six packages while it had Colors in only two.

Referring to the statement in an e-mail in May this year by MSM that it was helpless in dealing with MSOs and cable operators, he said then his client did not want to work with MSM which had also backed out of its commitment to allow Viacom to have a stake (though that was not a clause in the agreement). 
 
Ramji Srinivasan, Counsel for MSM Discovery, said that the agreement had been to a fixed sum to Viacom18 and not on the basis of the number of subscribers and, therefore, the argument was invalid. Similarly, he said it was MSM which was suffering irreparable damage as MSOs, cable operators and DTH players were not paying, and therefore his client will file a suit for damages. He said the agreement was for a total payment of Rs 1.25 billion (for analogue cable only) over three years – Rs 360 million in the first year, Rs 420 million in the second year and Rs 470 million in the third year.

Viacom, thus, cannot ask for any relief from Tdsat as it is the party which has violated the terms of the agreement. He said the issue of a stake in MSM could not be raised at this time since Viacom18 had come to know the position as early as 29 April last year but did not act at that time.

He claimed that the agreement about having Colors in all bouquets was related to analogue and not digital mode and, therefore, DTH players were not involved. He wondered why Viacom had no complaints about its other channels VH1, MTV, and Nick, which had been distributed by MSM since 2004.

He also denied charges about promoting Sony and said that Colors had a viewership of 62.3 per cent against 56 per cent for Sony. He said that just because Colors had risen to the top position, Viacom18 was trying to reap the benefits by going to Sun18.
 

MUMBAI: Expanding its portfolio of Qwerty handsets with newer attributes, Zen Mobile has launched what it says India’s first QWERTY handset with Analogue TV, Z82 (dual sim-GSM+GSM) for Rs 4,799.
 
With Z82, the company has introduced for the first time in India, live telecast and news updates on a QWERTY mobile. The company adds that the product breaks the monotony by introducing multicolour track ball which stands out as the ultimate style quotient. One can go socially mobile 24X7 as Z82 is more than just a voice communication device-it connects one with all the social networking sites like facebook, nimbus, yahoo along with instant chat access.

There is a 2.0 Mega Pixel camera. The videos will come alive on 2.4 inch QVGA widescreen offering real MP4 playback. Users can enjoy MP3/MP4 players FM with 3.5mm Jack.

The phone is outfitted with Quad Band which supports all types of frequencies such as 850/900/1800/1900 mhz. Its expandable memory up to 4GB enables everyone to go beyond the restrictions of physical space and the high end loudspeaker feature lets one party harder anywhere, anytime. The handset also allocates the basic features such as bluetooth FM and FM Recorder. 
 
Zen Mobile MD Deepesh Gupta said, “Mobile handsets with Analog TV have rapidly gained the attention of consumers worldwide. With the launch of Z82, one can now watch Live Telecast & News updates on a Qwerty mobile for the first time in India. With this innovative product, we will be strengthening our presence in tier-1 markets as well and are hopeful of getting a good response as it matches the qualities and features the urban segment prefers and that too at reasonable price. Our R&D team is in a process to develop the best innovative quality products which will be available in the market at affordable price.”

The mobile facilitates the use of dual Sim cards, besides storage capacity where more than 1000 contacts and 1000 SMSes can be stored.
 

NEW DELHI: The Chhattisgarh government has made entertainment tax on Direct-to-Home (DTH) connection compulsory for all the consumers.

The state commercial tax department said Thursday that the entertainment tax would be in the region of Rs 10 to Rs 20 per DTH connection and would be effective from June. 
 
The tax will have to be collected by dealers of companies providing these services, said the state commercial tax department in a statement.

The tax will be applicable only on cities having a population of over 10,000.  
 
“The per connection charge for towns having populations between 10,000 to 50,000 will be Rs 10 while the charge for towns exceeding populations of 50,000 persons will be Rs 20,” the statement said.

MUMBAI: After launching their HD (high-definition) services, major direct-to-home (DTH) players are now scouting for HD content.

Tata Sky has signed a deal with UTV Motion Pictures to offer movies like Jodhaa Akbar, Race, Kaminey and Kurbaan on HD.
Each movie will be made available for a period of four weeks on the DTH‘s pay-per-view platform.
 
