I&B Ministry to Meet Cable TV Digitization Deadline by March 31

Report by Santanu Ganguly, New Delhi: The Ministry of Information & Broadcasting is confident of meeting the March 31, 2013 deadline of digitization in 38 cities across India. The second phase of digitization covers the one million plus cities across the country including Pune, Nagpur, Nashik, Aurangabad and Thane among others. The four metros – Mumbai, Delhi, Kolkata and Chennai were part of the first phase of digitization. Speaking to media persons in Mumbai on Jan. 19, Secretary for Information and Broadcasting, Uday Kumar Varma said, the Ministry has been reviewing the progress on a continuous basis and Nodal officers have been appointed in every state to oversee the conversion process.

“It has been estimated that 16 million Set Top Boxes would be required to digitize the 38 cities, excluding the four metros. But a study conducted by the Ministry has revealed that already 6 million TV sets in these cities are already digitized” said Mr. Varma. He said the cities like Ludhiana and Amritsar are already 90 per cent digital. The level of digitization is high even in Bangalore and Hyderabad, he said.

Mr. Varma said with the government embarking upon a massive digital conversion drive, there is a huge demand for Set Top Boxes. He said, presently most of the Set Top Boxes are being imported, and the share of the domestic manufacturers is negligible, mainly on account of cost advantage. Mr. Varma explained that while the imported Set Top Boxes are offered as a service by the cable operator and are subjected to a lower rate of service tax, the domestic manufacturer’s STBs attract higher rate of VAT, as they are considered to be goods sold. He said, his Ministry has written to the Ministry of Finance to look into this anomaly and create a level playing field for the domestic manufacturers. Mr. Varma said, if the domestic manufacturers are able to price their products competitively, Ministry may even mandate a certain percentage of STBs to be procured domestically.

Secretary Uday Varma, expressed satisfaction over the implementation of the first phase of digitization. He said, the exercise was more or less completely successful in Mumbai and Delhi. He added that even Kolkata, which initially had reservations about digital conversion, has come on board with a conversion rate nearing 90 per cent. About Chennai, he declined to comment, saying the matter is sub-judice.

Mr. Varma said the first phase of digitization was a learning experience and the government was working to refine the process.. He said, the feedback from the newly converted digital homes has been mostly favorable and added that the move is bringing in a more transparent cable TV regime in the country.

Ministry of I&B Seeks Recommendations of TRAI for Further Reforms in the Cable TV Sector

The Ministry of I&B has sought the recommendations of TRAI regarding issues relating to transmission of local channels or ground based channels operated at the level of cable TV operator/MSOs. In its reference to TRAI, the Ministry has sought to know whether there was a need to put in place a comprehensive set of provisions for local channels which would cover issues related to registration mechanism, including eligibility requirements, fee, terms and conditions to be provided for such channels, including the definition of local or ground based channels and their area of operation.

In the said reference to TRAI, Ministry has also sought its views with regard to the issue of transmission of local channels at local cable operator level in Digital Addressable System (DAS) regime. TRAI in its recommendations dated 25th July, 2008 had, inter-alia, recommended that Local Channel Operators (LCOs) shall be permitted to transmit their ground based channels. However, in the current DAS regime only digital addressable signals can be carried out on the cable network which is generated at the MSO head end. The Ministry in its reference has also requested TRAI to state whether there was a case for putting a cap on the total number of ground based channels operated by a single MSO/cable operator.

TRAI has also been requested to examine whether there was a need to prescribe separate eligibility criteria for cable operators transmitting local news and current affairs channels at their level. Specific recommendations have been sought with regard to eligibility criteria, terms and conditions including foreign investment levels, net-worth criteria and requirement of security clearance etc. for such channels.

The need for putting in places a regulatory framework for local channels being operated at the level of Cable TV operators has been engaging attention of the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting for quite some time. This has assumed a greater significance in view of the digitization of cable TV sector being implemented in the entire country in a phased time bound manner. Presently, Cable TV operators/MSOs are transmitting local news, videos and other locally developed content as a separate televisions channels in addition to satellite TV channels obtained from broadcasters. These channels, popularly known as local channels, are presently not subject to a regulatory framework unlike private satellite TV channels permitted under the uplinking/downlinking guidelines of the Ministry. As a result, local channels continue to mushroom all over the country without having registration /license.

Since the area/jurisdiction within which the program generated at the level of cable operators can be transmitted has not been defined in the Cable Television Networks (Regulation) Act, 1995, it is possible for Local Cable Operators (LCOs)/Multi System Operators (MSOs) operating at the local levels to broadcast local channels over a larger geographical area i.e. at Regional/State/National level by transmitting the same content over their entire network. Instances have been brought to the notice of the Ministry that some cable operators are also venturing into transmission of local channels over wider geographical area which includes inter-state and intra state transmission by sharing the same content with others on their network. In such a scenario, local channels are basically operating as State/Regional/National channels like permitted private satellite TV channels without getting any permission. The intent of allowing cable operators to generate and transmit local program is to keep the local people informed of relevant local issues. However this intent is not fulfilled when LCOs and MSOs start networking of the content to cover a larger geographical area. Given the present state of technological advancement, the tendency to network content at a larger geographical area has gained strength.