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‘Cable TV consumers can choose basic tier channels only from those on MSO network’

Published

13 years ago

September 18, 2012

New Delhi: Cable TV consumers will be able to choose the 100 television channels as part of the basic service tier of free-to-air (FTA) channels only from those available with their multi-system operators (MSOs).

This was stated by Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai) senior counsel Meet Malhotra while making arguments against petitions challenging the regulator‘s Tariff Order, allaying fears of MSOs and local cables operators that they will have to make available any and every channel demanded by their consumers.

Malhotra said the Tariff Order allowed the consumer a choice of opting for any 100 FTA channels from the network of the MSO ‘in lieu‘ of the 100-channel package offered by the MSO.

But it was wrong to argue that the MSO would have to approach any broadcaster for any additional channel because a single consumer has demanded it.

He, however, agreed with MSO and LCO counsels C S Vaidyanathan and Naveen Chawla that the statement ‘carried over the cable network of the operator‘ only appeared in the explanatory memorandum and not in the main Tariff Order. This had caused confusion among MSOs and LCOs that they might be forced to make available every FTA channel demanded by their consumers.

Trai had issued the Tariff Order on 30 April for digital addressable systems.

Malhotra said there were more than 200 FTA channels available in India and the consumer had been given a choice to opt for any 100 from amongst those available with his MSO. If a particular channel was not part of the MSOs network, then the consumer would have the right to demand it. The consumer will have to choose the FTA channels from among the ones the MSO carried.

Furthermore, the Trai counsel said as all FTA channels were similarly priced, taking one or another FTA channel will not result in any loss to the MSO or local cable operators.

Genres fixed under Cable Act and Tariff Order

However, he said that the Tariff Order in compliance with the Cable Television Networks (Regulation) Second Amendment Act of December last year had laid down some criteria with regard to the genres. Five channels each in seven genres had to be provided – news and current affairs, infotainment, sports, music, lifestyle, movies, and general entertainment channels — in Hindi, English and the regional language of the concerned region. He said this worked out to 50 channels. In addition, there were around fifteen channels of Prasar Bharati, Rajya Sabha and Lok Sabha. The bouquet of FTA has been increased to 100 in DAS from 30 in conditional access system.

Thus the viewer still had enough choice to choose other channels of his liking. He said there was a ninth genre – religion – but TRAI had chosen not to link that to the Tariff Order. The broadcaster would have to declare which genre his channel fell into, Malhotra added.

Revenue share subject to negotiations

As far as the revenue sharing between the MSO and the LCO was concerned, TRAI had said this was a matter of negotiation and the ratio of 55:45 for the BST of Rs 100 had only been fixed as maximum tariff in case negotiations broke down. He also said that the rationale for this was very simple. Under the conditional access system, the ratio had been 45:30:25 between the broadcaster, MSO, and LCO. Since the broadcaster had no role to play under DAS for FTA channels, his share had been evenly given to the other two and so the sharing had been fixed at 55:45 since the work of downloading, encrypting and re-transmitting the channels would be that of the MSOs.

He said that no maximum retail price had been fixed in view of lessons learnt from CAS, and even the revenue share was by default – that is, in case the parties could not come to a mutual settlement.

MSOs not giving retail prices for channels

Malhotra complained that MSOs were refusing to give the retail rates per channel. He said that TRAI had sent several letters individually to the MSOs in this regard, and wondered why these rates were not being notified.

Capacity Increase Clause

He said that in a scenario where just around 460 channels were being seen, it was erroneous to assume that the MSOs would have to show 500. The Tariff Order had only said that they had to increase their capacity to receive 500.

DTH vs DAS

He said Direct-To-Home platforms had a capacity constraint as they were on the limited Ku band. DAS has no such capacity constraint allowing more channels to be accommodated. He also said DTH is only a one-way system between the platform and the consumer and no MSOs or LCOs are involved as intermediaries. DTH also had to pay Rs 50 million per transponder apart from licence fee, and hence, there was no BST or ‘must carry‘ clause.

