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Tag: DTH

  • Tariff orders in case of DTH operators set aside by TDSAT

    Tariff orders in case of DTH operators set aside by TDSAT

    NEW DELHI: The Telecom Disputes Settlement and Appellate Tribunal (TDSAT) has set aside the tariff orders drawn up by the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) in the case of direct-to-home operators.

     

    The judgment follows two separate petitions filed by Dish TV and Bharat Business Channel, in which TDSAT chairman Aftab Alam and member Kuldip Singh clarified that it will be open to TRAI to issue a fresh tariff order after taking into consideration the inputs provided by the appellants and addressing the issues raised by them.

     

    The Tariff Order had been issued by TRAI on 27 May 2013 under the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India Act 1997 read with notification of 9 January 2004.

     
    The petitioners have alleged that TRAI has no jurisdiction to fix the tariff for the supply of set top boxes (STBs) and there is basis for arriving at the price of STBs. Furthermore, it was alleged that even if TRAI had such powers to fix the tariff or rental for STBs, it has not been exercised lawfully, reasonably and in a non-arbitrary manner and after considering the relevant matters which are required to be considered in price fixation.

     
    Clause 4 of the impugned Tariff Order prescribes tariff for supply and installation of customer premises equipment.

     
    The stand of TRAI is that the operators are offering the services in a bundled form and can spread its costs on the bundled services which include the programming service. TRAI said ‘In view of this fact, the expenditure side of the hardware (CPE) cannot be seen in isolation of the pricing of the bundled service which includes programming service.”

     
    The Tribunal said there was an apparent contradiction in this stand and the main objective of the tariff order which is commercial interoperability. In other words, if a subscriber is not satisfied with the service of an operator or wants to change the operator due to any reason, it is not stuck with the cost of the CPE, it can return the CPE and get its security back at any time.

     
    “In our opinion, one way to address this issue can be to permit the DTH operators to supply recovered/refurbished CPE under the standard tariff order and the subscribers may not insist on new CPE if they want this tariff. However, we may clarify that this is just one example and the respondent is free to address the various issues as it may deem fit. Though all these issues have been raised by the appellants, in our view the same have not been satisfactorily addressed TRAI.”

     
    In view of the above, we find that some elements of cost have not been taken into account and issues raised by the appellants have not been fully addressed by TRAI.

  • Tata Sky revives Indian poetry with Javed Akhtar

    Tata Sky revives Indian poetry with Javed Akhtar

    MUMBAI: In yet another first, Tata Sky, the leading DTH player today at a literature rendezvous announced the launch of Actve Javed Akhtar service in partnership with Javed Akhtar, one of the finest lyricists of India. This innovative service gives Tata Sky subscribers an opportunity to experience the rich and classic poetic culture with an unconventional and modern approach.

     

    This interactive platform will have Javed Akhtar describing the true essence of some of the most beautifully penned shayaris and dohas of yesteryears, reminding us of its relevance and definition in context to our lives today.This conversational format with Javed Akhtar is followed by shayaris and dohas sung by contemporary artists such as Tochi Raina, Roop Kumar Rathod, Shweta Pandit, Aakriti Kakkar, Abhijit Pohankar and many more.

     

    Apart from the video format, the interactive service will also allow viewers to learn meaning of various Urdu & Sanskrit words used in the Dohas and Shayari with the help of the built-in On-demand option. Thus aiding subscribers in comprehension & enhancing vocabulary.

     

    At the launch, Vikram Mehra, Chief Commercial Officer, Tata Sky said:“Actve Javed Akhtar will enable our audience to relive and learn from the eons of classic Indian poetry with a contemporary touch. We hence associated with Javed Akhtar, who will walk us through centuries of soulful shayaris and dohas.” 

     

    Tata Sky prides in being the preferred DTH player with a list of popular interactive services as part of their offerings. Actve Javed Akhtar will be another innovative feather in the cap of Tata Sky. This interactive service is available on a monthly subscription and can be availed by a simple SMS (‘Javed’ to 56633) or missed call (076791 76791).

