MIB: Now on to DAS phase III & IV Within days of the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) giving out its fact sheet on how digital addressable system (DAS) phase I and II have progressed, the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting (MIB) directed all the stakeholders also known as the task force of digitisation to assess its progress and chart out a road map for the coming year. The meeting saw minister Manish Tewari, secretary Bimal Julka, additional secretary Supriya Sahu, leading MSOs such as Den CEO S N Sharma, The One Alliance president Rajesh Kaul, LCOs, News Broadcasting Association (NBA) secretary Annie Joseph, Indian Broadcasting Foundation (IBF) secretary Shailesh Shah and Tata Sky CEO Harit Nagpal. After speaking to everyone about the issues faced in DAS phases I and II and Sahu’s presentation on the value that digitisation was creating in the country, Tewari gave the go ahead to implement the next two phases. However this time it won’t be with two deadlines but rather a one stretch implementation across the remaining parts of the country with just one deadline of 31 December 2014. Although the ministry was of the opinion that two deadlines should exist, the TRAI had voiced its opinion in 2011 that phase III and IV could be achieved simultaneously. All the stakeholders brought out the issues they had faced in the first two phases to which the minister warned them to sort out their own problems internally or this would lead to a postponement of complete national digitisation - which would not bode well for the industry. He also told everyone to keep working in coordination even now - and iron out any wrinkles or resolve all problems so that digitisation can progress further. Tewari said that the upcoming elections may slow down the process but digitisation is here for good and theres no stopping it now. The IBF and NBA have been asked to once again air promos highlighting the importance of digitisation. Now that the green signal has been given, all stakeholders can now attack the rest of the country without having any boundaries. But this is the toughest part as the issues they will face in the interiors will be much higher and more difficult to resolve than metros and towns. Phase I and II saw nearly 25 million set top boxes being seeded while phase III and IV will see about 75 million more boxes being put in place. 400-plus news channels of India come under attack for sensationalism With many news channels turning into ‘noise channels’ in their race for TRPs, media and communication professionals need to introspect over the need for responsible communication, experts at a conclave said. Participating in deliberations in the two-day Global Communication Conclave that concluded last night here, media and communication professionals raised questions relating to journalistic ethics and corporate and public relation professionals pressures on media to garner space. Organised by Public relations Council of India (PRCI) in association with the Press Club – Mumbai, the conclave focused its discussion on the theme of Responsible Communication, dealing with aspects related to media, corporate, social media and GenX. TV news anchor and editor-in-chief of IBN 18 network Rajdeep Sardesai was candid when he said: “My son does not watch news channels. He gets his news from the Internet.” When a delegate to the conclave observed that some news coverage reminded him of jokes, Rajdeep said: “watch news channels if you want to cartoons” as the gathering burst into laud laughter. “Breaking news is breaking down and in sensationalizing the news, we seem to be losing sense,” said Rajdeep. He admitted the intense competition among 483-odd news channels in the country, and over 150 channels waiting for clearance, keeps journalists on their toes which at times results in output editors flashing the news even without cross-checking just because a rival channel broke the story. He said he failed to understand the growing one-upmanship since viewers do not watch all the channels at any given time. “They may at most have two TV sets at their homes and cannot be expected to watch twenty news channels as we do in our studios,” he said. Senior journalist and Chairman of Press Club Prakash Akolkar expressed distress over some managements asking journalists to indulge in paid news and raise funds for their news channels. Another media veteran Kumar Ketkar pointed at the vanishing thin line between private and public lives and intrusion of TV cameras into almost every aspect of lives of people. Media would have forced even Mahatma Gandhi to resign had been alive today. Bangalore-based TV personality Aparna Narayana Swamy said the race for TRPs has unfortunately spread to regional media as well and some television shows cross boundaries of decency. Dealing with a question whether political parties are using media to suit their needs, Mayank Gandhi