ITV

Tag: Regulations

  • TRAI asks MSOs to not disconnect signals without 3 weeks notice

    TRAI asks MSOs to not disconnect signals without 3 weeks notice

    NEW DELHI: With the deadline for completion of Phase III of Digital Addressable System (DAS) approaching fast, the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) today said that no multi system operators (MSO) will disconnect the signals of TV channels of a linked local cable operator (LCO) without giving three weeks’ notice to such LCO, clearly specifying the reasons for the proposed disconnection. 

     

    The Regulatory framework provides that the channels subscribed by a subscriber should not be switched off or discontinued without following the proper procedure provided in the Quality of Service Regulations for DAS, TRAI said. 

     

    The MSOs providing cable TV services through DAS were advised not to degrade or stop or switch off any channel without following the proper procedure laid in the regulations. 

     

    TRAI also reminded MSOs and linked LCOs that set top boxes (STBs) have to be repaired or replaced without any extra charge with new STBs within 24 hours of the receipt of the complaint. 

     

    The complaint can be pertaining to malfunctoning from a subscriber, if the STB is covered within the warranty or it has been acquired by the subscriber on hire purchase scheme or on rental basis.

     

    The MSOs providing cable TV services were advised to ensure rectification of consumer complaints within 24 hour under the “Standards of Quality of Service (Digital Addressable Cable TV Systems) Regulations 2012. For adhering to the timelines provided in the regulation, spare STBs may be given to the linked LCOs to ensure speedy restoration of services.

     

    TRAI said in cable TV sector it is generally observed that the consumers approach linked LCOs for immediate redressal of their complaints. For redressal of such complaints of consumers received by the LCOs, MSOs are required to lay down proper communication procedures to register complaints through LCOs and get then addressed on priority.

     

    The directive regarding disconnections is under the Telecommunication (Broadcasting and Cable Services) Interconnection (Digital Addressable Cable Television Systems) Regulations 2012.

  • TRAI to levy financial disincentives for violating QoS norms for DAS

    TRAI to levy financial disincentives for violating QoS norms for DAS

    NEW DELHI: The Telecom Authority of India (TRAI) plans to levy financial incentives on non-compliant multi-system operators and local cable operators by amending the Standards of Quality of Service (Digital Addressable Cable TV Systems) Regulations.

    Information and Broadcasting Ministry sources told indiantelevision.com that the aim was to ensure transparent business practices and promote efficiency in order to help the consumer.

     TRAI had released a consultation paper in August for amending the QoS Regulations of 2012, and the replies received by stakeholders and consumers is currently under examination.

     The sources said that the government’s decision to digitise the cable TV network is an enabler to protect the interests of the consumers and for the government to realise designated revenue from the sector.   

     The QoS Regulations lay down quality of norms to be adhered to by the service providers, which include the norms for billing of subscribers of DAS Cable TV systems, issue of receipt for every payment made by a subscriber etc.

     

  • DAS deadline extended to December 2015

    DAS deadline extended to December 2015

    NEW DELHI: The deadline for the digitisation of cable television systems in the entire country has been put off to December 2015.

     

    While Phase I of digital addressable system (DAS) came into effect in March last year and Phase II later in the year, the entire process was supposed to be completed by December this year.

     

    Information & Broadcasting Ministry secretary Bimal Julka speaking exclusively to  indiantelevision.com said that the government had decided to delay the digitisation deadline by a full year in order to give all those involved enough opportunity to overcome all the unseen hurdles that had come up after the UPA government mandated  DAS and the various analogue sunset dates.

     

    He said that the previous UPA  government had failed to complete all the required work with regard to regulations, licences, permissions etc and so the current NDA government’s  I&B Minister Prakash Javadekar – after consulting all the stakeholders – has decided to put off the final date by one year.

     

    Julka was confident that digitisation would be completed  well before the end of 2015, but said the new last date had been set keeping in mind the various issues that need resolution.

