Category: Software

NEW DELHI: The Indian government yet again pleaded for more time to roll out CAS — six months to be exact — but a Delhi court has refused to accede to the request, asking for a final stand on the issue by the next date of hearing.

According to information available with Indiantelevision.com, even the broadcast regulator pleaded for two to three months time to sort out CAS-related issues like pricing of TV channels.

The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai) submitted to the Delhi High Court today that it has initiated a dialogue with the industry stakeholders on issues related to CAS, which would take a few months time to complete and some consensus arrived at.

However, the court was critical of such pleas and fixed the next date of hearing for 19 July.

On the arguments forwarded by the government for more time, the court said the maximum that could be given is 90 days as authorities have already consumed considerable time in carrying out an earlier order of the court.

On 10 March, the Delhi HC had directed the information and broadcasting ministry to roll out CAS in Kolkata, Delhi and Mumbai within a month’s time.

The court observed that if the government is unable to sort out CAS matters, then it could also explore the possibility of going ahead with the rollout based on the Chennai model.

Chennai is the only city in India where CAS has been rolled out and running smoothly since 2003.

A clutch of MSOs, including Hathway and INCablenet, had filed a case against the government on CAS in the Delhi High Court late 2004, alleging that keeping addressability in abeyance had resulted in financial losses to the petitioners.

In the representation made before the court today, the petitioners alluded to the possibility of the government having plans to do away with mandated CAS completely. In this regard they made references to the relevant sections from the draft Broadcast Bill 2006, which is currently being circulated amongst government organisations for further feedback.

When the government counsel expressed his ignorance of a draft Broadcast Bill, leave alone plans of junking CAS by making it voluntary, the counsel for the petitioners furnished a section of the draft Bill in the court.

Also Read:

Delhi HC orders Government to implement CAS within four weeks

MUMBAI: Wurld Media, creator of peer-to-peer (p2p) service Peer Impact, has announced that select movies and television titles from Fox and Warner Bros. are now available via digital download on their entertainment network in the US market.

This announcement follows Peer Impact‘s agreement with NBC Universal to include their catalogues of movie and television event titles for on-demand rental, also now available on the service, making Peer Impact the first p2p model to offer content from three major motion picture studios.

The company says that as major content providers continue to address the growing demand for online distribution methods, Peer Impact presents a solution by enabling users to legally download and share licensed content while protecting both the license holders and the consumer.

MUMBAI: US market research firm Scarborough Research, which works in the area of identifying the shopping, media and lifestyle patterns of Americans, has released an analysis of video-on-demand (VOD) users – those consumers who live in households that used VOD during the past month.

The analysis found that VOD users are 27 per cent more likely than all consumers to cite reality programmes as a television genre that they typically watch.

Across America seven per cent of consumers live in a household that used VOD during the past month. VOD users are 24 per cent more likely to tune in to music videos. 22 per cent more likely than all consumers to watch news magazine shows, science fiction (21 per cent more likely) and dramas (18 per cent more likely), round out the top television genres among VOD users as compared to the general population.

Today‘s VOD users hail from upscale, young families. According to the Scarborough analysis, VOD users are 27 per cent more likely than all consumers to be between the ages 18-24; 20 per cent more likely to have two or more children in the household; and more than twice as likely as all consumers to have an annual household income of more than $150,000. VOD users are 27 per cent more likely than all consumers to be African-American.

VOD users are avid consumers of entertainment and information technologies. VOD users are 50 per cent more likely than all consumers to spend 20 or more hours online weekly. They have high-speed Internet connections, and are more likely than all consumers to have a cable modem, DSL or wireless Internet connection. VOD users are 38 per cent more likely than all consumers nationally to have purchased something on the Internet in the past year. 39 per cent of VOD users use online services for travel reservations and 47 per cent of VOD users use on-line services for news. VOD users are almost three times as likely as all consumers to have purchased pay-per-view (PPV) five or more times during the past year.

When it comes to advertising categories, home improvement is a top category among VOD users. 73 per cent of VOD users live in a household that has bought hardware, building, paint, or lawn and garden items in the past year. They are 15 per cent more likely than all consumers across the US to have spent $3,000 or more on all home improvements in the past year.

NEW DELHI: Existing DTH player Dish TV has locked horns with Tata Sky over interoperability — or its waiver — of digital video recorders to be made available to consumers of a DTH service in India.

DTH license holder ASC Enterprises, which operates the Dish TV brand, has told the broadcast regulator that if digital video recorders (DVRs) are not interoperable, as mandated in DTH guidelines, it would “compromise” consumer interest.

