ITV

Tag: set-top-boxes

  • What really happened at the 16th DAS Task Force meeting

    What really happened at the 16th DAS Task Force meeting

    NEW DELHI: Even as the government has once again reiterated that it is firm on Phase IV of digital addressable systems for cable television to commence on 31 December this year, the Information and Broadcasting Ministry (MIB) has for the first time admitted that the Law Ministry had observed that the order passed by the Andhra Pradesh High Court staying Phase III “appears to have all lndia applicability”.

    (The Ministry had sought this opinion in view of the Mumbai high court making a reference to the Kusum Ingots case which had said that if one high court gives an order, others can give similar orders if similar circumstances exist. indiantelevision.com had reported in January this year that the MIB had told the Punjab and Haryana high court that it had ‘decided not to press the requirement of having a STB as for now till the decision of the cases which are pending before various other high courts’).

    The MIB affirmed this at the 16th DAS IV Task Force meeting held on 26 July in Delhi. MIB secretary Ajay Mittal who presided over the meeting said digitisation is a process which cannot be stopped. He said that Ministry has been proactive in the matter of dealing with all the court cases filed by some MSOs for extension of cut-off date for phase lll. He suggested that the stakeholders should supplement the efforts made by Ministry to dispose off these cases.

    He cautioned that MSOs and LCOs should desist from transmitting or re-transmitting un-authorized TV channels which are not permitted by the Ministry. He informed that Ministry has written to all the district collectors/magistrates in this regard to take action under the law against those who are violating the law.

    Advisor DAS Yogendra Pal told the Task Force Meeting for DAS that there were no cases in twenty states but the MIB was not in a position to issue orders in view of the advice given by the law ministry.

    However, he said following the decision to transfer all DAS cases to the Delhi high court following a petition in the Supreme Court by the MIB, 29 cases have so far been transferred by various courts to Delhi and 18 cases are still left to be transferred.

    He said 62 cases had been filed by some multi-system operators (MSOs) in various courts in the country for extension in the deadline of Phase lll. Out of these 62 cases, 12 cases had been disposed off by respective courts and 3 cases had been withdrawn by the petitioners. Two months extension in the deadline was granted by the Andhra Pradesh high court. Both Mumbai high court and the Aurangabad Branch of that court had passed orders to the effect that the order passed by the Telengana bench of the high court of Andhra Pradesh had all India applicability in view of the Supreme Court judgment in Kusum Ingots case.

    Two cases are scheduled for hearing by the Delhi High Court on 13 September 2016. He added that the MIB as approached the Solicitor General to defend the cases and for an early hearing of the cases in Delhi high court. He added that a special leave petition (SLP) is also being drafted against the order of Aurangabad Branch of Mumbai high court.

    The Ministry had recently conducted one workshop with state level nodal officers in Delhi and three regional workshops with state and district level Nodal Officers at Dehradun, Shimla and lmphal.

    The Joint Secretary said that there were a reported 6000 MSOs in the country but only 965 MSO had got registrations so far and about 200 applications are under process in the Ministry.

    She requested the Indian Broadcasting Foundation, the News Broadcasters Association, and the ARTBI to tell their member broadcasters to check with all MSOs with whom they have interconnect agreements whether they were registered and if they have not applied for it so far, advise them to do so immediately. She said that broadcasters should be having the details of all MSOs operating in phase lV areas in their data base which can be crosschecked with the list of registered MSOs on MIB website to identify the MSOs who have not applied for registration so far. She asked the representatives of broadcasters to send a list of these MSOs operating in phase lV areas but who have not applied for MSO registration to Ministry by 7 August 2016. She added that as a next step the broadcasters should communicate with these MSOs and ask them to apply for MSO registration if they want to continue to operate as MSOs in DAS notified areas.

    A representative of the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India emphasized that broadcasters should start entering into interconnect agreements with MSOs and likewise MSOs should enter into interconnect agreements with LCOs for phase lV areas. He said that broadcasters should collect STB requirements from local cable operators in phase lV areas.

    The representative of IMCL said broadcasters have offered separate digital and analogue rates in phase lV market and suggested that TRAI may issue an advisory/directive that there should be only analogue rate till 31 December 2016.

    TRAI said no such advisory which is outside the regulations can be issued. He said put of 900 TV channels, about 600 channels are free to air (FTA) channels and operate through about 2000 LCOs from their head ends. He suggested that in their case the State Governments can asks these LCOs to apply for MSO registration.

    Joint secretary Jaya said MSOs had sought an extension from the courts on the plea that broadcasters had not signed interconnect agreement with them. She said agreements between broadcasters important for further signing of agreements between MSOs and LCOs. She said that broadcasters, MSOs and LCOs should prioritize this issue everywhere and make concerted efforts to seal the agreements for phase lV areas by August 2016.

    TRAI said all MSOs who have any issue with broadcasters with regard to signing of interconnect agreements should write to the TRAI. He added that TRAI would review the situation in this regard from time to time.