Rationale for abolishing Placement Fee

He reiterated that the placement fee had been done away with because the march of technology had made it unnecessary. Channels need not pay money to be placed at a certain band, since all channels were equally placed under DAS. ‘Preferential reason was the reason for placement fee‘, he added.

Carriage Fee clause to lead to fair competition

As far as the carriage fee was concerned, TRAI had only laid down that there should be reasonable carriage fee and it should be informed of the rate fixed.

Transparency will reduce dependence on carriage fee since the actual number of subscribers and households will be known under DAS. The regulation for no carriage fee in case an MSO approaches a broadcaster for a channel was based on common sense, but he said the aim was free and fair competition.

Malhotra is expected to conclude his arguments tomorrow, when the interveners NDTV and others will put their points before the counter-arguments on behalf of the appellant MSOs and LCOs begins.

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Moltbook, the AI-only social network, sparks hype, doubt and fear

Published

2 weeks ago

February 3, 2026

indiantelevision.com Team

CALIFORNIA: Moltbook, a Reddit-style social platform built exclusively for artificial intelligence agents, has emerged as the latest obsession in Silicon Valley, drawing intense attention for its explosive growth and surreal bot-driven interactions.

The platform hosts more than 100 communities where AI agents post, argue and joke about topics ranging from governance theory to esoteric “crayfish debugging” concepts. Within days of launch, Moltbook recorded tens of thousands of posts, nearly 200,000 comments and more than 1 million human visitors observing the activity.

Yet the numbers and the autonomy are under scrutiny, as per media reports. A security researcher has suggested as many as 500,000 accounts may trace back to a single address, raising doubts about Moltbook’s membership claims. Many posts could also be the result of humans instructing their AI tools to publish content, rather than bots acting independently.

The platform runs on agentic AI, powered by an open-source tool called OpenClaw, formerly known as Moltbot. Unlike chatbots such as ChatGPT or Gemini, these agents are designed to perform tasks on users’ devices, from sending messages to managing calendars, with minimal human input. Once authorised, they can interact freely on Moltbook.

Some tech figures have hailed the platform as a glimpse of a post-human internet. Head of crypto custody firm BitGo Bill Lees, called it evidence that “we’re in the singularity”.

Academics are less convinced. Petar Radanliev, an AI and cybersecurity expert at the University of Oxford, said the idea of agents acting independently was “misleading”, describing Moltbook instead as automated coordination within human-set constraints. Columbia Business School assistant professor David Holtz, dismissed the spectacle as “thousands of bots yelling into the void and repeating themselves”.

Beyond hype, security worries loom large. ESET global cybersecurity advisor Jake Moore, warned that granting AI agents access to emails, private messages and files risks prioritising efficiency over privacy. Andrew Rogoyski of the University of Surrey said high-level system access could lead to serious damage, from erased data to compromised company accounts.

Even OpenClaw’s founder Peter Steinberger, has felt the darker side of attention, with scammers hijacking his old social media handles after the platform’s rebrand.

For now, Moltbook remains a strange digital zoo: part experiment, part spectacle, where AI agents banter about philosophy, productivity and, occasionally, their fondness for their human operators.

Applications

Apple appoints Avtar Ram Singh as head of international marketing

Published

2 weeks ago

February 2, 2026

indiantelevision.com Team

CALIFORNIA: Apple has handed a bigger global brief to a long-time insider. Avtar Ram Singh has taken over as head of international marketing for the App Store, Apple Arcade and the Apple Games app, deepening his remit across one of the company’s fastest-growing businesses.

“I’m happy to share that I’m starting a new position as head of international marketing, App Store, Apple Arcade and Games App at Apple,” Singh said while announcing the move.

The promotion crowns nearly seven years at Apple, where Singh has led services marketing across Southeast Asia and India and previously served as head of marketing for Southeast Asia content and services, business lead for Apple Podcasts in the region and interim marketing lead for the App Store internationally.

His new portfolio spans three pillars of Apple’s services push. The App Store, which Apple positions as a safe and trusted discovery platform, now attracts more than 850 million average weekly users globally. Since 2008, developers have earned over $550 billion on the platform.

