Tag: DAS

TDSAT asks TRAI to examine HITS operators’ inter-connect agreements

NEW DELHI: The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI), has now been asked to examine whether a broadcaster’s RIO should form the basis for negotiations to enter into an interconnect agreement with the distributor of signals.

The Telecom Disputes Settlement and Arbitration Tribunal (TDSAT), which had earlier asked TRAI to re-examine the issue of Digital Addressable System (DAS) tariffs, also wants to know if the RIO is only a fall back basis in case the negotiations between the broadcaster and the distributor for entering into interconnect agreement otherwise fails.

Summing up the issues that came up for consideration in two cases, the Tribunal asked whether an interconnect agreement between a broadcaster and a distributor of signals on a fixed fee basis, completely dehors the broadcaster’s RIO, can be said to be in accordance with the provisions of the Regulations.

It also asked if it is open to the broadcaster to give discounts, concessions and facilities to distributors of signals on a deal to deal basis or is the broadcaster obliged to frame a standard scheme of discounts, concessions and facilities and make it public so that it may be available to all similarly situated distributors equally.

The Tribunal also asked the status of a Headend In The Sky (HITS) operator vis-a-vis a broadcaster for the purpose of inter-connect arrangements, and whether a HITS operator is comparable to a large MSO operating on a pan India basis.

TDSAT chairman Justice Aftab Alam along with members Kuldip Singh and B B Srivastava were examining two cases filed by Noida Software Technology Park Ltd against Media Pro and Taj Television.

The Tribunal wanted a clear stand from TRAI and also directed that this order should be placed on the Tribunal website in the form of a notice with copies being sent to the Indian Broadcasting Foundation (IBF), MSO Alliance and DTH Operators’ Association, as any adjudication of these questions is likely to affect the broadcasting sector as a whole fundamentally.

The Tribunal said it would be open to any stakeholders to intervene and address the Tribunal on the issue.

Listing the matter for further hearing on 11 August, it said any applications for intervention may be filed within one week from today (30 July).

July 30, 2015
Registered MSOs for DAS areas goes up to 315 as I&B grants new licences

MUMBAI: The Information & Broadcasting (I&B) Ministry is pulling up its socks to ensure that there is no delay in the complete digitisation of phase III areas, by December, 2015. In keeping with this, the Ministry has given six new permanent licences to multi system operators (MSOs) and 33 new provisional licences to those interested in setting up base in phase III areas.

With this, the total number of MSOs that have been given permanent registration for a period of 10 years stands at 222 as of 22 July, 2015. While those granted provisional licence has gone up to 93 taking the total number of registered MSOs to 315.

The MSOs that have been given permanent registration include: Tyagi Cable TV Network, ACN Cable, National Cable TV Nilgiris, Swamy Cable Network, Satellite Cable Communications and Air Media Network.

Those given provisional licence include: Bhima Riddhi Infotainment, Shimla Broadband, Star Club, APK Networks, The Giddalur Cable Network and Sai Citi Cable Network amongst others.

Click here to read the list of MSOs given permanent registration

Click here to read the list of MSOs given provisional registration

July 27, 2015
Regional Units set up to implement DAS; broadcasters ask MSOs for analogue rates till Dec

NEW DELHI: Twelve Regional Units (RUs) are being set up for implementation of Digital Addressable System (DAS) in Phase Ill areas.

At the ninth meeting of the DAS Task Force earlier this month, Information and Broadcasting (I&B) Ministry joint secretary (broadcasting) R Jaya said these RUs will hold workshops on digitisation where all issues shall be discussed with the District Nodal officers nominated by State Governments.

The remark came when a representative of local cable operators (LCO) from Assam said multi-system operators (MSO) are stopping signals to LCOs without any reason and the local authorised officers do not take cognisance of any violation of the provisions of the Cable TV Act. He added that there is no redressal mechanism for violations of Cable Act at State level and the cable operators do not have the means to file cases in Telecom Disputes Settlement and Arbitration Tribunal (TDSAT).

Additional secretary J S Mathur, who chaired the meeting on 7 July, said time was fast running out and impressed on all stakeholders to ensure progress and timely completion of digitisation by the cutoff date.

The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India’s (TRAI) GS Kesarwani was given the task to ask broadcasters to get details of MSOs who were intending to wait till September 2015 before sending requests to broadcasters for agreements in Phase III areas.

On the other hand, Mathur said that the endeavour on the MSOs’ part should be to start using indigenously manufactured set-top-boxes (STBs) in their network.