of Aam Admi Party said today’s politics is all about messaging their audiences and that there was nothing wrong in them using the news medium. Conclave chairman and media professional B N Kumar pointed out any one with a mobile camera and the Net connection is a potential broadcaster and, in this context, responsible communication assumes added significance. TRAI lays down final deadlines for entry of subscriber details in subscriber management systems Following the successful roll-out of the Digital Addressable Cable TV System (DAS) in the Metros, the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) has been rigorously monitoring the implementation of DAS in the 38 cities notified under Phase-II of its implementation. The cut off date for implementation of DAS in the Phase -II cities was 31st March 2013. TRAI has held a series of meetings with the Multi System Operators (MSOs) from August/ September 2013 onwards to monitor the progress in digitisation of the cable networks, which includes seeding of set-top boxes; collection of consumer application forms (CAFs) complete in all respects including choice of channels/services and entry of these details in the Subscriber Management Systems (SMS). Keeping in view the enormity and complexity of the task involved, TRAI has exercised regulatory forbearance in the interest of consumers and initially extended the time for collection of the CAFs and entry of these details in the SMS up-to November 2013. Thereafter, on the explicit request of the MSOs, further extensions of time up to December 2013 were given. The MSOs have been submitting periodic reports on actual numbers of subscribers entered into the SMS. As per the latest reports, in 23 cities (Rajkot, Surat, Vadodara, Faridabad, Mysore, Aurangabad, Nasik, Pimpri-Chinchwad, Pune, Sholapur, Amritsar, Ludhiana, Jaipur, Jodhpur, Agra, Allahabad, Ghaziabad, Kanpur, Luknow, Meerut, Varanasi, Chandigarh and Howrah), around 90 percent of the task pertaining to collection of CAFs and the entry of complete consumer details into the SMS has been completed. The MSOs operating in these cities have been asked to ensure that after 27th January 2014, TV signals (digital encrypted) are transmitted to only those subscribers whose CAFs have been collected and complete details are available in the SMS viz the MSO will have to switch off TV signals of the subscribers whose details are not available in SMS. In Madhya Pradesh, compliance levels are comparatively low. However it is to be noted that elections to the legislative assembly were recently concluded in the state. Therefore, in the cities of Bhopal, Indore and Jabalpur, TRAI has prescribed a deadline 7th February 2014. Taking into consideration the local ground conditions and other legal issues, in the cities of Visakhapatnam and Srinagar, TRAI has extended the deadline up to 28th February, 2014. For the state of Tamil Nadu and Hyderabad city, TRAI has not fixed any deadlines at this stage, given the pending legal cases regarding implementation of DAS. In the remaining eight cities (Patna, Ahmedabad, Ranchi, Bengaluru, Kalyan-Dumbivli, Nagpur, Navi-Mumbai, and Thane) around 80 percent of the task has been completed till date. However, there is no valid reason for the delay. For these cities TRAI has decided that the deadline of 31st January 2014 shall apply. TRAI has requested the subscribers availing cable TV services in the Phase-II cities to co-operate and ensure that they avail of the services only from cable operators who are providing digital encrypted signals. The billing in these cities will now take place in a transparent and uniform manner, with the subscriber paying only for the channels/ services for which they have opted. Hinduja Group invests Rs.300 cr in cable distribution arm Hinduja Group, the promoter of IndusInd Media and Communications Ltd (IMCL), has invested Rs.300 crore in its cable distribution arm to expand its digital base, improve customer services and consolidate the firm’s position in Phase I and II of digitization, as uncertainty over rules holds back foreign investments in the sector. Grant Investrade Ltd (GIL), a wholly owned subsidiary of Hinduja Ventures Ltd (HVL), has invested Rs.300 crore in IMCL, which operates INCableNet and INDigital in India. “The promoter group has decided to help IndusInd Media and Communications to help consolidate its position in Phase I and Phase II of digitization and to further grow in Phase III and IV both organically and inorganically in interesting geographies because in Phase III and IV the role of the MSOs is limited to 20-25%. Therefore, about 5,000 independent cable operators would need support in joint ventures or to be bought out,” said Ashok Mansukhani, director, IMCL. Mansukhani added that the foreign direct investment (FDI) route for the cable distribution sector needs more clarity. “There is uncertainty about foreign investment in the sector