Apple Arcade, the company’s gaming subscription service, offers unlimited access to a catalogue ranging from brain teasers to big-name franchises. The recent addition of Sid Meier’s Civilization VII Arcade Edition brings a AAA PC title to iPhone, iPad and Mac from 5 February.

Then there is the Apple Games app, unveiled at WWDC as a unified destination for games from the App Store and Arcade. It aggregates titles in one place, surfaces personalised recommendations, tracks events and achievements, and lets users compete with friends or connect controllers for a console-like experience.

Singh arrives with a hybrid background in strategy, data and creativity. His career spans digital and social media marketing, business intelligence, content, editorial and analytics across culturally diverse markets. He has worked on brands including P&G, Accor, Audi, UBS, Nikon, Samsung, Sony, Pizza Hut, HBO and Singapore Airlines-linked businesses such as Scoot.

Before Apple, Singh led strategy at Falcon Agency, focusing on performance marketing and ROI-driven digital frameworks. He earlier ran the social practice at Publicis Singapore, where he oversaw operations, business development and regional social strategy for multinational clients. His career also includes roles at Ogilvy-linked Circus Social, Rocket Internet ventures Lazada and Zalora, and research firm IDC in Bangkok, where he analysed technology markets and won early awards for collaboration and client retention.

At Apple, he has been close to several service launches and expansions, including Apple Fitness+ in Singapore, Apple Creator Studio, global podcast subscriptions and new App Store marketing tools.

The timing is notable. Apple’s services business has posted record years, and gaming is becoming a sharper battleground as platforms chase engagement and recurring revenue. Singh’s brief sits at the intersection of content, community and commerce.

In a market where attention is scarce and loyalty scarcer, Apple is betting that sharper storytelling and smarter marketing can keep users inside its ecosystem. Singh now holds the megaphone. The real test will be how loudly the world listens.

Applications

Cloud nine in the capital Bharathcloud plugs Delhi into its AI plans

Published

2 weeks ago

January 30, 2026

indiantelevision.com Team

MUMBAI: Bharathcloud is bringing its cloud closer to power. The Hyderabad-based sovereign AI cloud services provider has opened its Delhi office, marking its formal entry into North India and setting the stage for its next phase of growth.

The expansion comes as India’s digital transformation fuels rising demand for AI-ready cloud infrastructure, driven by wider adoption of artificial intelligence, machine learning, the Internet of Things and data-heavy applications. With the new office, Bharathcloud plans to onboard more than 100 employees in 2026, strengthening its workforce to support customers across government, enterprises, MSMEs and social sectors.

The Delhi presence is expected to sharpen the company’s engagement with organisations seeking secure, scalable and cost-efficient cloud platforms that comply with India’s data sovereignty requirements. It also positions Bharathcloud closer to policy, public sector and enterprise decision-makers in the region.

Founded in Hyderabad, Bharathcloud offers AI-ready cloud infrastructure including Kubernetes-as-a-Service, zero-trust security architecture and multi-level data protection frameworks. Its platform supports AI and ML workloads, blockchain application migration from hyperscalers and distributed data management, with an emphasis on reliability, low latency and operational continuity.

“With the Delhi expansion, we are positioning Bharathcloud to engage more closely with AI-driven enterprises and technology hubs in North India,” said Bharathcloud co-founder Rahul Takallapally. He added that the move would help nurture local cloud and AI talent while accelerating the adoption of secure and resilient AI infrastructure across sectors.

The company currently operates in Hyderabad, Bengaluru, Mumbai, Kolkata, Lucknow and Chennai, employing over 200 people and serving more than 1,500 clients across manufacturing, healthcare, financial services, IT and media. Aligned with national initiatives such as Digital India and Make in India, Bharathcloud continues to focus on building indigenous AI-cloud infrastructure to support data localisation and the country’s growing appetite for next-generation digital solutions.

With its Delhi office now live, the company is signalling a clear intent: to make sovereign, AI-ready cloud infrastructure not just an alternative, but a mainstream choice for India’s north as well as its tech capitals.