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Our Bureau

New Delhi, July 15 The quality of television viewing for 78 million homes having cable connections in the country will improve at a faster rate, if the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India’s proposed changes for the cable industry are introduced.

With this aim in mind, the Authority is urging the estimated 70,000 cable operators to adopt digitisation in the wake of competition from alternatives such as Direct-to-Home, Headend in the Sky and Internet Protocol Television. In its draft recommendations on “Restructuring of Cable TV Sector” issued on Tuesday, the Authority is also encouraging voluntary Conditional Access System, or encrypted digital signals.

A licensing framework in place of the registration system is being proposed. Currently, the cable operator can register at the local post office by paying an annual fee of Rs 500. Post the notification of the new system, TRAI wants new local cable operators to digitise their networks in three years from the date of issue of licence as part of their performance obligations.

Existing players will get five years from the date of notification of the new licensing regime, after which no licence for analogue will be granted. Multi-system operators starting digital operations will be given a 50 per cent reduction on the applicable entry fee for the first time. Existing MSOs will have five to seven years. According to the industry, with high volumes the basic analogue to digital conversion would cost Rs 500 per set-top box, while a CAS box would cost around Rs 1,500. Digitisation will also increase the number of channels offered.

The increasing convergence and likely introduction of Next Generation Network will require high speed broadband access to subscribers. Cable TV operators can contribute a lot in this direction as it will not only increase broadband penetration but will drastically improve cable TV operators’ business model if they upgrade to two-way digital cable network believes TRAI. More than half of the internet connections in North America are provided by cable TV operators, it points out.

The MSO will also be held responsible for the content on the local channels that it carries. The authority is also proposing a framework for redressal of consumers’ grievances. Amongst other recommendations, the provision to enable Right of Way to LCOs and MSOs is also being proposed. Most of them now rely on hanging the cables over roof tops and electric and telephone poles or trees.

More Stories on : Regulatory Bodies & Rulings | Radio/TV

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