    A representative of a cable operator association from Maharashtra (MocF) mentioned that about 200 LCos have signed interconnect agreements with Hathway in Maharashtra. He suggested that other large MSOs like IMCL & Siticable may also enter into agreements with LCos there on the basis of model inter-connect agreement.

    He complained that the post offices in Maharashtra were asking for no objection certificates from the offices of the district magistrate for renewal of registration to LCOs. He was told that with regard to this issue, which was raised in the last meeting also, proper reference with details should be sent to MIB He also wanted to know whether an MSO registered with MIB and operating as an LCO also is required to obtain the LCO registration from local the post office.

    A representative of CEAMA mentioned that orders for STBs had peaked in October 2015. Thereafter, except for supply orders from DTH operators and some small MSOs, no major orders have been received by them. He suggested that the MSOs planning for procurement for phase lV should place the orders now for timely delivery of STBs. He re-confirmed that they have the capacity to meet the complete requirements of phase lV.

    Representatives of state nodal officers from the Himachal Pradesh, Telengana, UP, Uttarakhand, MP, Karnataka, Bihar and J & K briefed about the various measures undertaken by them to implement the last phase of digitisation in their states. Most of them confirmed that monitoring committees have been set up and they are holding regular meetings to monitor the progress.

  • Q1-17: Dish TV adds 4 lakh subs, subscription revenue up at Rs 728 cr

    Q1-17: Dish TV adds 4 lakh subs, subscription revenue up at Rs 728 cr

    BENGALURU: Indian direct to home (DTH) television operator Dish TV India Limited (Dish TV) has reported growth across important financial and operational parameters including operating revenues (TIO) , EBIDTA and subscription numbers. The company announced the addition of 402,000 net subscribers for the quarter ended 30 June 2016 (Q1-17, current). It closed the quarter with 149 lakh subscribers. Average revenue per user (ARPU) for Q1-17 remained the same year-over-year (y-o-y) and quarter-over-quarter (q-o-q) at Rs 174.

    Dish TV reported 6.7 percent higher y-o-y subscription revenue of Rs 728.2 crore for Q1-17, as compared to Rs 682.8 crore. Operating revenue in the current quarter increased 5.7 percent y-o-y to Rs 778.6 crore from Rs 736.7 crore in the corresponding quarter of the previous year. (Refer Note 2.1 and 2.2 below)

    Dish TV reported PAT of Rs. 50.9 crore in Q1-17, down 24.6 percent as compared to Rs 54.2 crore in Q1-16.

    EBIDTA in the current quarter increased 12.2 percent to Rs 264.6 crore from Rs 235.7 crore in Q1-16.

    Total expense in the current quarter increased 2.6 percent y-o-y to Rs 513.9 crore (66 percent of revenue) from Rs 500.9 crore (68 percent of revenue). (Refer note 2.3 below). Personnel cost increased 9.8 percent y-o-y to Rs 38.1 crore (4.9 percent of revenue) from Rs 34.7 crore (4.7 percent of revenue). Cost of sales and services declined 1.8 percent y-o-y to Rs 358.4 crore (46 percent of revenue) from Rs 365 crore (49.5 percent of revenue).

    Dish TV managing director Jawahar Goel said, “Buoyed by digitization, notwithstanding the relative seasonal weakness in 1Q, the industry collectively added around 15 percent higher subscribers compared to the same quarter last fiscal. Dish TV maintained its lead in incremental subscriber additions during the quarter. Our strengthened distribution in DAS Phase III and IV areas along with the popularity of the Dish TV Insta Care – 4- Hour Service Assurance Campaign were instrumental in helping us maintain an edge over competition. Our regional and mass-market offerings continued to remain crowd-pullers in respective geographies.”

    “The consumers growing passion for HD has the potential to trigger yet another round of growth, beyond that being driven by digitization, for the DTH industry. Going forward, we would continue to build on our HD advantage while focusing on its sales across the country,” Goel added.

    To further enhance the digital TV experience for subscribers and build an affordable and fast deployment model for itself, Dish TV recently selected Wyplay’s Frog as the Middleware for its next generation Set-Top-Boxes. Wyplay is an HTML5 browser based system and incorporates all features required for traditional linear broadcast TV consumption, on-demand content and applications distributed over the internet.

    Talking about the first quarter results, Goel said, “Healthy subscriber additions led to a 12.3 percent y-o-y increase in subscription revenues (on a like-to-like basis). EBITDA margin bounced to 34.0 percent from 32.0 per cent in the corresponding quarter last fiscal. Net Profit for the quarter was Rs. 409 million leading to FCF generation of Rs. 627 million. Churn for the quarter at 0.7 percent per month remained well within manageable limits.”

    Expressing his views on other regulatory overhangs Goel, said, “An industry favourable resolution of the DTH license fee matter should go a long way in ensuring non-discrimination amongst various distribution platforms in the country. We are also hopeful of a just and logical outcome of the currently debated TRAI consultation paper on Interconnection Framework for Broadcasting TV Services Distributed through Addressable Systems.”