Says Tata Sky chief content and business development officer Unnati Sinha, “All four movies – Jodhaa Akbar, Race, Kaminey and Kurbaan – have enjoyed remarkable success both at the box office and on home video. Now with them being available on Tata Sky on HD, our subscribers can further enhance their viewing experience and enjoy a better sound and picture quality as they watch these blockbusters.” 
 
UTV Motion Pictures Sr VP, international distribution and syndication Amrita Pandey adds, “DTH today has undoubtedly emerged as one of the popular platforms to watch movies. UTV has seen tremendous success on the Tata Sky pay-per-view platform with many of our films like Kaminey, Wake Up Sid and others clocking over hundred thousand downloads each. We are pleased to partner with Tata Sky and offer these blockbusters to HD audiences.”
 

MUMBAI: The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai) has capped the a la carte pricing of channels for addressable systems at 35 per cent the cost in non-Cas areas, a step that will bring down the content cost for DTH, digital cable and IPTV operators.

The earlier rate for DTH operators was fixed at 50 per cent of pricing in non-Cas areas.

In its new tariff order today, applicable to all broadcasting and cable services provided to subscribers through addressable systems, Trai said that every broadcaster shall offer all its pay channels on a la carte basis to distributors of TV channels, and specify the a la carte rate for each pay channel.
 
The broadcast sector regulator said that the charges payable by a cable operator to a multi system operator (MSO) or to a HITS (Headend-In-The-Sky) service provider, as the case may be, shall be as determined by mutual agreement.

Trai said that every service provider providing broadcasting services or cable services to its subscribers using an addressable system shall, from the date of coming into force of the order, offer all pay channels offered by it to its subscribers on a la carte basis and shall specify the maximum retail price for each pay channel.

However, to provide some relief to the operators, the order has fixed Rs 150 as the minimum monthly subscription for any number of channels. The channels of Doordarshan should be a compulsory part of each bouquet, it said.   
 
DTH players, who might be unable to offer all pay channels to subscribers on a la carte basis due to any technical reason, will have to do so by 1 January 2011.

To protect the subscribers, Trai has also said that no service provider, who provides broadcasting services or cable services using an addressable system, can increase the charges for a subscription package for a minimum period of six months from the date of enrolment of the subscriber. However, it does not prevent any service provider from reducing the price of the subscription package within the period of six months.

Trai refrained from fixing the retail tariff for the pay channels. It said that as the market forces are operating effectively, the authority is of the view that there is no need for regulatory intervention in the matter of retail tariff fixation at present.

Also, the broadcaster will have to specify a minimum subscription period not exceeding three months for a subscriber.

Trai also said that every broadcaster shall report to the authority, the a la carte rates for its pay channels fixed by it. They will have to publish such rates on their web site. Any changes will have to be reported 30 days prior to the change.

Also, any broadcaster of a free to air channel intending to convert the channel into a pay channel or vice-versa will have to inform Trai, give public notice about the intended conversion and run a scroll at periodic intervals on the channel proposed to be converted.

Every broadcaster will have to publish full details about the channels provided by it, the nature of each channel, i.e., whether it is a free to air or pay channel, the a la carte rate of each pay channel and the bouquet rates for bouquets of channels, if any, for distribution through addressable platforms – at least once in three months, in at least two national newspapers.

Multi-system operators (MSOs) are still trying to figure out what they have to gain from the new tariff order. Though they have to pay 35 per cent wherever they introduce addressable systems, the technicality of it is under question in non-Cas areas.

Broadcasters feel the sector regulator has been unfair to them as they have to price their channels at a maximum that is 35 per cent of their non-Cas rates.
 

NEW DELHI: The Government has decided to form an Internet Protocol Version 6 (IPv6) task force in Public Private Partnership (PPP) mode for timely implementation of IPv6 in the country.

This follows its decision to have a roadmap for IPv6 deployment in a time bound manner.
 
 
All major Service providers (having at least 10,000 internet customers or STM-1 bandwidth) will target to handle IPv6 traffic and offer IPv6 services by December 2011.

All Central and State Government Ministries and Departments, including its PSUs, shall switch over to IPv6 services by March 2012.

The roadmap has been prepared by the Telecommunication Engineering Centre (TEC), the technical arm of the Department of Telecommunications (DoT). 
 