     

    Commenting on his association, Mr. Javed Akhtar said, “I am pleased to collaborate with Tata Sky in their endeavor to bring back the essence of our literature. This is a project which is very close to my heart as it resonates my love for the subject. The service revolves around the golden shayaris and dohas of Galib, Mir, Kabeer, Rahim and many more, which will continue to appeal to the people regardless of the constant changes that take place in today’ world.”

     

    Tata Sky has partnered with Insync (India’s first 24×7 Classical Based Music Television Channel) to collaborate with composers and 50 singers (fresh talent as well as renowned artists) to create original songs for the service, Actve Javed.

     

    A glimpse of the interactive service:

     

    Doha  – http://youtu.be/AuhUiL0TpDE

     

    Shayari – http://youtu.be/422WwmoeLAQ

  • IDOS 2014: HBO opening night party a grand success

    IDOS 2014: HBO opening night party a grand success

    GOA: Glitz, glamour and everything else. The most awaited opening night party of the India Digital Operators Summit (IDOS) 2014 at The Leela in Goa organised by HBO Hits and Defined premium channels has set the right tune for the next two days of the confab which will be attended by the leaders of pay TV, distribution,  cable TV and DTH industry. 

     

    Through the opening night party, the premium network has sent out a clear message: ‘It’s not TV, its HBO’.

     

    The party entertained those attending, with fabulous dances, stand-up comedy by Atul Khatri, some of the all time hits sung by the melodious Aditi Singh Sharma who has lent her voice for some of the hit songs including ‘Raabta’, ‘Dhoom Machale’, ‘Offo’ and great bollywood music, which forced everyone to shake their legs.

     

    The evening was well attended by the who’s who of the broadcast, cable TV and DTH industry.  

     

    Says HBO South Asia MD Monica Tata on the success of the party, “We are very excited to have partnered with IDOS 2014. This has helped us showcase our proposition to our consumers.”

     

    “The partnership has been fantastic. Through this, the HBO premium channels will connect with its key consumers, which are the platform owners. We expect them to push our channels further,” she adds.

    “More power to HBO channels and if you haven’t subscribed to it so far, do it now,” she concludes. 

     

  • 820 UHD channels in world by 2025: Report

    820 UHD channels in world by 2025: Report

    MUMBAI: A new report by research firm Northern Sky Research (NSR) says that by 2025, there will be over 820 ultra HD (UHD) definition satellite channels across the world. This, according to the research, will lead to greater customer retention and higher average revenue per user (ARPUs).

     

    Although every region will be able to have at least a few UHD channels through DTH, IPTV and cable TV, much of it will be provided by DTH operators. It will account for nearly 560 4K and 8K channels while cable TV and IPTV will account for 260+ channels.

     

    NSR analyst Alan Crisp says that while HD TVs remained expensive for several years, the price of 4K TV is eroding very quickly.  This should lead to faster adoption and creation of UHD content. Revenue growth is forecast to reach $370 million from capacity leasing for 4K content. This will be not just in developed but also in developing countries where a few UHD channels could be the difference in attracting subscribers to the tune of tens or even hundreds of thousands even with relatively lower ARPUs.

     

    “In years past, and with previous technological advancements relating to TV content, we have seen a number of hurdles, not least of which has been the prohibitively high cost for end-users to attain TVs suitable for new content. With HD about 15 years ago, this was a major sticking point. Conversely, with UltraHD, this hurdle is eroding quickly, with UHD compatible TV sets reducing in price to as low as $1,000 today”, notes Crisp. “Further, NSR notes that as compared to HDTV, a number of satellite operators and DTH platforms, from regions as diverse as North America to South Asia, are investing heavily in UHD content and UHD compatible set-top boxes”, adds Crisp.

     

    Currently, Videocon d2h and Tata Sky are the only operators in India who have announced their involvement in UHD services that will roll out soon.

     

    In the medium term, it will be a niche market but will soon be mainstream in developed regions. The intense competition in developing countries would mean utilizing UHD as a differentiator.

  • Axom Communications aims to install 1 million STBs in NE

    Axom Communications aims to install 1 million STBs in NE

    KOLKATA: Assam based multi-system operator (MSO), Axom Communications and Cable, which already boasts of around six lakh cable TV connections in the state including the lower and central parts, is aiming to spruce up its digitisation drive.