    Notes: (1) The unit of currency in this report is the Indian rupee – Rs (also conventionally represented by INR). The Indian numbering system or the Vedic numbering system has been used to denote money values. The basic conversion to the international norm would be:

    (a) 100,00,000 = 100 lakh = 10,000,000 = 10 million = 1 crore.

    (b) 10,000 lakh = 100 crore = 1 arab = 1 billion.

    (2) Dish TV says

    (2.1) For Q1-17, subscription revenue, on a like-to-like basis, was Rs 766.9 crore, a growth of 12.3 percent y-o-y.

    (2.2) For Q1-17 operating revenue, on a like-to-like basis, was Rs 817.2 crore, a growth of 10.9 percent y-o-y.

    (2.3) For Q1-17, COGS, on a like-to-like basis, was Rs 3,97 crore, a change of 8.8 percent y-o-y. The resultant Total Expense, on-a like-to-like basis, was Rs. 552.6 crore, a change of 10.3 percent y-o-y.

  • Q1-17: Dish TV adds 4 lakh subs, subscription revenue up at Rs 728 cr

    Q1-17: Dish TV adds 4 lakh subs, subscription revenue up at Rs 728 cr

    BENGALURU: Indian direct to home (DTH) television operator Dish TV India Limited (Dish TV) has reported growth across important financial and operational parameters including operating revenues (TIO) , EBIDTA and subscription numbers. The company announced the addition of 402,000 net subscribers for the quarter ended 30 June 2016 (Q1-17, current). It closed the quarter with 149 lakh subscribers. Average revenue per user (ARPU) for Q1-17 remained the same year-over-year (y-o-y) and quarter-over-quarter (q-o-q) at Rs 174.

    Dish TV reported 6.7 percent higher y-o-y subscription revenue of Rs 728.2 crore for Q1-17, as compared to Rs 682.8 crore. Operating revenue in the current quarter increased 5.7 percent y-o-y to Rs 778.6 crore from Rs 736.7 crore in the corresponding quarter of the previous year. (Refer Note 2.1 and 2.2 below)

    Dish TV reported PAT of Rs. 50.9 crore in Q1-17, down 24.6 percent as compared to Rs 54.2 crore in Q1-16.

    EBIDTA in the current quarter increased 12.2 percent to Rs 264.6 crore from Rs 235.7 crore in Q1-16.

    Total expense in the current quarter increased 2.6 percent y-o-y to Rs 513.9 crore (66 percent of revenue) from Rs 500.9 crore (68 percent of revenue). (Refer note 2.3 below). Personnel cost increased 9.8 percent y-o-y to Rs 38.1 crore (4.9 percent of revenue) from Rs 34.7 crore (4.7 percent of revenue). Cost of sales and services declined 1.8 percent y-o-y to Rs 358.4 crore (46 percent of revenue) from Rs 365 crore (49.5 percent of revenue).

    Dish TV managing director Jawahar Goel said, “Buoyed by digitization, notwithstanding the relative seasonal weakness in 1Q, the industry collectively added around 15 percent higher subscribers compared to the same quarter last fiscal. Dish TV maintained its lead in incremental subscriber additions during the quarter. Our strengthened distribution in DAS Phase III and IV areas along with the popularity of the Dish TV Insta Care – 4- Hour Service Assurance Campaign were instrumental in helping us maintain an edge over competition. Our regional and mass-market offerings continued to remain crowd-pullers in respective geographies.”

    “The consumers growing passion for HD has the potential to trigger yet another round of growth, beyond that being driven by digitization, for the DTH industry. Going forward, we would continue to build on our HD advantage while focusing on its sales across the country,” Goel added.

    To further enhance the digital TV experience for subscribers and build an affordable and fast deployment model for itself, Dish TV recently selected Wyplay’s Frog as the Middleware for its next generation Set-Top-Boxes. Wyplay is an HTML5 browser based system and incorporates all features required for traditional linear broadcast TV consumption, on-demand content and applications distributed over the internet.

    Talking about the first quarter results, Goel said, “Healthy subscriber additions led to a 12.3 percent y-o-y increase in subscription revenues (on a like-to-like basis). EBITDA margin bounced to 34.0 percent from 32.0 per cent in the corresponding quarter last fiscal. Net Profit for the quarter was Rs. 409 million leading to FCF generation of Rs. 627 million. Churn for the quarter at 0.7 percent per month remained well within manageable limits.”

    Expressing his views on other regulatory overhangs Goel, said, “An industry favourable resolution of the DTH license fee matter should go a long way in ensuring non-discrimination amongst various distribution platforms in the country. We are also hopeful of a just and logical outcome of the currently debated TRAI consultation paper on Interconnection Framework for Broadcasting TV Services Distributed through Addressable Systems.”