as the ministry of information and broadcasting and Trai (Telecom Regulatory Authority of India) have recommended 100% FDI. However, the home ministry has some reservations over the same,” he said. In August, Trai proposed increasing FDI in distribution and carriage services such as direct-to-home television and cable networks to 100% from the existing 74%. In September, global investment bank Goldman Sachs acquired about an 18% stake in cable distribution firm DEN Networks Ltd by investing around $110 million. According to analysts, the lack of clarity in FDI is holding back investments into this sector. “A lot more money can come into the sector if there is clarity in regulatory control. These investments are encouraging. However, there is a huge potential in the sector which can be unlocked if there is clarity in regulation and policy for the sector,” said Smita Jha, leader, entertainment and media practice, PricewaterhouseCoopers India, a consultancy. Television viewing in India is shifting from analogue to digital platforms. The Union government has mandated cable TV to be digitized in a phased manner across the country by 31 December 2014. The first phase of digitization of television signals has been implemented in Kolkata, New Delhi and Mumbai, while Chennai is still holding out. The Indian cable TV industry’s total subscription revenue is estimated to grow from $4.2 billion (around Rs.22,386 crore today) in 2011 to $6.4 billion by 2020, with broadband contributing 15% of sales by 2020 versus 85% for pay TV, according to Media Partners Asia Ltd, a Hong Kong-based independent provider of information services. TRAI: Phase I and II CAF collection nearing completion When the entire process of digitisation started in the country, nobody would have thought it would be such a tough nut to crack and there would be a slippage of so many deadlines. Recently, the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) warned the multi-system operators (MSOs) and subscribers in the digital addressable system (DAS) Phase I and II towns that enough was enough and that they had better get going on finishing the task of submitting the Customer Application Forms (CAFs) with two deadlines - on 27 January for 23 cities and on 31 January for eight cities - once again proving elusive. The caning seems to have worked well as everything is getting back on track now. A TRAI official informs that the work in the Phase I and II of Digital Addressable System (DAS) is near completion. Cities with 27 January as the deadline - Rajkot, Surat, Vadodara, Faridabad, Mysore, Aurangabad, Nasik, Pimpri-Chinchwad, Pune, Sholapur, Amritsar, Ludhiana, Jaipur, Jodhpur, Agra, Allahabad, Ghaziabad, Kanpur, Lucknow, Meerut, Varanasi, Chandigarh and Howrah - have almost been 100 per cent penetrated with active set top boxes (STBs). Almost 85 per cent work has been done (as of 29 January) in areas with 31 January as the deadline that includes cities such as Patna, Ahmedabad, Ranchi, Bengaluru, Kalyan-Dombivali, Nagpur, Navi Mumbai and Thane. MSOs have been given two to three additional days post the deadline to submit their compliance reports to TRAI. We are in touch with the MSOs on a daily basis and nearly 99.7 per cent has been completed as per the deadlines. If subscribers have failed to fill the forms, MSOs have cut off connections, saving TRAIs time and also saving themselves from any action against them, informs a TRAI official. However, Maharashtra Cable Operators Federation (MCOF) president Arvind Prabhoo says that only 70 to 75 per cent work has been completed in the second deadline areas, while in Navi Mumbai hardly 30- 40 per cent work is done. A cable operator from Airoli says, We had got CAF forms in the beginning till about June last year. After that it stopped coming to us. But Siti Cable COO Anil Malhotra says that almost 90 per cent work has been completed and the subscribers who fail to fill the forms by tonight will have to face a TV blackout. Scrolls have already been running to make them aware about it and thus we are sure that we will reach 100 per cent compliance soon, he remarks. Hathway Cable and Datacom CEO Jagdish Kumar claims that in these areas Hathway has reached near about 100 per cent. By 27 December, almost 90 per cent work was done, while the rest had to face a disconnection. Few customers came back to fill the forms and others switched to DTH, he says. In the next eight cities, about 80 per cent of forms have been collected and fed into the system. Another leading MSO, Den Networks is also claiming to have achieved 100 per cent compliance for the two dates. Says Den Networks CEO S N Sharma, In these cities we have complied fully and sent the report to TRAI. We have data of all subscribers and for those who havent sent them, their cable connections have been cut off.
Posted on: Mon, 17 Mar 2014 18:50:54 +0000
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