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Tag: CAS system

  • BECIL asked to audit Den Networks’ systems following dispute with Sun Distribution Services

    BECIL asked to audit Den Networks’ systems following dispute with Sun Distribution Services

    NEW DELHI: The Telecom Disputes Settlement and Appellate Tribunal (TDSAT) today directed the Broadcasting Engineering Consultants India Ltd (BECIL) to undertake an audit of the systems of Den Networks following a dispute with Sun Distribution Services.

     

    TDSAT chairman Aftab Alam and member Kuldip Singh said that KPMG engaged by Sun had undertaken an audit of Den’s head-end in Delhi following an earlier order of the Tribunal, but the report of the auditing agency cast some doubts with regard to the working of Den’s system. 

     

    The Tribunal therefore said: ‘Without going into the details of that report, we think it would be fit and proper to have an audit of the petitioner’s system made by BECIL as provided under the provison to clause 3.4 of the Telecommunication (Broadcasting & Cable Services) Interconnection (Digital Addressable Cable Television Systems) Regulations 2012. ‘

     

    The Tribunal also noted that Den ‘undeniably failed to submit any subscribers’ reports whatsoever’ to Sun, with regard to its various channels for the period November 2012 to July 2013. It also noted that Sun’s counsel had said Den was supplying all its channels without any restriction to all the set top boxes seeded by it to its subscribers, the number of which would run into several lakhs.

     

    After July 2013, the petitioner has been submitting on a monthly basis certain figures relating to the subscribers’ base of the respondent’s different channels, but those too do not conform to the statutory requirements concerning the monthly subscriber management system (SMS) reports, counsel said.

     

    Listing the matter for 29 August, TDSAT listed the issues that BECIL may examine during its audit:

    – Whether or not the CAS and the SMS systems at the petitioner’s head-end are properly integrated and whether or not, it is possible to verify the SMS figures with reference to the data generated from the CAS system.

    – Whether it is technologically possible to find out the true subscriber base for the different channels of the respondent for the period November 2012 to July 2013 by retrieving the relevant data from the petitioner’s CAS system or by any other means.

    – In case it is not possible to find out the true subscriber base for the different channels of the respondent for the period November 2012 to July 2013 with reference to the data retrievable from CAS, what process BECIL might suggest for arriving at a reasonable estimate of the subscriber base for the respondent’s different channels for the period November 2012 to July 2013?

    – Whether or not it is possible to verify the correctness of the subscribers’ figures supplied by the petitioner to the respondent for the period August 2013 to June 2014 with reference to the data retrievable from the petitioner’s CAS system or by any other means. 

    – In case those figures are not verifiable with reference to the data retrievable from the petitioner’s CAS system, what should be the approach for verifying their correctness?

     

    Having regard to nature of the controversy, the BECIL is requested to complete the audit and submit its report within two weeks from the date of receipt of the copy of this order.  Needless to say that Den shall accord full cooperation to BECIL in conduct of the audit and shall also bear the entire cost of the audit. 

     

  • FTA subscription sharing: TDSAT for expanded review by Trai

    FTA subscription sharing: TDSAT for expanded review by Trai

    NEW DELHI: The Telecom Disputes Settlement Appellate Tribunal (TDSAT) has sent back the case related to MSO’s demanding a share of the Rs 77 for FTAs to be paid by consumers under the Cas regime, for an expanded review by the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai).

    The tribunal, in its order issued yesterday, said that the process would have to be completed within six weeks.

    According to the TDSAT, since the case is of great importance and has wide repercussions, Trai should also incorporate the views of all stakeholders, including those of the cable operators.

    Wire and Wireless India Limited (formerly Siticable) had filed the case against the 31 August, 2006, order by Trai, giving to the cable operators the entire Rs 77 that consumers pay for Free-to-air channels under the Cas regime.

    “We said that if this is done under the Cas regime, the Rs 75-odd in fees that we get for carrying pay channels will not even cover our variable costs, let alone overheads,” Arvind Mohan, vice president, WWIL, told Indiantelevision.com.

    In the court the WWIL counsel proffered his logic, stating that Trai had said that while cable operators could keep the Rs 77, MSOs could keep the subscription from pay channels, as well as the carriage fees.

    However, the subscription for the pay channels would also be shared between MSOs and LMOs as well as broadcasters, as per a Trai formula.

    ‘Carriage fees’ are the amount charged by MSOs for carrying a certain pay channel in the ‘prime band’ or ‘colour band’, that is, special, viewer-preferred slots. This was applicable when the channels were streamed in the analogue system, because in that system, the number of channels would be limited to a maximum of 60.

    Under the Cas system, where digitalisation is compulsory, the number of channels shown can be innumerable, theoretically, and not less than 600, or 10 times that under the analogue system.

    WWIL argued today that Trai itself had gone on record that ‘carriage fees’ are a temporary phenomena and would disappear under the Cas regime, because the carrying capacity would shoot up from 60 to at least 600. Hence, the MSOs would lose that avenue of revenue.

    Trai argued that sharing of the FTA purse would lead to disputes and hence it had opted for a simple formula that MSOs could keep the carriage fees and the cable operators could keep the Rs 77 from the consumer subscription for FTAs.

    The tribunal, however, felt that he matter was seminal and the views of all the stakeholders need to be incorporated, and asked Trai to file the response of the views of all parties concerned within six weeks.

    Incidentally, this is the second time in two weeks that TDSAT has asked Trai to review aspects of an important case. The first was last week when TDSAT asked Trai to give their views on transponder capacity issue after examination of the facts. That case too, had been filed by Siticable, now known as WWIL.