    Notes: (1) The unit of currency in this report is the Indian rupee – Rs (also conventionally represented by INR). The Indian numbering system or the Vedic numbering system has been used to denote money values. The basic conversion to the international norm would be:

    (a) 100,00,000 = 100 lakh = 10,000,000 = 10 million = 1 crore.

    (b) 10,000 lakh = 100 crore = 1 arab = 1 billion.

    (2) Dish TV says

    (2.1) For Q1-17, subscription revenue, on a like-to-like basis, was Rs 766.9 crore, a growth of 12.3 percent y-o-y.

    (2.2) For Q1-17 operating revenue, on a like-to-like basis, was Rs 817.2 crore, a growth of 10.9 percent y-o-y.

    (2.3) For Q1-17, COGS, on a like-to-like basis, was Rs 3,97 crore, a change of 8.8 percent y-o-y. The resultant Total Expense, on-a like-to-like basis, was Rs. 552.6 crore, a change of 10.3 percent y-o-y.

  • Govt claims almost 100 percent STB seeding in DAS III areas despite cases

    Govt claims almost 100 percent STB seeding in DAS III areas despite cases

    NEW DELHI: Despite the challenge to digital addressable systems in many courts in the country, the government has claimed almost 100 per cent achievement in phase III areas with seeding of about 41 million (4.1 crore) set top boxes.   

    The claim was made by Information and Broadcasting joint secretary R Jaya in the 15th meeting of the Task Force on implementation of phases III and IV of DAS of cable television networks on 30 May 2016 under the chairpersonship of l&B secretary Ajay Mittal.

    In the last meeting on 16 February 2016, it had been disclosed that around 90.44 percent success had been achieved in DAS phase III. During the meeting it was informed that the seeding of STBs by multi system operators increased from 6.91 million to 12.43 million between 31 December 2015 and 15 February 2016.

    But she admitted that seeding had slowed down due to court cases. She also said the figure given by her may include some reporting of seeding in phase lV

    A total of 42 court cases have been filed for extension in the deadline of phase lll in various courts in the country with the 2-month extension by the Telangana and Andhra Pradesh High Court. Other courts followed suit on the grounds that this order was extendable to other areas. This led to the centre moving the Supreme Court which passed an order of transfer of all cases for extension filed in various courts and any new cases on similar prayer to the Delhi High Court for adjudication.

    Seventeen cases have so far been transferred by various courts to the Delhi High Court out of which the High Court had dismissed three cases and another three cases were being heard that same day. A case filed by one Headend-in-the-sky player on the same matter was also being heard in the Delhi High Court on that day (30 May 2016).

    Jaya said more MSOs’ had been given registration since the last meeting of the Task Force taking the total to 870. She said that MSOs’ and broadcasters should now concentrate on phase lV areas and prioritize signing of interconnect agreements for these areas.

    She also asked stakeholders to plan and start launching of publicity awareness campaigns for mandatory digitisation in phase lV areas which is to be completed by 31 December 2016.

    Earlier, Mittal said DAS was a win-win situation for all and so all sectors should cooperate. He said the meeting of the Task Force could not be held since February 2016 due to various administrative reasons.

    He said the consumers deserve better quality reception and other benefits from digitisation. He hoped that all stakeholders would make concerted efforts to digitise the remaining areas under the fourth and last phase of digitisation.

    He said the ministry had planned to hold a fresh round of several regional workshops at various places in the country in the coming months as had been done for the last phase. .

    Advisor (DAS) Yogendra Pal said the ministry has asked all registered MSOs’, DTH & HITS operators’ to enter the seeding data in the MIS system developed by the ministry for collection of data for all the four phases instead of phase lll which they had been doing until now, and update it once in a week. He added that MIS system has suitably been modified for this purpose and 35 operators have already entered seeding data for Phase lV.

    He said that only about 1,000 applications had been received till date in the ministry for MSO registration against the expected number of about 6,000 applications. He requested the members to advise those MSOs’ who are yet to apply for DAS registration to do the same. He mentioned that the ministry had requested the broadcasters to check up with all MSOs’ with whom they have interconnect agreements if they have taken MSO registration for phase lV areas and advise them to do so immediately.

    The members were told that the TV household requirements as per census 2011 data would be provided though this would be district wise and not rural area wise.

    A representative of a Consumer Forum said though digitisation has not adversely affected anybody, much that was expected from the consumer point of view is still awaited.

    A local cable operator from Maharashtra regretted that before implementation of DAS, LCOs’ were entrepreneurs and after its implementation they have become employees of MSOs’. He also said that LCOs’ have been voicing their concerns from the time of the first phase but without being heard.

    The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India regulation on revenue sharing between MSOs’ and LCOs’ is an issue that is still unresolved. He added that MSOs’ are not entering into proper interconnect agreements with LCOs’. He remarked that digitisation under phase lV may not be easy as all national MSOs’ may not be able to cover all areas.

    But a representative of GTPL mentioned that MSOs’ and LCOs’ are separate entities. They sign agreements with each other as principals. Each entity has its defined role in providing the service. He said the government should consider giving some incentives for digitization in phase lV areas. He added that TRAI had also recommended some incentives in its recommendations which were not accepted by the government.