Kesarwani informed of a review meeting that was held by TRAI on the progress of signing inter-connect agreements for Phase Ill areas with broadcasters and MSOs. He said that three broadcasters namely Star India, Multi Screen Media (MSM) and TV18 – informed TRAI that they had received 55 requests from MSOs so far out of which they have signed commercial deals with two MSOs, whereas deals with 11 MSOs were in advance stages of negotiation.

Kesarwani also urged MSOs who had not received any response to their requests from broadcasters, to inform TRAI.

Saying that the Headend-in-the-Sky (HITS) operations were also covered under DAS regulations, Kesarwani asked HITS operators to apprise TRAI if no response was received from broadcasters to their requests for interconnect agreements.

Apprehending that there may be some gap areas or MSO deficient areas, Jaya asked Indian Broadcasting Foundation (IBF) representatives to get details of these areas from broadcasters and intimate the same to the Ministry.

Meanwhile even as they admitted some progress, representatives of national MSOs said that broadcasters were asking for seeding plans and other data. However, MSOs were not in a position to provide this at this stage. They said channel pricing in Phase III areas was the main hurdle in signing of interconnect agreements. Some of them said that a few broadcasters had proposed agreements on analogue rates till December 2015 and others on reference inter-connect order rates.

Even according to the TRAI, pricing can be different for different markets, they said.

A representative of Siticable Networks said, “According to an analysis of urban areas carried out by us, it may not be feasible for any operator to carry out digitisation in urban areas having only a few hundred TV households. Even broadcasters are insisting on analogue agreements at present.”

According to an IBF representative, broadcasters had entered into agreements with five regional MSOs. He said, “Broadcasters have filed an appeal in the Supreme Court challenging the TDSAT judgment on the tariff orders issued by TRAI.”

On the issue of STBs, a representative of Consumer Electronics and Appliances Manufacturers Association (CEAMA ) said that no major orders were received by the industry so far from MSOs. On the other hand, while Siticable and Hathway officials said they were in talks with indigenous STB manufacturers, officials of direct-to-home (DTH) companies said that they had procured about three million STBs from Videocon.

The meeting was attended by around 35 persons including some senior Ministry officials and some representatives from state governments.

July 27, 2015
TRAI publishes handbook on broadcasting & cable services to protect consumers’ interests

NEW DELHI: With just five months left for completion of Phase III of Digital Addressable Systems (DAS) for cable TV, the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) has received several queries about the broadcasting and cable TV sector.

Aiming to answer as many of these queries, TRAI has brought a booklet on Frequently Asked Questions with the aim of protecting consumers’ interests and recognising that consumers and consumer organisations must be empowered with knowledge and awareness of the comprehensive regulatory measures laid down by it for Broadcasting and Cable TV services.

The ‘FAQs on Broadcasting and Cable TV Services’ booklet is in simple and consumer friendly language to enable easy understanding.

It provides consumers with a gist of the relevant regulations and orders pertaining to Broadcasting and Cable TV services. Salient aspects that are covered in this handbook include procedures for connection, disconnection, transfer, shifting, complaint registration and billing.

In a press note, TRAI noted that consumer awareness was one of its primary tasks and the handbook was aimed at fulfilling this mandate.

TRAI has, from time to time issued Regulations, Directions and Orders on consumer protection, complaint redressal systems, Quality of Service (QoS), tariffs and billing.

TRAI’s endeavour is to facilitate the availability of affordable Broadcasting and Cable TV services while ensuring that the quality that is provided by the service providers to the consumers is satisfactory.

July 15, 2015
Registered MSOs for DAS areas touch 275 mark; cancellations total 29

NEW DELHI: With less than six months for the completion of Phase III of Digital Addressable System (DAS) for cable television, the number of multi system operators (MSOs) who have been given permanent registration for a period of ten years is now 215.

In addition, a total of 60 MSOs have been given provisional registration, while 29 MSOs have had their licences cancelled or their files have been closed.

The number of MSOs getting permanent licences has gone up sizably since the list issued on 22 June put this figure at 191.

While a majority of MSOs including Kal Cables have had their licences cancelled following the Home Ministry denying security clearance, some have been cancelled for non-operation. These include only four, which were cancelled in 2015.

MSOs given permanent registration pan India after 22 June include Goldy Diginet of Rajasthan, Engineer’s Resource Associates India of Madhya Pradesh, Multireach Media of Kolkata, SHR Digital Networks of Delhi and Siti Cable Network Limited of Noida.