     

    By the end of the phase IV of digitisation, it aims to install one million set top boxes (STBs) not only in Assam but also in other states of the north-eastern region.

     

    Axom Communications and Cable director Sanjive Narain says that the MSO has already installed the digital headend in the year 2009 and has laid down the fiber connectivity linking around 250 kms from three sides of Guwahati, the commercial hub of Assam. The setup of the digital headend was supported by Cisco, from whom Axom would be purchasing STBs as well. 

     

    “We aim to have a million boxes seeded by the end of 2015. We have around 10 analogue headends and one digital headend,” he says. According to sources, the MSO had spent Rs 3 crore for installing the digital headend.

     

    Out of 6 lakh connections, more than 70,000 cable homes have been converted into digital mainly in Guwahati, even before the digitisation process has started in the state.

     

    The seven sisters come under phase III and IV of digitisation. “Right now the process has not started in the true sense but the industry is getting ready,” adds Narain. He expects the current deadline of December 2014 to be extended as well. This could be because the government is addressing the loopholes witnessed in phases I and II.

     

    “Fibre network connectivity work is still progressing in states like Tripura, Nagaland, Meghalaya to name a few,” he adds.

     

    The north east terrain is such that cable TV cannot reach everywhere. Therefore DTH made a sizeable penetration in this market. “We will convert the DTH subscribers into cable by giving a lucrative option to consumers,” he says adding that the MSO may charge Rs 250 plus tax for offering 350 channels.

     

    As far as the funding for the undertaking is concerned, Cisco’s capital arm is one of the options amongst others such as private equity or JVs with other parties.

  • E-auction for six DTH slots for DD Free Dish next week

    E-auction for six DTH slots for DD Free Dish next week

    NEW DELHI: The 14th online e-auction for filling up six slots for the direct-to-home (DTH) service of Doordarshan Freedish will be conducted on 11 and 12 August beginning with a reserve price of Rs 3 crore.

     

    The e-Auction will be conducted by Synise Technologies, Pune on behalf of Prasar Bharati.

     

    Prasar Bharati CEO Jawhar Sircar said earlier this week that the aim was to reach the target of 97 channels by October-end and 125 by March-end.

     

    The eligibility terms and conditions including other relevant details for this e-auction are displayed on DD website: www.ddindia.gov.in.

     

    The participation amount (EMD) is Rs 1.5 crore which will be deposited in advance on or before 11 August by 12:00 noon along with processing fee of Rs 10,000 (Non-refundable) in favour of PB (BCI) Doordarshan Commercial Service, New Delhi.

     

    Applicants have to deposit a Demand Draft of Rs 5,500 as registration amount (mandatory) favouring Synise Technologies, payable at Pune at the time of submission of the application.

     

    The applicants must provide their e-mail address, contact numbers and uplink/downlink permission documents received from the concerned ministries, failing which their application will not be entertained in any case.

     

    The demand drafts of unsuccessful bidders will be returned immediately or within a week after the e-auction process is completed.

  • Union Minister Jitendra Singh presents ISRO report card

    Union Minister Jitendra Singh presents ISRO report card

    MUMBAI: The Indian Space Research Organisation’s (ISRO) commercial arm Antrix Corp has been involved in 10 satellite launches of eight foreign countries from the two operational satellite launch pads at Satish Dhawan Space Centre, Sriharikota over the last three years. In the process, it has earned revenues of 540,000 euros in 2001-2012 and 21.09 million in 2012-2013. This was disclosed by Union Minister of State for Science & Technology and ministry of earth sciences, department of atomic energy and department of space Jitendra Singh in a written reply in the Lok Sabha today.

     

    Singh revealed that the government is considering setting up a new satellite launching pad, referred as Third Launch Pad, at Sriharikota. The Third Launch Pad is intended to support increased launch frequency, provide active redundancy to existing launch pads and to support launching requirements of advanced launch vehicles. The possible site  for the Third Launch Pad has been identified in Sriharikota taking into account the safety distances and maximal utilization of existing launch pad facilities. The existing launch pads  are used exclusively for launch vehicles developed by ISRO.

     

    Singh added  that ISRO’s  satellites have done yeoman’s service in improving telecom, long-distance education, telemedicine in rural and flung areas of the company. He pointed out that  ISRO satellites have helped in achieving 100 per cent coverage of the Indian mainland and rural and far flung areas for direct to home  (DTH) satellite television.  