    At this, Mittal said any incentives sought for by any group or sector should get passed on to the people.

    A representative of Hathway said LCOs’ can also become MSOs’. He said MSOs’ have no issues with regard to interconnect agreements with LCOs’. He said on the directive of Bombay High Court, TRAI had prescribed a standard interconnect agreement form after due process of consultations. This form serves as a template for all such agreements.

    He suggested that broadcasters should offer special rates for phase lll and phase lV markets.

    A Siti Cable representative said digitisation had benefitted people as they get greater channel choice and better signal quality. He said extension of deadline granted by various courts for phase lll of digitisation had badly affected the pace of digitization. He added that the MSOs’ are losing out on huge inventory of set top boxes which they are not able to deploy in the field. With regard to phase lV of digitisation, he said the headends installed by them for phase lll will cater to phase lV areas as well.

    A DTH representative said as a result of the extension in deadline granted by various courts, they had to retrench some of their employees whom they had deployed in the field.

    An LCO from Assam complained that one MSO in Assam had served a legal notice to LCOs’ for migrating to another MSO, and consumers had also been served with legal notice for return of set top box bought by them from the MSO through outright purchase. He said the authorized officers in the state of Assam do not take action against MSOs’ who are violating the cable network rules and regulations.

    The TRAI representative admitted that while regulations prescribe three modes of purchase for STBs – outright purchase, hire purchase, and rental mode, standard plans have been prescribed under rental mode only and no price for outright purchase has been prescribed by TRAI.

    Referring to the Assam LCO, he said this would not have arisen if the interconnect agreements entered by MSOs’ with LCOs’ had been clear on every issue.

    He said TRAI had recently started a fresh review of all regulations and consultation process on the same is on. He added that TDSAT earlier used to pass interim orders but had of late it passed orders that were final.

    Mittal hoped that the review of the DAS Regulations undertaken by TRAI is completed quickly and the various grievances of the stakeholders regarding the extant regulations are addressed. He also remarked that there appeared to be lack of trust between the MSOs’ and LCOs’ and TRAI should look at this.

    An LCO from Maharashtra complained that the state government entertainment officers are sealing the control rooms of MSOs’ for non-payment of Entertainment Tax.

    But he was told that only the authorized officers, as defined in the Cable TV Act and Rules framed thereunder, are authorized to take any action for violations of the various provisions of the Act.

    The Advisor said one state government had complained to the ministry that MSOs’ are not giving them access to their SMS system to verify the lists of subscribers. He said that MSOs’ should provide the SMS report to the state governments as and when asked by them.

    An Odisha government representative said the state government has set up coordination committees at state and district level to implement cable TV digitisation in the state. He added that the nodal officers in the state are also checking the MIS data on regular basis. The state nodal officer from the state of Telengana mentioned that 20 MSOs’ operating in the state had not so far entered data in the MIS system. Jaya said that it was heartening to know that state governments are also monitoring the seeding of data by MSOs’ in their states. She mentioned that the MIS system deployed by ministry sends an alert to an MSO in case he does not update his data.

    She said that the regional units set up by the ministry for remain in touch with MSOs’ to ensure that MSOs’ follow the rules.

    A point was raised that LCOs’ are asked by the Head Post Offices to obtain NOC certificate from the state government for issue as well as renewal of their LCO registration. It was suggested that LCO registration be granted for 5 years instead of period of one year as per existing rules. Mittal agreed to consider this.

  • Govt claims almost 100 percent STB seeding in DAS III areas despite cases

    Govt claims almost 100 percent STB seeding in DAS III areas despite cases

    NEW DELHI: Despite the challenge to digital addressable systems in many courts in the country, the government has claimed almost 100 per cent achievement in phase III areas with seeding of about 41 million (4.1 crore) set top boxes.   

    The claim was made by Information and Broadcasting joint secretary R Jaya in the 15th meeting of the Task Force on implementation of phases III and IV of DAS of cable television networks on 30 May 2016 under the chairpersonship of l&B secretary Ajay Mittal.

    In the last meeting on 16 February 2016, it had been disclosed that around 90.44 percent success had been achieved in DAS phase III. During the meeting it was informed that the seeding of STBs by multi system operators increased from 6.91 million to 12.43 million between 31 December 2015 and 15 February 2016.

    But she admitted that seeding had slowed down due to court cases. She also said the figure given by her may include some reporting of seeding in phase lV

    A total of 42 court cases have been filed for extension in the deadline of phase lll in various courts in the country with the 2-month extension by the Telangana and Andhra Pradesh High Court. Other courts followed suit on the grounds that this order was extendable to other areas. This led to the centre moving the Supreme Court which passed an order of transfer of all cases for extension filed in various courts and any new cases on similar prayer to the Delhi High Court for adjudication.