     

    Earlier, the Ministry had said Phase III covering all urban areas (Municipal Corporations/Municipalities) would be digitised by 30 September 2014 and Phase IV covering the rest of India would be digitised by 31 December 2014.

     

    The DAS process had led to several problems including court cases in various parts of the country. In the first phase for the four metros, Chennai could not be covered because of a stay by the Madras High Court. The second phase covered 38 cities with populations of more than one million. However, reports say that analogue systems are still working not only in the metros but also in these cities.

     

    Furthermore, cable operators feel that the set top boxes being imported are of inferior quality with very few facilities for servicing. The MSOs went to the Telecom Disputes Settlement & Appellate Tribunal (TDSAT) challenging the ratio of profit sharing between the various stakeholders. And TDSAT has been flooded with litigation involving broadcasters, MSOs, LCOs and DTH operators over the past year and a half – coinciding with the government’s thrusting digitisation down the throats of those involved in India’s relatively unorganised cable TV ecosystem. 

     

    Julka said that all these issues had been taken into consideration before taking the decision to put off DAS by a year.

  • Time extended for comments on draft amendments to the Interconnection Regulations and Tariff Order

    Time extended for comments on draft amendments to the Interconnection Regulations and Tariff Order

    NEW DELHI: Stakeholders have been asked by the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) to file by 3 July their comments on interconnect regulations and tariff order under the digital addressable system.

    TRAI has also said no request for any further extension of time for submission of comments will be entertained.

    The “Telecommunication (Broadcasting and Cable Services) Interconnection (Digital Addressable Cable Television Systems) (Second Amendment) Regulations, 2013” and the draft “Telecommunication (Broadcasting and Cable) Services (Fourth) (Addressable Systems) Tariff (Second Amendment) Order 2013” seek to amend some regulations that TRAI had passed earlier in relation to tariffs and interconnect agreements in earlier years. (Earlier, TRAI had notified the Interconnection Regulations for DAS dated 30 April 2012 as amended on 14 May last year and the Tariff Order applicable for the Addressable Systems dated 21 July 2010 as amended on 30 April last year).

    The amendments it has proposed state:

    Multi system operators (MSOs) cannot seeks signals of a particular TV channel from a broadcaster under ‘must provide‘ clause while at the same time demanding carriage fee for carrying that channel on its distribution platform.

    No minimum channel carrying capacity has been prescribed for the MSOs. However, the MSOs are mandated to carry the channels of broadcasters on non-discriminatory basis under the ‘must carry‘ provision.

    The service providers of the addressable systems are allowed to price and package their offering of channels, however, they are required to comply with the modified twin conditions, as proposed in the draft amendment to the tariff order. These twin conditions are (a) the a-la-carte rate of a pay channel forming part of a bouquet shall not exceed two times the a-la carte rate of the channel offered by the broadcaster at wholesale rates for addressable systems (b) the a-la-carte rate of a pay channel forming part of a bouquet shall not exceed three times the ascribed value of the pay channel in the bouquet. The TRAI says it is doing this to ensure that the a-la-carte rates offered to the subscribers are reasonable vis-? -vis the bouquet/package rates.

    As in the case of pay channels, operators can specify a minimum subscription period, not exceeding three months, for Free-to-Air (FTA) channels subscribed on a-la-carte basis by the subscribers.

    Subscribers are free to choose channels on a-la-carte basis or bouquet/package basis or any combination of a-la-carte and bouquet/package.

    Channels, such as HD or 3D, requiring special type of set top boxes are to be offered on a-la-carte basis and if such channels are also offered as a part of a bouquet(s), corresponding to each such bouquet, the operator would be required to offer bouquet(s) excluding the HD and 3D channels, at a reduced price, commensurate to the rates of these HD and 3D channels.

    Telecommunication (Broadcasting and Cable Services) Interconnection (Digital Addressable Cable Television Systems) (Second Amendment) Regulations, 2013

    Telecommunication (Broadcasting and Cable) Services (Fourth) (Addressable Systems) Tariff (Second Amendment) Order 2013