     

    Additionally, they have helped in three other areas:

       * Telecommunication: About 1.75 Lakh satellite communication terminals are supporting various applications like village telephony, data connectivity, broadband connectivity, Automatic Teller Machines (ATM) of banks, etc., covering the rural and far flung areas of the country.

     

      * Tele-Education: 56,000 classrooms connected through satellite networking, of which 51,000 are Receive Only Terminals (ROTs) and around 5000 are Satellite Interactive Terminals (SITs) catering to all the sectors of education from primary to higher and professional education.

     

    * Telemedicine: The Telemedicine network connects the patients at a remote hospital to a speciality hospital for tele-consultation. 60 specialty hospitals connected to 308 remote and rural hospitals and 16 Mobile Vans.
     

    The Developmental Education and Communication Unit (DECU) of ISRO conducted  a study to ascertain the utility of tele-education and tele-medicine networks over the years, a Press Information Bureau (PIB) release states. The findings of the study indicate the following.
     

    * Tele-education networks are very effective to reach out remote and rural areas of the country and also to enhance the understanding level of the students. The target audience for tele-education include students from school, technical education, higher education, teachers training including physically challenged students. On an average 2-3 hours of programmes are transmitted for 4-5 days in a week.

     

    * Tele-medicine networks are very useful in treating the patients located in remote and rural areas. Through tele-medicine patients get the best doctors for consultation. Tele-medicine provides the advantage of saving time and money to the patients and also provides relief to family members from the hassles of accompanying the patient to speciality hospitals in the urban areas. Mobile tele-medicine vans are found to be ideal to cover larger geographical area with treatment in the fields of Ophthalmology, Diabetic screening, Cancer, General Medicine and hearing impairments in the infants.

     

  • Business models, regulations and technology adoption need to evolve: Frost & Sullivan

    Business models, regulations and technology adoption need to evolve: Frost & Sullivan

    MUMBAI: Frost & Sullivan hosted the third edition of its ‘Digital Media India Summit’ on June 24 at the Le Meridien, Delhi. The summit included over 100 participants from broadcasters, cable, DTH, and telco operators as well as industry bodies and government representatives. The summit addressed key industry trends and issues such as regulatory challenges in the video ecosystem, big picture for Indian television business, benefits and challenges of TV-everywhere, collaborative workflows in multimedia video; and preparing for Phase 3 and Phase 4 of Digitization.

     

    At the summit, Mukul Krishna, Senior Director, Global Digital Media Practice, Frost & Sullivan, presented the key trends influencing the video broadcast and services industry globally and in India. He also talked about the important factors that can drive growth in the multiscreen video market, alleviate churn for service providers and the key technologies that a stakeholder requires to adopt in the current industry environment. He said, “India requires a collective movement from all stakeholders to catalyze short term as well as long term growth. The industry should be working towards not just survival or sustenance but thriving growth.”

     

    The panel on regulatory challenges in video included Satya Gupta, SAAM Corpadvisors Pvt. Ltd. (ex TRAI); SK Singhal, Advisor (broadcasting and Cable Services), TRAI; Sisir Pillai, Chief Strategy Officer, Digicable; Roop Sharma, President, Cable Operators Federation of India, and Avnindra Mohan, President (Legal & Regulatory), Zee Network. The panelists discussed revenue sharing models among broadcasters, MSOs and LCOs gross billing, and the role of TRAI in regulating the same for all stakeholders. They also discussed the apparent lack of transparency and standardization in regulatory guidance on revenue sharing, the digital acquisition forms for subscribers and disparate pricing across different states. In response to his co-panelists, TRAI Advisor, S.K. Singhal emphasized that the rules by the regulatory body are guidelines and not rigid as they are interpreted to be. He pointed out the potential of the industry to grow driven by opportunities in multimedia distribution. He also alluded to the telecom industry’s growth riding on the back of value-added services and encouraged the broadcast and service provider industry to innovate their services.

