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The
two major issue that Trai has urged MSOs
to work on are:
* Whether Cas may be extended to the remaining
areas of the three metros at one go or in
phases; and
* What should be the time frame for the
various activities that need to be undertaken.
Trai
has raised specific issues in its letter.
Among
them is the issue of time required by MSOs
to apply to the I&B Ministry for permission
under Rule 11 (2) of amended Cable Rules
(presently, a time period of 30 days is
permitted under the Rules).
Trai
has also asked about the time required by
MSOs for setting up physical infrastructure
such as digital head-end (if digital transmission
is preferred), encryption system (Cas),
subscriber management system (SMS), laying
cables wherever required, etc;
The
MSOs have so far seeded 500,000 STBs in
the Cas areas of the three metros and say
they have in hand another 185,000 ready
to be seeded.
If
Cas is extended, this would be nowhere near
sufficient, hence Trai has asked them about
the time required for procurement of set
top boxes in sufficient numbers; as well
as time needed for conclusion of interconnection
agreements with broadcasters on one hand
and with local cable operators on the other.
Some
MSOs have argued that the broadcasters and
MSOs should be allowed to come to negotiated
terms between themselves, failing which
Trai could step in to do what is needed.
Trai
also wants to know for how long a public
awareness campaign would be conducted by
the MSOs.
MSOs
have been also asked to respond on the issue
of how much time should be allowed for inviting
applications for STBs from subscribers and
how much time would be required for installation
of boxes?
"Should
these two activities be simultaneous or
one after the other?" Trai has queried.
It has added: "How long should the
"trial period" (a period of transition)
be prior to complete roll out of Cas?"
The
letter reminds the MSOs that in the present
Cas rollout exercise, a transition period
of 15 days had been allowed when pay channels
had to be compulsorily transmitted both
in encrypted and unencrypted manner.
Expectedly,
MSOs and cable operators are delighted.
They see this as a concrete move towards
extension of Cas to other parts of the city,
and point out to one aspect of the letter:
Trai has not asked if Cas should be extended,
but whether it should be done at one go
or in phases.
Arvind
Mohan, MSO Alliance secretary told Indiantelevision.com:
"This is a positive step forward after
Trai had just recently taken us into confidence
regarding the extension of Cas. We had all
stressed voluntary Cas would not work. Even
the DTH players support this."
The
letter to the MSOs, which has been signed
by Deputy Advisor PK Ravi, says, "You
are requested to make it convenient to attend
the meeting. The meeting will be held in
Kautilya Hall, Samrat Hotel, New Delhi at
3 pm on 5th April 2007."
The
annexure to the letter, which gives the
format for response, says that of the inputs
from the MSOs, the following would be kept
confidential with Trai:
*
Number of Cable operators affiliated to
the MSO in the notified areas (separately
for each of the metros);
*
Number of households served: a) directly
by the MSO b) through the cable operators;
and
*
Expected level of demand for STBs.
Incidentally,
Kotak in its latest report on the DTH sector,
had predicted that mandatory Cas extension
would hasten the growth of the sector, as
people would be forced to choose between
one of the other addressable systems, Cas
or DTH.
Mohan
also said that this is a laudable effort
on the part of the government to extend
addressability and give the consumers genuine
choice, and this will also ensure greater
transparency, ensuring higher revenue for
the government.
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