| The task force would include representatives
from the BIS, the two DTH applicant companies (the Subhash Chandra
promoted ASC Enterprises and a Star affiliate, Space TV), Doordarshan
(DD) , All India Radio (AIR) and a consumer activist.
The task force has to come up with its recommendations for the
main committee of the BIS. What can make the work of task force
difficult is the fact that BIS' viewpoint is that it has to operate
within the broad framework of the policy guidelines which states
that for KU-band DTH service an open architecture has to be followed.
At a meeting held here yesterday, a Star India representative,
according to BIS sources, opined that inter-operability or an open
architecture would make starting a DTH service in India difficult
as it is "not a workable model" to follow.
The reasons given, according to the sources, was that if an open
architecture STB is insisted upon by the government, then it would
make the STB expensive and difficult for a would-be service provider
to subsidise the STB as exclusivity and captive consumers would
not be assured.
Thomson India and CETMA, the apex body of consumer electronics
goods manufacturers in India, supported the stand of Star, said
to be represented by the Mumbai-based head of the company's DTH
operations in India. The information and broadcasting ministry had
referred to the BIS the issue of specifications for STBs for DTH
last year.
What does the government mean by an open architecture? In
layman's language it means that if a consumer buys a STB for a KU-band
DTH service in India, then the STB should be capable of working
if the smart card of another DTH service provider is inserted in
it. This theory is based on the presumption that there would be
several DTH service providers in India, though globally, this sector
works best with monopoly or at best a duopoly.
Though BIS today made it clear it has to work within the DTH policy
framework, announced by the government late 2000, some time back
officials of the BIS had admitted to indiantelevision.com in private
that an open architecture, as being insisted by the government,
is a very difficult model
to adhere to as its prevalence is rare worldwide and would make
the whole operation costlier for the consumer.
Still, there are people in the broadcasting and cable industry
who feel that open architecture is a possibility and the interest
of the consumer would be protected.
A debate, it seems, that will take some more time before a working
consensus emerges.
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