     

    In a presentation on the big picture of the TV business in India, Vanita Kohli Khadekar, Columnist and Author (The Indian Media Business), talked about a few interesting trends in the Indian TV industry, which included – digitization of content, consolidation and growth of online video. These trends are shaping the Indian TV industry like never before and are bringing in a multitude of changes across all segments. She said, “India is looked as a market of huge volumes in terms of opportunity; however one doesn’t realize that India is not one market, but several.” She highlighted that India is highly fragmented in viewership by state and language and hence it requires customization in programming as well as business models.

     

    During another discussion on ‘Is TV everywhere good for video business’, the panel discussed trends in the video content ecosystem, distribution, and the necessity to create compelling content for multiple media. The major challenges faced are multiple taxation levied on the broadcast industry and piracy. The panelists concluded that the way forward is content availability over IP, monetization of content and control of piracy. The panelists concurred that personalization, localization and more importantly, ‘searchability’ with the right metadata is critical for the success of TV-everywhere. Frost & Sullivan’s Vidya S. Nath, Director, Digital Media, Global Innovation Center chaired this panel which had Subhashish Mazumdar, Senior VP, North & East, Hinduja Group (Media); Sisir Pillai, Chief Strategy Officer, Digicable; Rajiv Khattar, President – Projects, Dish TV India, as panelists.

     

    The panel on collaborative workflows in multimedia video distribution discussed the essential requirements of a media company today. The panelists conveyed that every company requires to evolve out of departmental and functional siloes and create a cohesive platform that leverages a central repository of content. Standards are very important to ensure interoperability across applications and devices. The panelists in this session included Ujwal Nirgudkar, Chairman, SMPTE-India Section; Sameer Kanse, Head, Media Services, Tata Communications; and Irfan Khan, Marketing & Strategic Alliances, Tangerine Digital, and was chaired by Avni Rambhia, Principal Analyst, Frost & Sullivan.

     

    On the occasion, Vidya S. Nath noted in her address that consumer-viewing habits have evolved dramatically with the availability of multiple screens, and hence business models, regulation and technology adoption have to change side-by-side to abet industry growth.

     

    The final panel discussion on preparation for phase 3 and 4 in digitization brought forth the various mistakes committed in the first and second phases such as short deadlines to complete the digitization in cable TV, which left cable operators clueless and grappling to meet expectations and deadlines. The key aspect that was highlighted was the need for chalking out a roadmap for digitization with a clear agenda for the stakeholders and participants. The importance of standardization was also put forth by the panelists. Vynsley Fernandes, Director, Castle Media, moderated this discussion that saw participation by Arvind Prabhoo, Founder, Maharashtra Cables Operators’ Federation and Tony D’Silva, CEO, Hinduja Group (Media).

     

    The innovative and exclusive growth workshops hosted during this summit for CXOs on disruption to transformation and new age business models for pay TV and video brought out many interesting trends and aspects of the digital media industry. The summit also touched upon transforming media workflows for effective ROI and coping with growing fragmentation of media in the digitized world, which were presented by Sameer Kanse and Rajendra Khare, Co-Founder and CMD, SureWaves MediaTech, respectively.

     

    The event partners for this summit were SureWaves, Tangerine, and Tata Communications, while the media partners were Broadcast & CableSat, Cablequest, Convergence Plus, Digital Studio, Indian Television and Light Reading India.

  • Just over 37 million of the 65 million DTH subscribers active: TRAI

    Just over 37 million of the 65 million DTH subscribers active: TRAI

    NEW DELHI: The six private direct-to-home (DTH) operators were serving a total of 64.82 million registered subscribers at the end of the first quarter of the calendar year 2014.

    However, the number of active subscribers was 37.19 million, according to a report by the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI).

    Apart from this, a large number of subscribers are served by Doordarshan’s DTH service.

    A total of 187 satellite television channels were encrypted (pay) out of the total 793 permitted by the Information and Broadcasting Ministry at the end of the first quarter ending March 2014. The number of pay channels is as reported by the broadcasters for which the rates have been taken on record.

    The maximum number of TV channels being carried by any of the reported MSOs was 387 in DAS areas, whereas the maximum number of channels carried is 100 in conventional analogue form.

    Apart from All India Radio, there are 242 private FM Radio stations in operation at the quarter ending March 2014. The status of operationalised private FM Radio stations is listed on the website of the I and B Ministry.