    Seventeen cases have so far been transferred by various courts to the Delhi High Court out of which the High Court had dismissed three cases and another three cases were being heard that same day. A case filed by one Headend-in-the-sky player on the same matter was also being heard in the Delhi High Court on that day (30 May 2016).

    Jaya said more MSOs’ had been given registration since the last meeting of the Task Force taking the total to 870. She said that MSOs’ and broadcasters should now concentrate on phase lV areas and prioritize signing of interconnect agreements for these areas.

    She also asked stakeholders to plan and start launching of publicity awareness campaigns for mandatory digitisation in phase lV areas which is to be completed by 31 December 2016.

    Earlier, Mittal said DAS was a win-win situation for all and so all sectors should cooperate. He said the meeting of the Task Force could not be held since February 2016 due to various administrative reasons.

    He said the consumers deserve better quality reception and other benefits from digitisation. He hoped that all stakeholders would make concerted efforts to digitise the remaining areas under the fourth and last phase of digitisation.

    He said the ministry had planned to hold a fresh round of several regional workshops at various places in the country in the coming months as had been done for the last phase. .

    Advisor (DAS) Yogendra Pal said the ministry has asked all registered MSOs’, DTH & HITS operators’ to enter the seeding data in the MIS system developed by the ministry for collection of data for all the four phases instead of phase lll which they had been doing until now, and update it once in a week. He added that MIS system has suitably been modified for this purpose and 35 operators have already entered seeding data for Phase lV.

    He said that only about 1,000 applications had been received till date in the ministry for MSO registration against the expected number of about 6,000 applications. He requested the members to advise those MSOs’ who are yet to apply for DAS registration to do the same. He mentioned that the ministry had requested the broadcasters to check up with all MSOs’ with whom they have interconnect agreements if they have taken MSO registration for phase lV areas and advise them to do so immediately.

    The members were told that the TV household requirements as per census 2011 data would be provided though this would be district wise and not rural area wise.

    A representative of a Consumer Forum said though digitisation has not adversely affected anybody, much that was expected from the consumer point of view is still awaited.

    A local cable operator from Maharashtra regretted that before implementation of DAS, LCOs’ were entrepreneurs and after its implementation they have become employees of MSOs’. He also said that LCOs’ have been voicing their concerns from the time of the first phase but without being heard.

    The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India regulation on revenue sharing between MSOs’ and LCOs’ is an issue that is still unresolved. He added that MSOs’ are not entering into proper interconnect agreements with LCOs’. He remarked that digitisation under phase lV may not be easy as all national MSOs’ may not be able to cover all areas.

    But a representative of GTPL mentioned that MSOs’ and LCOs’ are separate entities. They sign agreements with each other as principals. Each entity has its defined role in providing the service. He said the government should consider giving some incentives for digitization in phase lV areas. He added that TRAI had also recommended some incentives in its recommendations which were not accepted by the government.

    At this, Mittal said any incentives sought for by any group or sector should get passed on to the people.

    A representative of Hathway said LCOs’ can also become MSOs’. He said MSOs’ have no issues with regard to interconnect agreements with LCOs’. He said on the directive of Bombay High Court, TRAI had prescribed a standard interconnect agreement form after due process of consultations. This form serves as a template for all such agreements.

    He suggested that broadcasters should offer special rates for phase lll and phase lV markets.

    A Siti Cable representative said digitisation had benefitted people as they get greater channel choice and better signal quality. He said extension of deadline granted by various courts for phase lll of digitisation had badly affected the pace of digitization. He added that the MSOs’ are losing out on huge inventory of set top boxes which they are not able to deploy in the field. With regard to phase lV of digitisation, he said the headends installed by them for phase lll will cater to phase lV areas as well.

    A DTH representative said as a result of the extension in deadline granted by various courts, they had to retrench some of their employees whom they had deployed in the field.

    An LCO from Assam complained that one MSO in Assam had served a legal notice to LCOs’ for migrating to another MSO, and consumers had also been served with legal notice for return of set top box bought by them from the MSO through outright purchase. He said the authorized officers in the state of Assam do not take action against MSOs’ who are violating the cable network rules and regulations.

    The TRAI representative admitted that while regulations prescribe three modes of purchase for STBs – outright purchase, hire purchase, and rental mode, standard plans have been prescribed under rental mode only and no price for outright purchase has been prescribed by TRAI.

    Referring to the Assam LCO, he said this would not have arisen if the interconnect agreements entered by MSOs’ with LCOs’ had been clear on every issue.

    He said TRAI had recently started a fresh review of all regulations and consultation process on the same is on. He added that TDSAT earlier used to pass interim orders but had of late it passed orders that were final.

    Mittal hoped that the review of the DAS Regulations undertaken by TRAI is completed quickly and the various grievances of the stakeholders regarding the extant regulations are addressed. He also remarked that there appeared to be lack of trust between the MSOs’ and LCOs’ and TRAI should look at this.

    An LCO from Maharashtra complained that the state government entertainment officers are sealing the control rooms of MSOs’ for non-payment of Entertainment Tax.