This was disclosed by Communications & Information Technology Minister A Raja here while releasing the National IPv6 Deployment Roadmap.
IPv4, the initial version of address platform, is already overburdened in India with 18.4 million registered addresses and is expected to exhaust the available space globally by March 2012.

Stating that IPv6 deployment in India has so far been mostly a Government led initiative, the Minister invited all the stakeholders to come forward and to make the activities of this task force a success.

The Minister said that this roadmap and the formation of the IPv6 Task Force together would enable citizens to start using IPv6 services by March 2012. For this, all telecom and Internet service providers are required to become IPv6 compliant by December-2011 and offer IPv6 services thereafter.

The important issue of transition from IPv4 to IPv6 in the country has emerged has a critical concern for quite some time in view of the increasing demand for IP addresses and global scarcity of free space on IPv4 platform. Fast exhausting of IPv4 address space, growing demand for new addresses globally and expanding communication networks have necessitated timely action and implementation of new strategies to address the issue. IPv6 has 128 bits as compared to the limited addressing space of only 32 bits in IPv4.

NEW DELHI: Akai is in for a major brand polish in India. Global Brands Enterprise Solutions, which holds the licence of Akai brand for India, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh and Nepal regions. has earmarked Rs 250 million in the first year to market and promote the Japanese consumer electronics brand in the Indian market.

Akai India EVP Basant Pande said the company has made a comeback in the country with a new range of ultra-slim LED, LCD, high-definition (HD) and CRT televisions ranged between Rs 2,400 to Rs 55,000.

Earlier addressing the press meet, Pande said the company is targeting a turnover of Rs 4.35 billion from India this year.

Akai has two plants in India – in NOIDA and Dehradun – where these TV sets are assembled with parts imported from overseas.
 
Akai has also launched a special low priced range of home theatres, between Rs 3,000 to Rs 5,000. Answering a question about the low price, Pande said Akai has not yet decided to get into the large home theatres.

Announcing the launch of the new range of TVs, Akai India MD Pranay Dhabhai said, “We are excited to re-introduce Akai in the Indian market as a part of the Global Brands‘ portfolio and are very optimistic about the resurgence of Akai in the high-growth Indian market. The fast growing LEDs and LCDs will be a key growth driver for us in the Indian market.”

The company launched three new models of LED TVs and five new models for LCD TVs. The ultra slim LEDs and LCDs TV range has special features like natural light technology with dynamic back light, brushed steel or high gloss finish, dynamic skin correction and motion compensation etc. Some models have Video USB, where without use of a DVD player, movies can run straight onto the LED TV through the USB drive. 
 
The range of HD LED and LCD TVs has been expanded to a total of eight lineups. The edge TVs use LEDs and CCFL as their primary light source. Benefits of using LEDs include ultra-high contrast ratios, slim depths that allow for more artful designs, plus increased energy savings.

The range of CRT TVS, meanwhile, has an advanced “Heath Platform” feature, which allows users to define the distance and viewing angle. The TV automatically adjusts to the best contrast, brightness and colour. This feature has been introduced in CRT TVs for the first time in India, the company said.
 

NEW DELHI/MUMBAI: In what could upset multi-system operators (MSOs), the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai) plans to cap cable TV pricing at Rs 250 in non-Cas areas while allowing broadcasters an inflation rate of nine per cent and denying cable TV operators to choose channels on a la carte basis.

The broadcast sector regulator is in favour of leaving carriage rates to market forces as it feels capping it would not be feasible.

Trai today told the Supreme Court that it plans to introduce three pricing slabs for cable television, with a maximum cap of Rs 250.

In an affidavit, Trai said it was considering limiting the monthly cable charge to Rs 100 per month for a minimum of 30 free-to-air channels. Subscribers opting for a basic package (which includes Doordarshan channels) with up to 20 pay channels will pay a monthly bill of Rs 200. But those taking a basic package with over 20 pay channels will have to pay Rs 250 per month.

Trai’s affidavit follows the Apex Court’s direction to formulate a comprehensive pricing mechanism for cable services in non-Cas areas after consulting various stakeholders.
 