    The total number of internet subscribers has increased from 238.71 million at the end of December 2013 to 251.59 million at the end of March 2014, showing a quarterly growth of 5.4 per cent. Of these, the wired internet subscribers are 18.50 million and wireless internet subscribers are 233.09 million.

    The number of broadband internet subscribers increased from 55.2 million at the end of December 2013 to 60.87 million at the end of March 2014, showing a quarterly growth of 10.28 per cent.

    The number of narrowband internet subscribers increased from 183.51 million at the end of December 2013 to 190.72 million at the end of March 2014 with quarterly growth of 3.93 per cent.

     

  • SES to launch SES-12 for Asia

    SES to launch SES-12 for Asia

    MUMBAI: Satellite operator SES is looking at building a new hybrid communications satellite, SES-12. And for the same, the operator has selected Airbus Defence and Space. The new satellite, which is set for a launch in 2017, aims to serve the fast growing direct to home (DTH), data, mobility and government markets in Asia.

     

    The new satellite will expand SES’s capabilities to provide DTH broadcasting, VSAT, Mobility and High Throughput Satellite (HTS) data connectivity services in the Asia-Pacific region, including rapidly growing markets such as India and Indonesia.

     

    The spacecraft will be positioned at the well-established SES orbital slot of 95 degrees east, providing incremental as well as replacement capacity with excellent view angles across the Asia-Pacific region.

     

    SES-12 will replace SES’s existing NSS-6 satellite and will be co-located with SES-8.  The satellite operator currently serves close to 20 million DTH households in India and Indo-china from this orbital slot.

     

    The new satellite will be built by Airbus Defence and Space based on the highly reliable Eurostar E3000 platform. The satellite is designed to operate for 15 years, with a payload consisting of 68 high-power physical Ku-band transponders and eight physical Ka-band transponders. The spacecraft will be equipped with an electric plasma propulsion system for orbit raising and on-orbit maneuvers. The payload of the hybrid SES-12 satellite consists of two distinct but complementary missions: first, traditional wide beam coverage, and second, a high-powered Ku-band multi spot beam payload (HTS).

     

    The traditional wide-beam mission consists of 54 (36 MHz equivalent) transponders that will provide state-of-the-art replacement and growth capacity for SES’s existing DTH, government and VSAT customers allowing for a seamless transition from NSS-6 to SES-12. In addition, the design provides incremental growth capacity to support new DTH platforms and other services targeting the Asia-Pacific region. The second mission consists of 70 Ku-band spot beams and 11 Ka-band spot beams delivering over 14 GHz for VSAT, Enterprise, Mobility and Government applications. This mission also includes a Digital Transparent Processor (DTP) which provides anti-jamming capabilities as well as increased payload flexibility in order to provide customised bandwidth solutions to SES customers.

     

    “I salute SES’s ambitions when it comes to innovation and responsiveness in a rapidly changing market, and we are pleased to be able to provide them with our very best technology for both the payload and the platform,” said Airbus Defence and Space head of space systems Francois Auque. He added, “We have been using electric propulsion for station-keeping for 10 years now and have equipped 10 Eurostar E3000 satellites with this technology, which we are now also offering for initial orbit raising. The resulting weight saving will enable us to combine two high-capacity missions equivalent to two conventional satellites in one satellite, SES-12.”

     

    SES-12 is the eleventh spacecraft that SES has ordered from Airbus Defence and Space, eight of these satellites are in operational service, one is ready to be launched and a tenth, ordered this year, is currently under construction. The satellite operator has decided that it will keep its annual spending to around Euro 450 million. It has also drawn up a five year plan, as part of which SES from 2014 to 2018 will spend a total of Euro 2.3 billion. It currently has four satellites under construction, including SES-12. Plans are also afoot to start more five satellite builds during this five year period. 

     

    SES chief technology officer Martin Halliwell said, “We look forward to working again with Airbus Defence and Space on this important addition to our global fleet. SES-12 will greatly expand our capacity over Asia and is fully in line with our capital expenditure plan. Through its unique hybrid DTH/HTS design, SES-12 will continue to support our growing DTH platforms and provide a new, lower cost HTS product, further enhancing our customer’s options for growth.”