On the other hand, Tata Sky and technology company NDS (controlled by Rupert Murdoch) have said that “interoperability is not feasible on high end devices” like DVRs.
“The technical specifications vary with the (DVR) models that are introduced and these were not envisaged when BIS (Bureau of Indian Standards) drew up STB specifications,” Tata Sky has said in its submission to the regulator.

ASC Enterprises has counter-punched by saying that existing clauses on interoperability of boxes protect the “consumer interests by ensuring they switch over their service providers for the basic functionality of watching the broadcast channels as per their option and choice.”

If that was not enough, Tata Sky and residents’ welfare associations (RWAs) have come out in support of multi-dwelling unit (MDU) technology, which has been strongly opposed by all sections of the cable industry, including Cable Operators’ Federation of India (COFI), which feels cable ops stand to become redundant.

MDU technology, being tested by Tata Sky for its proposed DTH service in a few cities, envisages making available a DTH service to multiple homes through a common dish antenna, but separate set-top boxes.

The technology is being touted by its supporters as cost effective for consumers and as a safeguard for “aesthetic” senses in concrete jungles that Indian cities are turning into.

Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai) had asked for comments on various issues related to DTH, including whether certain clauses in the DTH guidelines need to be amended to exclude DVRs from being interoperable.

Fifteen individuals/organizations, including a clutch of RWAs, have submitted their feedback, baring the fact there isn’t consensus on matters like DVRs and MDU technology, which have the potential of changing the way people consume television fare in India.

Even a company like Anil Ambani’s Reliance Infocomm, whose DTH license application hasn’t been processed by the government, feels that DVRs should be kept interoperable.

“The clauses 7.1 & 7.2 of DTH license conditions need not be amended to exclude digital video recorders. All set top boxes whether simple STB or personal video recorder/ DVR-enabled set top boxes should be interoperable,” Reliance has stated

The full text of feedback, peppered with technical jargons and occasional innuendoes hitting at opponents, can be seen on the regulator’s website, www.trai.gov.in.

MUMBAI: 10 to 15 July 2006. That‘s the launch window that the Indian Space Research Organisation has set aside for the launch of DTH services satellite Insat 4C. According to ISRO chairman Madhavan Nair the indigeneously designed launch vehicle has been moved to the launch pad in Sriharikota. 

The GSLV Mark II is a 49-metre tall rocket weighing around 40 tonnes at lift-off. Its payload is the Insat 4C satellite, with 12 ku band transponders and a mission life span of 10 years.

Most of the satellite‘s capacity has been booked for DTH services by the Sun Network, National Informatics Centre and VSAT (very small aperture terminals) operators.

The succesful launch of the GSLV will pitchfork India‘s ISRO into an elite group of countries and groups with indigeneous satellite design and launch capabilities: United States, Russia, Japan, China and the European Space Agency (ESA).

Nair was speaking to journalists at a satellite navigation conference which was held at its offices in Bangalore yesterday. He said that the launch window date will be kept, good weather permitting.

Isro spokespersons have been pointing out that using indigeneous launch vehicles will result in a saving of about 30-40 per cent or Rs 1.5 billion in expenses per launch. With four satellites to be launched by GSLV Mark II and Mark III, the savings thus will be substantial. It will, however, be using the services of Arianespace to launch the Insat 4B satellite from Kouru in French Guiana next year.

“With the commissioning of the Rs 3.5 billion ($75mn) second launch pad at Sriharikota, India is the only country to have such a state-of-the-art facility to launch different types of vehicles Ranging from PSLV (polar satellite launch vehicle), GSLV Mark-1, GSLV Mark-II to the upcoming GSLV Mark-III in the four-tonne class,” a top ISRO official is reported to have said sometime back.

NEW DELHI: A majority of broadcast industry stakeholders are against IPTV separated from cable service and have said this is likely to create more problems in an already vexed industry.

A consultation paper issued by the broadcast regulator on IPTV and amendment in the Cable TV Act has drawn varied comments from stakeholders, including that IPTV should not be separated from cable TV and laws regulating it.

“IPTV is similar to cable services in terms of content and mode of delivery. It would be appropriate to categorize it as a cable service rather than a telecom service under (the) Telegraph Act,” DTH licence holder ASC Enterprises has said.
Agreeing with ASC is MSO Alliance, an apex body of multi-system operators in the country, which has sated that IPTV should not be dubbed a different service from cable TV.