The regulator said: “A retail price ceiling — at a reasonable level — that balances the consumers‘ interest with the growth potential of the industry is warranted in the case of cable TV services in non-Cas (conditional access system) markets. The Authority is of the view that the retail price cap for pay cable service should be fixed at Rs 250 per connection per month with the actual monthly bill being left to the business model of the individual operator — subject to the ceiling.”

While saying it was not in favour of allowing market forces to determine the rates of pay channels, Trai allowed broadcasters to raise the price of their channels and existing bouquets by nine per cent due to price inflation on the basis of the wholesale price index (WPI).

Upholding the orders of the Telecom Disputes Settlement and Appellate Tribunal (TDSAT) the Apex Court had on 13 May, 2009, directed the regulator to study afresh and issue a comprehensive order on the pricing issue in non-Cas areas of the country.

Later the Court had granted six months extra time in January and directed it to file its report by June 30 2010 following a request by Trai.

The regulator has also filed a draft copy of the proposed Broadcasting and Cable Services Tariff Order, 2010, which would be notified after the Court clears it.

Though there was no limit on the number of free-to-sir channels, the monthly charge was fixed at Rs 83, while a maximum of Rs 260 was fixed for a basic package plus pay channels.

In Cas areas, including South Delhi and parts of Chennai, Mumbai and Kolkata, pay channels have been charged at Rs 7 per month.

Trai said it would not be possible to permit MSOs and cable operators to choose channels on a la carte basis from broadcasters in non-Cas regulated areas, where feeds are still given in analog mode. 
 
“In the analog, non-addressable environment, Trai is of the view that a la carte should not be mandatory at the wholesale level, as technological constraints in any case make it impossible for the benefits of a la carte provisioning to be passed on to the subscriber,” said Trai in the 273-page affidavit filed through Counsel Sanjay Kapur.

As far as the carriage fees charged by MSOs and area/local cable operators from broadcasters for putting their channels on their network, Trai said it is not feasible to place any cap on the amount of carriage and placement fee and it should be left to the players to decide among themselves.

“The authority is of the view that all carriage and placement fee transactions should be part of the interconnection agreement between the broadcasters and MSOs/LCOs,” said Trai, adding that all such agreements between broadcasters and MSOs/LCOs should be filed before it.

Trai also said “Such filings of carriage and placement fees will enable the authority to monitor carriage and placement fees regularly and regulate the same through intervention where considered necessary.”

“Keeping in mind the interests of consumers and broadcasters, the authority is of the view that it would be appropriate to allow an increase of 9 per cent over the existing price of the channels/bouquets.”

“The principal risk of allowing forbearance (market-determined pricing) is that it could lead to an increase in price, especially for dominant/driver channels in the short run,” said Trai, adding that it “was premature to allow forbearance”.

MSOs are a disappointed breed. Says Digicable Network MD and CEO Jagjit Kohli, “We are unhappy that we are not allowed to choose channels on a la carte basis. The retail ARPU on pay channels (after Rs 100 on free-to-air channels) is Rs 150 while the pay channel cost for us totals to a huge amount. Broadcasters are provided an inflation of 9 per cent despite them posting strong revenue growth. Besides, there is nothing specific for digitisation. We are terribly disappointed.”
 

MUMBAI: Zapak Games, the licensing and merchandising arm of Zapak Digital Entertainment, has sold over 10,000 console games of International Cricket 2010 in a month in India since its launch on 18 June.

The game was developed by Codemasters. The product has an Action Cam which immerses players in all the on-pitch drama, intensity and excitement.
 
Officially licensed by the England and Wales Cricket Board and Cricket Australia to feature official players, stadia and kits, International Cricket 2010 can be enjoyed in a range of game modes from full Test series to quick-fire Twenty20 matches.

Players can also take on a range of new instant tournaments as any of the expanded roster of 16 nations. Supplementing traditional broadcast views, players can now feel the satisfaction of smashing home 90mph+ deliveries and experience the thrill of thundering down the track to bowl from Action Cam‘s new on-field perspectives.  
 
Zapak Games business head Vaibhav Odhekar said, “International Cricket 2010 has been an instant success because of its high tech offerings and the strong retail distribution channel across more than 144 cities across India. We at Zapak have always offered the very best to our gamers in India and we are glad that they have acknowledged our product offering and made us the leader in this space. Zapak Games has an extensive line – up of console games in the year to come.”