The others are as follows: E-Cable Vision of Chhatisgarh to cover the Districts of Dhamtari, Charama, Kanker, Keskal, Konda Goan, Jagdalpur, Gidam, Dantewada, Kirndul, Nagarnar, Balod, Dalli Rajraha, Bhanupartapur, Mahasamund, Kurud and Nagri under Phase-lll & lV; Manair Digital Entertainment Networks for Telengana; Narmada Cable Network for Kareli and Narsinghpur Tehsils in Madhya Pradesh, Linkmen Services for West Bengal; Desh Entertainment for West Bengal Under Phase III & IV; Sai Digital Services for Andhra Pradesh and Telangana under Phase lll and lV; INSAT Cable Network for Sitara, Pune, Sangli, Solapur and Raigard/Sindu Durg Districts in Maharashtra; Mahapatra Dooradarshan Cable Network System for Ganjam District of Odisha; Raj Cable Network for Anuppur, Shahdol and Umaria District in Madhya Pradesh and Koria, Surajpur and Ambikapur District in Chhattisgarh, Baba Nanak Optical & Fiber in Punjab; Aurangabad Satellite Cable Service Centre for West Bengal areas; SM Cable for Pachpadra in Barmer District of Rajasthan; Diamond Cable Network for Bhandara, Gondia & Nagpur Districts of Maharashtra under Phase-lll & lV; Zaka Cable TV Network for Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand; One Digital TV Services in Nalgonda, Khamam, Warangal, Ranga Reddy & Mahaboob Nagar Districts under Phase lll & lV in Telangana; Bhagyalakshmi Communication Network in Rompicherla, Chinnagottigallu, Bakarapet, Sodam, Somala, Chowdepalle’ Kallur, Damal Gheruvu and Kalikiri in Ghittoor District of Andhra Pradesh; and Bhimavaram Community Network in West Godavari district of Andhra Pradesh.

While there is no new addition to the northeast, one licence has been issued for Kashmir to J K Cable Network for Sopore, Baramula, Zainageer, Rafiabad, Bandipora, Handwara, Kupwara, Uri, Pattan, Tangmarg, Gulmdrg, Sumbal, Hajin, Narbal and parts of Srinagar.

While Kal Cables continues to be blacklisted by the Home Ministry, licences issued for Tamil Nadu are: Lucky Cable Vision which will cover area in all cities, towns, Town Panchayats, Village Panchayats of Pollachi (Taluka) Udhumalpet (Taluka), Palani (Taluka), Valparai (Taluka), Kinathu, Kadavu (Taluka) Phase III & Phase IV; and King Digital Network for Salem.

July 13, 2015
“Under Arnab’s guidance, ET Now will innovate & redefine biz news genre:” MK Anand

Launched on 17 June, 2009 Times Group’s business news channel ET Now, has now completed six years in the Indian television industry. ET Now is the youngest player in the English business news space and faces firm competition from CNBC TV 18, NDTV Profit and UTV Bloomberg.

On numerous occasions the channel has grabbed the pole position in terms of viewership. What’s more, as per the recent Broadcast Audience Research Council (BARC) India ratings it is placed in second place with 136 (000s) sum, while CNBC TV 18 holds the pole position with 154 (000s) sum.

Times Network has been strongly promoting the business venture and in order to strengthen it further, the network has now given Arnab Goswami the additional responsibility of being its editor-in-chief. Speaking to Indiantelevision.com’s Anirban Roy Choudhury, Times Network CEO and managing director MK Anand shares the network’s plans and proposals for the future.

Excerpts:

How has ET Now’s journey been so far?

It has been a splendid journey. In just three and a half years, ET Now had established itself as the No.1 business news channel of India, beating a global giant competitor and creating history of sorts. Recently, the BARC measurement system has re-validated our position as India’s Number 1 business news channel. ET Now was launched on 17 June, 2009 in a challenging economic environment, and practically rewrote the script for the genre.

Over the years, the channel has not just gained its viewers’ trust but has also gone on to become the preferred choice of India Inc. and policy makers alike.

What’s your take on the business news market? Do you see it growing?

The business news market, like the Indian media market in general, is most definitely poised for strong growth. Despite recent volatility, we are in the middle of a structural bull run that could see a whole new set of viewers tuning into business channels like ET Now, for unbiased news coverage and analysis. We believe in re-imagining and creating new value with our products. If last year is any indication, our bet on the English audience and more specifically on the English news category will pay us handsomely. We see geometric growth in the medium term.

What will be your strategy to stay ahead of competitors?