“Given the nature of IPTV services, which is akin to cable services, the effort on the part of regulator should be to propose amendments which would serve the purpose of keeping IPTV within cable services domain, rather than to suggest the ones which would take them away from the Cable Network Regulation Act,” MSO Alliance has said in reply to a consultation paper issued by the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai).

On the other hand, Star has said that treating IPTV differently from cable services, as had been suggested by Trai in its consultation paper, would give undue advantage to telecom companies that have been proposing to start IPTV services.

“In the absence of parity in FDI norms, telecom operators would continue to enjoy better access to the capital required for digital broadband services. This would be to the detriment of other service providers like cable and DTH,” Star has informed Trai.

Presently in India, foreign investment in cable TV is capped at 49 per cent, while the government has okayed a proposal to raise the limit in telecom services to 74 per cent.

Trai had invited comments from industry stakeholders on proposed amendments in the Cable Television Networks (Regulation) Act, 1995 and existing telecom licenses for facilitation of growth of IPTV services.

The basic intention behind the proposed amendments in the Cable Television (Regulation) Act, 1995 was to keep the IPTV service outside the definition of `cable services’.

This means that IPTV service providers would not be covered in the definition of `cable operator’ and the Unified Access Service network used for provision of IPTV services will not get covered by the definition of `cable television network’ under the Cable Act.

The 13 stakeholders that had got back to Trai with their comments on the issue include the following: NDS, ASC Enterprises Ltd, MSO Alliance, Cable Operators Federation of India, Hathway Cable & Datacom Private Limited, Reliance Infocomm Ltd, Ortel Communications Ltd, Zee Network, Star India, Tata Teleservices Ltd and the Internet Service Providers’ Association of India

The full text of comments is available on the regulator’s website,www.trai.gov.in.

MUMBAI: Leading satellite service provider Intelsat today announced the completion of its $ 6.4 billion acquisition of rival PanAmSat.

The addition of PanAmSat‘s video market expertise, advanced satellite fleet and blue-chip media customer base makes the new Intelsat the largest provider of fixed satellite services (FSS) worldwide to each of the media, network services/telecom and government customer sectors.

Intelsat acquired all of the outstanding common shares of PanAmSat for approximately $3.2 billion. As a result of the merger, PanAmSat is now a wholly-owned subsidiary of Intelsat, and the common stock of PanAmSat has been delisted from the New York Stock Exchange. The total value of the transaction, including PanAmSat debt that was refinanced or remained outstanding, is approximately $6.4 billion. 

Using optimized capacity on a combined fleet of 51 satellites and a large, complementary terrestrial infrastructure including eight owned teleports, fiber connectivity and over 50 points of presence in almost 40 cities, the new Intelsat:

— Carries one out of every four television channels transmitted over fixed satellites;

— Supports 27 DTH platforms worldwide;

— Operates 16 satellites that are part of video neighborhoods around the world;

— Is the number one provider of transponders for video programming worldwide;

— Carries more high definition (HD) programming than any other FSS carrier;

— Is the largest provider of commercial satellite services to the government sector;

— Is the leading provider of services to enterprise, Internet and mobile network operators; and

— Provides communications services to 99 percent of the world‘s populated regions.

MUMBAI: British Telecom has inked a new video-on-demand (VoD) film agreement with independent film distributor, Momentum Pictures, for its next-generation TV service – BT Vision, which is scheduled to launch in August to September 2006.

Momentum Pictures is one of the UK’s largest independent film distributors. This agreement will provide access to Momentum Pictures’ catalogue including titles such as – Lost in Translation, Racing Stripes, Where the Truth Lies, O, Brother Where Art Thou?, Vera Drake, Lord of War and Broken Flowers, amongst others.

BT Vision customers will be able to enjoy a vast range of film, music and television programming all available on-demand as well as all the Freeview channels, plus interactive and communications and all available on the TV, with no compulsory subscription.
BT Vision CEO Dan Marks said, “We are delighted to have concluded this agreement with Momentum Pictures, which has been responsible for distributing some of the most successful and most interesting independent cinema of the past few years. Our agreement with Momentum represents our commitment to bring the best and most varied selection of movies to our customers.”

Momentum managing director Xavier Marchand added, “We are very pleased that BT’s broadband customers will have access to many of Momentum Pictures’ titles. BT Vision and interactive access to movies are extremely exciting concepts and we eagerly anticipate the launch of the service.”

MUMBAI: KTF, one of South Korea‘s prominent cellular providers, has launched a next-generation ultra-high speed 3.5G wireless network in Seoul and cities across South Korea using wireless broadband technology from LG-Nortel, a joint venture of LG Electronics and Nortel.

