The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) in collaboration with the Telecommunication Engineering Center (TEC) on Wednesday released testing standards and protocols in the form of Test Guide Document for conditional access system (CAS) and subscriber management system (SMS). This is part of the regulator’s efforts to tackle the issue of sub-standard CAS and SMS that render distribution networks in the broadcast sector vulnerable to piracy.

Addressing the launch event, TRAI Chairman PD Vaghela said, “Conditional Access System and Subscriber Management Systems form the core of the digital addressable system. While CAS enable content is delivered in encrypted form to authorised subscribers, SMS enables activation of connection, billing and channel information among others.”

He added that the regulator did comprehensive consultations with stakeholders on the issue. Last year, TRAI notified regulations making certain essential standards mandatory with regards to CAS and SMS. It also appointed TEC as a testing and certification agency for CAS and SMS.

“Now the release of the Test Guide Document is an important step in implementation of the requirements specified under Schedule IX for technical compliance of CAS and SMS. The roll out of testing and certification of CAS and SMS will enable better content security and stop piracy of broadcast signals. It will also lead to factual reporting of the subscriber base, reduce revenue loss eventually leading to better consumer experience,“ he added.

Vaghela said this will be a win-win for all stakeholders and the regulator has ensured that there are no disruptive interventions for the industry players. “ Many global content makers in the past have expressed hesitation in coming to India due to the issue of piracy in the broadcast sector. We therefore believe this will fuel the growth of the broadcast industry sector by controlling piracy. It will also encourage local manufacturing of requisite devices,” he added. 

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