ET Now has built its leadership on three key pillars – speed, integrity and expertise. We will continue to up the ante on all three pillars and further consolidate our leadership by reaching out to a wider catchment of viewers. Our distribution has already been scaled up substantially. We also have the best in class content team. The trick is to relentlessly be ahead on quality. We are confident to be able to do it.

Over the years, what has been advertisers’ reaction towards the channel?

Advertisers and brand owners have been extremely positive and encouraging; they have continuously reposed their confidence in us, for we cater to the audience that matters the most. ET Now continues to reach out to maximum viewers in the English business news category and we ensure our advertisers get the maximum ROI for their spends. Our ad growth is the best indicator of our advertiser confidence.

How aggressively will Times Network push to promote ET Now?

ET Now is an integral and important part of Times Network’s news portfolio. The recent clutter breaking consumer and trade engagements, never-seen-before budget campaign and the recent leadership drive, reinforces Times Network’s intent towards ET Now’s growth and success.

Can you throw some light on the channel’s distribution numbers? How do you plan to improve it further?

For ET Now, the focus earlier was only on metros. However, with digital addressable system (DAS) implementation in Phase II and the demand of the channel growing in markets beyond metros, ET Now’s penetration has increased to almost 100 per cent in all 1 Mn+ markets. We have also doubled the penetration in 0.1 to 1 Mn markets, in the last 10-12 months.

With the impending DAS III & IV phases, the focus on LC1 has also increased for all broadcasters and likewise for ET Now, where language is no longer a barrier considering the kind of content it provides.

With Arnab Goswami as the new editor-in-chief, will there be any change in programming?

Arnab has been a champion of innovation in the general news genre. Under his guidance, ET Now will continue to innovate and redefine the business news genre. We have a winning team and a champion leader.

What is the channel’s stand on the new rating body BARC? Do you see enough difference when compared to TAM?

We are happy with the new measurement system. BARC is technologically advanced and is larger than the erstwhile base of meters by almost two-and-a-half times. An extended viewer base has certainly helped bring in more consumers into the analysed set and helped us improve our services to them and thus generate more value. With BARC, we have retained the No.1 spot across channels, and we continue to lead the broadcast space in the respective genre with a clear margin. Times Network’s ‘Now or Nothing’ philosophy, helps us sustain our leadership across genres with differentiated and hard hitting content and stay on top of the audience pyramid as always.

As ET Now celebrates its sixth anniversary, will there be any special programming to celebrate the occasion?

This is ET Now’s anniversary week and we thought we must delight our loyal viewers. So we have launched a ‘Built on Six’ contest, where in six lucky viewers have the chance to win an iPhone.

On the programming front, we have a power packed line of shows and experts this week. Some of the most seasoned market experts like Vallabh Bhanshali and Ramesh Damani will be speaking exclusively to ET Now and sharing their insights on the market. We also have some exclusive interviews lined up with key ministers and govt officials. That’s not all, we also have a special show on 17 June (anniversary day) called Stocks and Stars, which will feature Bollywood superstar- Amitabh Bachchan.

June 17, 2015
TRAI issues dos & don’ts for MSOs and LCOs

MUMBAI: With industry not yet bearing the full fruits of digital addressable systems (DAS) rollout in phase I and phase II areas, the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) today issued a few dos and don’ts, which it believes will help give a broad operational framework to local cable operators (LCOs) and multisystem operators (MSO).

The dos and don’ts have been issued on three levels: first, in respect of subscribers and customers of digital addressable cable TV; second, for LCOs providing cable TV services through DAS and thirdly for MSOs providing cable TV services through DAS.

A brief overview of the same follows:

(A) Dos & Don’ts for MSOs & LCOs in respect of Subscribers/Customers of DAS:

DOs

1. Representatives should carry a valid ID when visiting customers/subscribers premises.

2. Ensure that the customer seeking cable TV connection through DAS is given a Customer Application Form (CAF)

3. Handover a copy of the completed CAF along with the Manual of Practice (MOP) to the subscriber.

4. Share a surrender application form with customer on request.

5. Explain the T&C for providing STB to the customer along with tariff options.

6. Ensure that all details are explained to the customers in detail.

7. Provide with a bill and payment receipt to every subscriber.

8. Send acknowledgement of receipt of payment electronically to the subscriber.

9. Ensure that the subscriber is informed about his current status of his account.

10. Reduce subscription charges if any channel is subscribed to be a subscriber becomes unavailable on the network of the MSO.

11. Publish & prominently display the toll-free consumer care number and contact number of the Nodal Officer for redressal of consumer grievances.

