Archive for February, 2009
Cable industry wants CAS extension in metros
Source: Business Standard The cable industry wants the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting (I&B) to expedite the extension of conditional access system (CAS) in Delhi, Mumbai and Kolkata and 55 other cities. CAS, which is currently enforced in selected parts of Delhi, Mumbai and Kolkata since January 1, 2007, was supposed to be extended to the rest of the three metros last year. CAS helps reduce the monthly cable bills of the consumers as the pay channels are priced at about Rs 5 per channel. Additionally, 30 free-to-air channels come at a nominal monthly outgo of Rs 82. The Multi System »»»
Decision on HITS at final stage: Anand Sharma
Source: Indiantelevision.com NEW DELHI: The Headend-In-The-Sky (HITS) policy, based on the recommendations of the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India, is at a final stage for decision, minister of state for Information and Broadcasting Anand Sharma today. HITS is a digital delivery mode of distribution of TV channels and would speed up the process of digitalisation of cable TV services located in non-Cas areas of the country. HITS serves the whole country and is purely voluntary unlike conditional access system (Cas), Sharma said. HITS will lead to further consolidation of the cable market and »»»
3 test channels added in Sun Direct
Good News, Sun Direct has added three new test channels. 457 Test 1459 Test 2547 Test 3 Bad News is that Sun Direct has removed three channels 124 Win TV710 God TV712 Shalom TV ...
Tata Sky inks pact with Atom Technologies for payment on phone
Source: TCMnet.com New Delhi, Feb 24, 2009 (Asia Pulse Data Source via COMTEX) — Direct-to-Home (DTH) major Tata Sky today said it has partnered Atom Technologies, which will enable its three million users to pay for subscription through their phones. Tata Sky, a joint venture between the Tata Group and STAR, has signed an agreement to offer phone and mobile payment solutions that will enable the subscribers to make payments, subscribe or renew their subscription through their mobile phones, the company said in a statement. It is using Atom’s phone-based Interactive Voice Response »»»
Ensure cable TV quality, Trai tells operators
Source: Daily News & Analysis New Delhi: Ahead of elections, efforts are being made to ensure that cable TV viewers get to watch their favourite programmes uninterrupted. This would also help political parties reach out to the masses with their advertising campaigns. Making it possible is a regulation by the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai) on quality of service (QoS) for cable TV in non-CAS areas. CAS, or conditional access system, which enables you to watch pay TV channels of your choice through a set-top box, is provided by cable TV operators in only some parts of the metros. »»»
Everything is fair in love of DTH war
Source: Televisionpoint.com “The quickest way of ending a war is to lose it,” is what George Orwell once said. But this logic is certainly not applicable to the ongoing war in the Indian direct-to-home (DTH) sector. The little dish antenna sticking out of the balcony with the de-scrambling box on the television that allows you to eliminate the cablewallah is not as simple as it looks. The current industry estimates peg that there are about 10 million direct-to-home (DTH) subscribers who have adopted this new technology, but the market right now is growing at an exponential rate and »»»
Trai sets service quality norms for cable operators
Source: Indiantelevision.com NEW DELHI: The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai) has issued regulations that seek to improve the quality of service (QoS) provided by cable TV operators in the non-Cas areas. The regulation, which will be effective from 1 April, has made it compulsory for cable operators to issue bills and receipts to its subscribers. The sector regulator has also addressed issues like procedure for connection, disconnection and reconnection; setting up mandatory redressal system; maintaining a record of complaints; maintaining technical standards like measurable signal strength »»»