The network supports advanced handset capabilities including high-definition (HD) video, video chatting, messaging and remote monitoring, claims an official release.

The new 3.5G HSDPA, handset-based service is being launched with two handset models in the initial deployment – including the first HSDPA phone from LG Electronics, the LG-KH1000. A further four to five handsets are planned later in the year. KTF‘s new service is branded ‘WorldPhone View‘, a name representing ‘the world at your fingertips‘ through access to video and collaborative multimedia applications.

KTF‘s HSDPA mobile communications will be rolled out in 50 cities across South Korea beginning 30 June. LG-Nortel is the primary network supplier and is the exclusive vendor for 34 cities including the vast Seoul metropolitan area which alone accounts for almost 50 percent of the total population of Korea. It is estimated that 80 per cent of the country‘s population will be able to access the service by the end of August 2006. A further 34 cities will be added by year-end, raising that figure to over 90 percent of the population, according to KTF estimates, the release adds.

“The launch of our ‘WorldPhone View‘ HSDPA service is a key component of KTF‘s portfolio of next-generation mobile services,” says KTF EVP Won-Jin Park. “We chose LG-Nortel as the primary supplier for our UMTS/HSDPA network based on its strong technology credentials and our existing relationship. LG-Nortel has successfully implemented a world-class network which allows us to implement groundbreaking services as we enhance the mobile communications experience for all our customers.”

“LG Nortel, with the strong support of our parent companies Nortel and LGE, has implemented a secure, reliable, high-speed network to support the innovative range of services and applications KTF is launching to its customers,” says LG-Nortel chairman on the board Peter MacKinnon. “Korea leads the world in wireless broadband and LG-Nortel plays an integral role in ensuring the continuation of that success. We will work closely with KTF on the evolution of their network to support higher uplink speeds and ever-more sophisticated service requirements in the future.”

A key differentiator of HSDPA compared to current technologies is its ability to support high-speed, real-time HD video content. ‘WorldPhone View‘ users will be able to access a variety of new services, including video SMS, video ringtone services, video chatting, video ad messaging and video remote monitoring – as well as high-quality video telephony. High-speed broadband capabilities will also enhance music downloads and high-volume multimedia collaboration and set the foundation for more sophisticated online gaming applications.

The two HSDPA handsets being launched will also support universal integrated circuit (IC) cards, allowing access to secure transactions for transportation, membership, mobile banking and credit card services, informs the release.

MUMBAI: The Telecommunications Regulatory Authority (TRA) in the UAE, has acquired rights to 225 digital channels at the recently concluded ITU Regional Radio Communication Conference (RRC) held in Geneva from 15 May 15th – 16 June 2006.

The month-long conference was aimed at facilitating the transition from analogue media broadcasting to digital. The conference organised channel allocation among participating countries, based on a newly formulated digital terrestrial TV broadcasting plan.

TRA DG Mohamed Nasser Al Ghanim said, “The UAE team has acquired 225 digital terrestrial TV channels out of the 236 present in the UHF and VHF bands. The TRA has authority on these channels, and we will soon issue regulatory lists to start giving licenses for channels use.”

“The UAE will undergo tremendous change and growth in the field of TV and radio transmission in the coming few years so that people can watch the terrestrial channels‘ TV programmes either at home or through their PDAs . In order to accelerate and facilitate the change, TRA is putting in place regulations that are in line with international guidelines in the field”.

At the conference, the UAE acquired several leading positions in the conference, and assumed responsibility for chairing one of the negotiating teams, vice-chairing the special team for a new regional treaty and also vice-chairing a special team dedicated to revising the previous agreement.

Prior to the conference, the TRA had organised several local preparatory meetings to reschedule UAE‘s digital broadcasting channels in the 174-230 MHZ and 470-862 MHZ frequency bands through advanced software programs used for regulating the broadcasting spectrum according to digital maps of the country. The TRA also organised regional congresses with neighboring countries (GCC, Islamic Republic of Iran, Iraq, and the Republic of Yemen) to ensure a united front on broadcasting.

The UAE is expected to transit to digital terrestrial broadcasting system within two years as part of an overall strategy to enhance the telecommunications sector in the country, and the TRA will be in charge of ensuring a smooth and successful transition to the new broadcasting paradigm.

A key issue at the conference was the protection of analogue terrestrial broadcasting from digital interference until the year 2015 to ease the transition between the technologies. All conference participants signed a new treaty outlining terrestrial TV channels provision.