    But he was told that only the authorized officers, as defined in the Cable TV Act and Rules framed thereunder, are authorized to take any action for violations of the various provisions of the Act.

    The Advisor said one state government had complained to the ministry that MSOs’ are not giving them access to their SMS system to verify the lists of subscribers. He said that MSOs’ should provide the SMS report to the state governments as and when asked by them.

    An Odisha government representative said the state government has set up coordination committees at state and district level to implement cable TV digitisation in the state. He added that the nodal officers in the state are also checking the MIS data on regular basis. The state nodal officer from the state of Telengana mentioned that 20 MSOs’ operating in the state had not so far entered data in the MIS system. Jaya said that it was heartening to know that state governments are also monitoring the seeding of data by MSOs’ in their states. She mentioned that the MIS system deployed by ministry sends an alert to an MSO in case he does not update his data.

    She said that the regional units set up by the ministry for remain in touch with MSOs’ to ensure that MSOs’ follow the rules.

    A point was raised that LCOs’ are asked by the Head Post Offices to obtain NOC certificate from the state government for issue as well as renewal of their LCO registration. It was suggested that LCO registration be granted for 5 years instead of period of one year as per existing rules. Mittal agreed to consider this.

  • Seven mfrs making set top boxes locally, MSOs adopt iCAS

    Seven mfrs making set top boxes locally, MSOs adopt iCAS

    NEW DELHI: Even as most high courts extended the deadline for phase III of digital addressable system citing shortage of set top boxes, a total of seven local manufacturers are now producing STB.

    This figure is almost double compared to the details given during the last meeting of the DAS Task Force on 16 February 2016.

    The 15th Task Force meeting on 30 May was informed that seeding of about 41 million (4.1 crore) STBs had been completed.

    However according to a representative of Consumer Electronics and Appliances Manufacturers Association (CEAMA), there was a lull in the market and no orders had been received in the recent past.

    The representative said seven indigenous STB manufacturers had taken Indian Conditional Access System (iCAS) licenses and five out of them are in the process of implementing iCAS in their STBs.

    He said 22 MSOs’ had placed orders for iCAS-based STBs. Twelve MSOs’ had deployed iCAS by 15 February, the 14th meeting had been told.

    Meanwhile, the Department of Electronics and Information Technology is planning a meeting with the operators and stakeholders on 24 June 2016.

    In the meeting on 16 February 2016 which was the first after the deadline for phase III covering all urban areas, it was claimed that the seeding of STBs by multi system operators increased from 6.91 million to 12.43 million between 31 December 2015 and 15 February 2016.

    The Indian Conditional Access System (iCAS) had been developed by DeITY and will be initially available to indigenous STB manufacturers for three years at a nominal fee of $ 0.5 per STB. .

  • Seven mfrs making set top boxes locally, MSOs adopt iCAS

    Seven mfrs making set top boxes locally, MSOs adopt iCAS

    NEW DELHI: Even as most high courts extended the deadline for phase III of digital addressable system citing shortage of set top boxes, a total of seven local manufacturers are now producing STB.

    This figure is almost double compared to the details given during the last meeting of the DAS Task Force on 16 February 2016.

    The 15th Task Force meeting on 30 May was informed that seeding of about 41 million (4.1 crore) STBs had been completed.

    However according to a representative of Consumer Electronics and Appliances Manufacturers Association (CEAMA), there was a lull in the market and no orders had been received in the recent past.

    The representative said seven indigenous STB manufacturers had taken Indian Conditional Access System (iCAS) licenses and five out of them are in the process of implementing iCAS in their STBs.

    He said 22 MSOs’ had placed orders for iCAS-based STBs. Twelve MSOs’ had deployed iCAS by 15 February, the 14th meeting had been told.

    Meanwhile, the Department of Electronics and Information Technology is planning a meeting with the operators and stakeholders on 24 June 2016.

    In the meeting on 16 February 2016 which was the first after the deadline for phase III covering all urban areas, it was claimed that the seeding of STBs by multi system operators increased from 6.91 million to 12.43 million between 31 December 2015 and 15 February 2016.

    The Indian Conditional Access System (iCAS) had been developed by DeITY and will be initially available to indigenous STB manufacturers for three years at a nominal fee of $ 0.5 per STB. .

  • Govt moots long-term financing for Indian STB manufacturers

    Govt moots long-term financing for Indian STB manufacturers

    NEW DELHI: The government is working on a plan for long-term financing to Indian manufacturers of set top boxes to accelerate digitization of cable television. This information was given by the Information and Broadcasting ministry to the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Information Technology which examines issues relating to I and B.

    The Committee expressed the hope that the ministry will be able to meet the targets of cable TV digitization and recommend that the issues of long term financial support to domestic manufacturers to negate easy procurement of Chinese made STBs need to be looked into and addressed suitably by the Ministry.