12. Set up a web-based complaint handling/monitoring system.

13. Conduct periodic consumer awareness programmes about Quality of Service (QoS) Regulation provisions for subscribers.

DON’Ts

1. Activate STB before entering the details of customer and his choice of channels.

2. Discontinue any channel to a subscriber, if the subscriber paid subscription amount for that channel in advance and that channel is available on your platform.

(B) Dos & Don’ts for LCOs providing cable TV services through DAS

DOs

1. Register with Head Post Office before offering cable TV services.

2. Renew registration with Head Post Office every year.

3. Enter into an agreement with the MSO whose signal you will carry.

4. Keep a copy of agreement with you.

5. Give the completed CAF to the MSO for processing and retain one with yourself.

6. Provide complete details of payment made by each subscriber to your MSO within the agreed time frame.

7. Give the respected surrender application form to the MSO for processing.

DON’Ts

1. Transmit cable TV service without valid registration as this is illegal.

2. Transmit cable TV signals to subscribers without proper written interconnection agreement with the MSO.

3. Discontinue the transmission of cable signal without giving 21 days notice to the MSO, clearly specifying the reasons for the proposed discontinuation.

4. Change the MSO of the subscriber, till the subscriber request so by filling a surrender application form for the existing MSO’s connection and a new CAF for the new MSO’s connection. The new STB should be activated only after entry of the details, as provided in new CAF, into the SMS of the new MSO.

(C) Dos & Don’ts for MSOs providing cable TV services through DAS

DOs

1. Register with the Ministry of Information & Broadcasting (MIB) as an MSO.

2. Enter into an agreement with LCO, if you are providing the cable TV service to subscribers through one or more LCOs.

3. Ensure a copy of the agreement is handed to the LCO within 15 days from date of signing and receipt is duly acknowledged.

4. Ensure that the T&C of the agreement conform to the TRAI regulations.

5. Ensure that the agreement explicitly mentions the date of coming into force and the date of expiry.

6. Ensure the agreement mentions the list of responsibilities of the MSO and the LCO, respectively, the revenue share agreed, and the procedure for uploading the consumer complaints, received by your linked LCOs, in the complaint handling/ monitoring system.

7. Ensure that the interconnection agreement contains explicit provisions for settlement of disputes.

8. Provide access to the relevant data in the Subscriber Management System (SMS) to all of your linked LCOs for the purposes of settlement of revenue shares in accordance with the agreement.

9. Educate your linked LCOs about the various schemes you are offering for procuring a set-top-box (STB) by a subscriber and also the channel(s)/ bouquet(s) available on your network.

10. Provide adequate number of spare STBs to all of your linked LCOs to meet the timelines set in the Quality of Service Regulations of TRAI, to avoid long disruptions in service to any subscriber due to malfunctioning STB.

11. Ensure that prior notice of 15 days is provided through local newspapers and through scrolls on TV Screen to inform subscribers who are likely to be affected due to the disconnection. Such notice should be published in two leading local newspapers of the State in which affected LCOs are providing the services, out of which one notice should be published in a newspaper in the local language.

12. Ensure that sufficient number of Customer Application Forms (CAFs) and Manual of Practice is available with your linked LCOs for distribution to the customers at the time of providing connection.

DON’Ts

1)Provide cable TV services without valid registration as MSO as this is illegal.

2)Provide cable TV signals to LCOs without a written interconnection agreement as this is illegal.

3)Give pre-activated STB to any LCO or to any customer.

4)Disconnect the signals of TV channels of your linked LCO(s) without giving 21 days notice to such LCO(s) and clearly specifying the reasons for disconnection.

May 13, 2015
TDSAT sets aside 27.5% inflation-linked hike for addressable & non-addressable systems

NEW DELHI: The Telecom Disputes Settlement and Appellate Tribunal (TDSAT) today set aside the amendments in two tariff orders, which had sought to put an inflation-linked hike of 27.5 per cent on addressable and non-addressable systems, opening the doors to a re-think on the entire policy of tariff orders.

TDSAT chairman Aftab Alam and member Kuldip Singh said in their order today that the ‘The Telecommunication (Broadcasting & Cable) Services (Second) Tariff (Eleventh Amendment) Order, 2014’ and ‘The Telecommunication (Broadcasting & Cable) Services (Second) Tariff (Thirteenth Amendment) Order, 2014’] were ‘untenable.’

The Tribunal also said it thought the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) “will be well advised to have a fresh look at the various tariff orders in a holistic manner and come out with a comprehensive tariff order in supersession of all the earlier tariff orders.”