    While informing the Committee that just around nineteen manufacturers were manufacturing indigenous STBs, the Consumer Electronics and Appliances Manufacturers Association (CEAMA) said it can scale up the capacity if there is a demand but for that there is need of government support in creating a level playing field for domestic STB manufacturers to compete with the Chinese imported STBs.

    The Committee was given to understand that as of now there is easy facility for obtaining long-term credit to procure the Chinese STBs and this option is not available in the Indian banking system.

    The ministry claimed that it had declared STBs as part of the telecommunications network equipment and reduction of Value Added Tax on domestically manufactured STBs. An indigenous Conditional Access System (CAS) had been developed which will give further impetus to the domestic STB manufacturers to produce and supply the indigenously manufactured STBs.

    However, the Committee said the ministry may also think in terms of increasing the allocation for Mission Digitization which at present is merely taking care of procedural requirement to support the needs of domestic manufacturers.

    This will not only give a further boost to the ‘Make in India’ initiative of the government but also help in employment generation in a big way, the Committee said.

    Noting that digitization of the Cable TV sector in the country is one of the thrust areas of the ministry of I&B during the 12th Five Year Plan, the Committee said a look at the budgetary allocation and utilization of funds during 2015-16 under the Scheme of Mission Digitization showed that the ministry had spent Rs 1.25 crore out of Rs 1.30 crore made available at the Revised Estimate stage. Another Rs 5 crore had been allocated at the Budget Estimate stage for the year 2016-17. 

  • Govt moots long-term financing for Indian STB manufacturers

    Govt moots long-term financing for Indian STB manufacturers

    NEW DELHI: The government is working on a plan for long-term financing to Indian manufacturers of set top boxes to accelerate digitization of cable television. This information was given by the Information and Broadcasting ministry to the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Information Technology which examines issues relating to I and B.

    The Committee expressed the hope that the ministry will be able to meet the targets of cable TV digitization and recommend that the issues of long term financial support to domestic manufacturers to negate easy procurement of Chinese made STBs need to be looked into and addressed suitably by the Ministry.

    While informing the Committee that just around nineteen manufacturers were manufacturing indigenous STBs, the Consumer Electronics and Appliances Manufacturers Association (CEAMA) said it can scale up the capacity if there is a demand but for that there is need of government support in creating a level playing field for domestic STB manufacturers to compete with the Chinese imported STBs.

    The Committee was given to understand that as of now there is easy facility for obtaining long-term credit to procure the Chinese STBs and this option is not available in the Indian banking system.

    The ministry claimed that it had declared STBs as part of the telecommunications network equipment and reduction of Value Added Tax on domestically manufactured STBs. An indigenous Conditional Access System (CAS) had been developed which will give further impetus to the domestic STB manufacturers to produce and supply the indigenously manufactured STBs.

    However, the Committee said the ministry may also think in terms of increasing the allocation for Mission Digitization which at present is merely taking care of procedural requirement to support the needs of domestic manufacturers.

    This will not only give a further boost to the ‘Make in India’ initiative of the government but also help in employment generation in a big way, the Committee said.

    Noting that digitization of the Cable TV sector in the country is one of the thrust areas of the ministry of I&B during the 12th Five Year Plan, the Committee said a look at the budgetary allocation and utilization of funds during 2015-16 under the Scheme of Mission Digitization showed that the ministry had spent Rs 1.25 crore out of Rs 1.30 crore made available at the Revised Estimate stage. Another Rs 5 crore had been allocated at the Budget Estimate stage for the year 2016-17. 

  • TRAI studying concerns of service providers about inter-operability of set top boxes for cable television

    TRAI studying concerns of service providers about inter-operability of set top boxes for cable television

    NEW DELHI: Some service providers have raised concerns about feasibility of technical interoperability of set top boxes to the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India.

    TRAI, which is considering interoperability to enable consumers to switch to other service providers if they are not satisfied, says the objections relate to technical and commercial reasons. TRAI sources said the regulator is currently in a consultative process to understand their concerns before arriving at a solution.The objective of STB inter-operability is to make available STBs in open market, which will provide an exit option to the consumers who want to change their service providers due to some reasons or the other.This is expected to facilitate competition and improve quality of services offered to the consumers TRAI feels.

    The regulatory framework of TRAI mandates the commercial interoperability by prescribing that the STBs/Customer Premises Equipments (CPE) to be provided on outright purchase basis, hire purchase basis and rental basis.

    TRAI has also notified Tariff orders for Digital Addressable Cable TV Systems which prescribes a standard tariff package for offering of STBs to the subscribers. This tariff order provides an easy exit option to the subscribers and ensures availability of STBs at reasonable price while protecting the interest of the service providers.

    Similarly for DTH services, TRAI has prescribed a tariff order which prescribes certain restrictions on the DTH operators offering schemes of Customer Premises Equipment. The tariff order for DTH services – the Telecommunication (Broadcasting and Cable) Services (Seventh) (the Direct to Home Services) Tariff Order 2015 of 1 April last year – has been challenged and is sub judice.