“While doing so, it may consider all the agreements and relevant data available with it. It may consider differentiating between content which is of a monopolistic nature as against that the like of which is shown by other channels also.”

“It may also consider classifying the content into premium and basic tiers. It may identify the major cost components so that increase or decrease in such costs may be suitably factored while working out the inflationary hikes. Increase in costs of such components as may be available in indexes such as WPI, GDP deflator etc. can then be applied. While working out the tariffs, the effort should be to encourage a correct declaration of SLR. While carrying out the exercise, it may take the inputs from various stakeholders and give a reasoned order for accepting or rejecting the same. We want to be amply clear that the above are only some suggestions and TRAI being an expert body may arrive at suitable tariffs independently; it is up to it to consider the above and/or any other factors,” the Tribunal said.

The tariff hike was challenged by Home Cable Network, the Centre for Transforming India, Lucknow 9 Cable Network, Good Media News India Pvt Ltd, Sikkim Digital Network and Cable Combine Communication Siliguri.

Later, the Indian Broadcasting Federation (IBF) supported the order as intervener while the other interveners comprising Direct to Home (DTH) operators, Multi System Operators (MSOs) and Association of Cable Operators/Cable Operators opposed the order on the same grounds as the Appellants.

TRAI had allowed a 15 per cent hike from 1 April, 2014. The second installment of 12.5 per cent tariff hike came into effect from 1 January, 2015.

TRAI said the inflationary increases given by it are based on increase in the Wholesale Price Index (WPI). In the Explanatory Memorandum with the Second Amendment to the Principal Tariff Order, it was explained that for making adjustments for inflation Wholesale Price Index (WIP) had been used. It was explained that Consumer Price Index (CPI) was not used as latest information for this was not available and further this related to certain specific consumption baskets. As per the Explanatory Memorandum to the impugned Tariff Order, the WPI has increased by 43.69 per cent and giving a pass through of 63 per cent, an inflation linked increase of 27.5 per cent is allowed.

Appearing for the appellants, advocate Vivek Sareen, who is a former employee of Tata Sky and is therefore from the industry, had argued the case on economic modules from all over the country, which in fact showed that the prices had actually come down according to the GDP Deflator, and therefore the hike was unjust.

Senior counsel for the appellants Arun Kathpalia said the original exercise on which tariff fixation is predicated is not a tariff exercise and therefore all tariffs fixed on that basis are not tariff fixation exercises. He added that the entire increase is arbitrary as it is on an ad-hoc and interim fixation, as such itself arbitrary in the first place. The increase is otherwise also wholly arbitrary and suffers from non-application of mind. He also said the tariff order has been issued in complete violation of section 11(4) and there is no transparency whatsoever in the process adopted by the TRAI.

It was also submitted that despite availability of all the relevant information for price fixation in Digital Addressable System (DAS), TRAI arbitrarily linked ceiling of rates in DAS with analog regime vide 4th Tariff Order dated 21 July, 2010. The upward revision by 27.5 per cent in wholesale price for Non-DAS area will automatically result in revision of the ceiling of corresponding prices in DAS regime. TRAI has created another ad-hoc regime for DAS by linking the ceiling of charges of DAS with analog, it was argued.

TDSAT said, “It was argued that the tariff based on historical costs is one of internationally accepted methods. We find that even that is required to be based on a proper exercise conducted for the purpose. We may note that in the United States following the Cable Television Consumer Protection and Competition Act of 1992, US Congress asked Federal Communications Commission to ensure that rates for basic services tier are reasonable. FCC decided to go for price caps and the first thing it did was to collect data on rates being charged by cable operators operating in competitive as well as non-competitive areas. We can understand the freezing of rates being charged on a particular date as an interim measure but we fail to understand why TRAI did not examine the rates being charged in the agreements at the time of giving inflationary hikes.”

The Tribunal had in May last year asked broadcasters to maintain a separate account for the additional subscription amount that they have collected from distribution platforms as a result of the tariff hike as this would be subject to the outcome of the case.

Sareen had argued that the impugned tariff order had adversely impacted the interest of the addressable platform because the wholesale pricing of the addressable system is based on the wholesale pricing of the non-addressable platform. He said the impugned tariff was heavily tilted towards broadcasters and seriously prejudiced the interest of the consumers, MSOs and stifles orderly growth of the cable and broadcasting sector.

Sareen argued that TRAI ignored the fact that the wholesale pricing of non-addressable system and addressable system are inter related. The wholesale price for addressable platform is derived from the wholesale price of non-addressable system. By its order, TRAI indirectly and in substance increased the wholesale price for addressable platform / DAS notified area. The said increase in the wholesale price for addressable platform is affected in violation of section 11(4) of the Act.

TRAI completely disregarded the fact that by changing the content pricing and increasing the same by 27.5 per cent with reference to the price existed immediately prior to 31 March, 2014, this would immediately increase the price of content for addressable platform. The authority did not provide any hearing opportunity to the stakeholders including the Appellants to represent its view as a stakeholder in the consultation process.

It was stated that TRAI, in utter disregard of the valuable rights of the stakeholders including the Appellant and the consumers provided under Section 11(4) of the Act, rushed to issue the impugned order thereby increasing the wholesale price for addressable platform by 15 per cent with effect from 1 April, 2014. Thus the impugned order failed to take into account the inputs from such stakeholders.

April 28, 2015
DAS phases face problems; Parliamentary Committee asks Govt. to make amends

NEW DELHI: Even as there are consistent delays on the Home Ministry’s part to examine security clearances for multi system operators (MSOs) and complaints of non-availability of reliable set top boxes (STBs), a Parliamentary Standing Committee has said suitable steps should be taken proactively to address the concerns of all the stakeholders in achieving the final phases of digitization within the envisaged time frame.

The Committee in its recent report said that about 50 per cent of the further demand of 110 million STBs required under the final phases of digitization is likely to be met by the domestic manufacturers, which is certainly an encouraging proposition.

Noting that the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) had found interoperability of STBs expensive and recommended financial interoperability, the Committee wanted to know the progress in getting inexpensive STBs as it had been informed that indigenous STBs would be made available in sufficient number.

Regulations notified by TRAI provide an exit option for a subscriber to change the operator/platform for any reason. The Committee said it had also been informed that the Department of Information Technology had issued a Request for Proposal (RFP) for the development of an indigenous Conditional Access System (CAS) to make interoperability of STBs possible and an Indian CAS is expected to be ready in about a year’s time.

The Committee noted the process of digitisation under Phase I and Phase II was not smooth as there was strong opposition from cable operators’ associations, non-acceptance of revenue sharing arrangements between cable operators and MSOs, and between MSOs and broadcasters, delay in filling of Consumer Application Forms, monopoly of few selected STBs manufacturers and service providers and opposition from some State Governments.

It had been informed that the Task Force for the final two phases will provide policy direction and take stock of the progress on a regular basis in order to implement the final phases in a professional manner.

The Committee noted that out of the four metro cities planned to be digital, digitization has been near total in Delhi, Mumbai and Kolkata. Chennai is yet to undergo the digital transition due to several pending court cases. Phase II of digitization was concluded by 31 March, 2013 in 38 cities spanning 14 states and one union territory. The Phase III and IV digitization process is now planned to be completed by December 2015 and December 2016 respectively.

The Committee noted that during Phase I and Phase II of the Cable TV digitization, the indigenous manufacturers were able to supply only 15 per cent of the total requirement of STBs and the rest were imported from various countries, mainly from China. As a result, complaints were received about the poor quality of STBs, their non-compliance to BIS standards, and absence of service/repair centres for STBs.

In this regard, to meet the growing demand of STBs in the country, the Ministry has reportedly taken a number of steps to promote the indigenous manufacturing of STBs, which include increasing import duty on imported STBs from five to 10 per cent, declaring STBs as a part of ‘Telecommunications Networks’ by the Department of Telecommunications on 30 June, 2014 and confirmation by the Department of Revenue on 13 August, 2014 by extension of the same under Sec 8(3) (b) of the Central Sales Tax, 1956 thus fulfilling the major demand of the indigenous STBs manufacturers for the creation of a level playing field vis-?-vis importers.

Moreover, the Department of Electronics and Information Technology had made it mandatory for the STBs to be BIS compliant for safety certification with effect from January 2014. The Information Technology Department had also entered into a contract with a domestic company to develop CAS domestically vide its order dated 24 July, 2014, which would be made available to the domestic vendors at $ 0.5 as against the current value of $2 or more.

The Committee also noted that in order to give time to the domestic manufacturers of STBs, the Government had extended the cut-off dates of digitisation, which for Phase III has been extended from 30 September, 2014 to 31 December, 2015 and for Phase IV from 31 December, 2014 to 31 December, 2016.

April 6, 2015
Subscription is biggest contributor to TV industry revenues: TRAI

MUMBAI: India is one of the most profitable and growing markets when it comes to the television ecosystem. In terms of the broadcasting sector consisting of television and radio, India has the world’s third largest TV market after China and USA.

The annual report of Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) for the year 2013-14 has detailed out activities of the Authority, which was presented in the Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha in March this year.

According to the annual report, as on March 2014, of the 270 million households, around 169 million have been projected to have television sets catered to by cable TV systems, DTH services, IPTV services and the terrestrial TV network of Doordarshan, put together.

While DTH has 64.5 million registered subscribers (37.2 million active subscribers), IPTV caters to around half a million subscribers. On the other hand, cable TV is estimated to have around 99 million subscribers, whereas the terrestrial TV network of Doordarshan covers about 92 per cent of population of the country through a vast network of terrestrial transmitters. The broadcasting and cable television services sector consists of 55 pay broadcasters, an estimated 60,000 cable operators, 6000 multi system operators (MSOs) (including 144 MSOs registered in DAS), six pay DTH operators, apart from pubcaster – Doordarshan, having free-to-air DTH service.

There were 793 TV channels registered with the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting at the end of financial year 2013-14 out of which 187 were SD pay TV channels and 34 HD Pay TV channels. India’s TV industry grew from Rs 37,010 crore in the year 2012 to Rs 41,720 crore in the year 2013, thereby registering a growth of around 12.7 per cent.

“The subscription revenue accounts for the major share of the overall revenue of the TV industry. The subscription revenue grew from Rs 24,500 crore in the year 2012 to Rs 28,100 crore in the year 2013. The advertisement revenue in the TV sector in India grew up from Rs 12,500 crore in the year 2012 to Rs 13,600 crore in the year 2013,” states the report.

The last decade has significantly changed the dynamics of the Cable and Satellite (C&S) TV market. One of the most significant developments has been the digitisation of the cable TV sector in India. The process of digitisation is underway, in a phased manner. By the March 2014, more than 22 million Set Top Boxes were deployed. While implementation of digitization with addressability is going to be a game changer and would drive the growth of the broadcasting and cable TV services in the country, the DTH sector is registering a growth of around one million subscribers per month. This clearly indicates the growing popularity and acceptability of digital addressable platforms, which have a lot more to offer to all the stakeholders.

Stakeholders in cable and satellite TV service sector

As of March 2014, the total number of TV channels registered with the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting was 793, which include 187 SD pay channels, 34 HD pay channels and four advertisement free pay channels. These channels are owned by around 350 broadcasters (content owners), out of which 55 are the pay TV broadcasters.

Satellite TV channels

The number of satellite channels permitted by MIB has grown from 449 in 2009 to 793 in 2014. The number of pay SD channels has grown from 130 in 2009 to 187 in 2014. The report states that there are total 33 operational HD channels in India till 2013.

DTH Services

Since its inception in 2003, DTH operators have been adding new subscribers at a rate of around one million per month, attaining a registered subscriber base of around 64.82 million subscribers of pay DTH services catered by the six DTH operators by March 2014. This is besides the viewership of the free DTH services of Doordarshan. In March 2009, there were a total of 13.09 million DTH subscribers. This number grew to 21.30 million, 35.56 million, 46.25 million, 56.48 million to 64.82 million subscribers for the years 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013 and 2014 respectively.

Cable TV Services

Cable TV service is the largest television service sector with an estimated subscriber base of around 99 million subscribers. From 52 million subscribers in March 2004 it has risen by 58 million, 66 million, 72.5 million, 80 million, 84 million, 88 million, 92 million, 94 million and 99 million cable TV subscribers from 2005 – 2013 respectively.

Digital addressable Cable TV systems

As per data provided by various MSOs, there were around 85 lakh STBs deployed in the first phase areas of DAS implementation covering four metros namely Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata and Chennai. In the second phase of DAS implementation, covering 38 cities, approximately 142 lakhs STBs were deployed as on March 2014.

Trends in the tariff in the Broadcasting sector

In order to provide cost effective broadcasting services to the consumer, TRAI has laid down regulatory framework, from time to time, in the form of tariff orders. The tariffs for areas served through non-addressable systems, notified DAS areas, and that for the addressable systems such as DTH, HITS and IPTV etc are governed by respective tariff orders issued by TRAI.

Further, the wholesale pricing has been prescribed with a certain cap, linked to non-addressable platforms tariff ceilings. With these provisions at the wholesale and retail levels, a trend is likely to emerge where the subscription pattern is consumer specific rather than defined by the service providers.

April 2, 2015