There have been essential choices TRAI took ultimate month which if applied could have an effect on the enterprise for years to come. First became the charge law of Cable TV offerings withinside the non-CAS regions & DTH networks and the second one became recommending the sundown date for digitization. Both the topics are very acquainted to them however nevertheless they took such obsolete choices which shun any logic. TRAI has been consulting on those topics because 2004 with all of the stakeholders.
Tariff in Non-CAS Areas
In the case of Cable Tariff, after freezing the costs as on December 2003, TRAI has been recommending an inflationary boom each yr starting from 4% to 7% however now they have got advocated a discount of Rs 10 withinside the subscription charge paid via way of means of a subscriber to a cable operator from their 2007 mandate of Rs 260/- and aspect via way of means of aspect allowed the broadcaster to rate 9% extra from the cable operators because the value in their pay channels.
In the case of DTH, they have got decreased the value of pay content material via way of means of 15% and taken it to 35% of the value paid via way of means of small operators imagining that cable operators are underdeclaring their subscriber base via way of means of as a minimum 65%. I doubt if each person consisting of TRAI and broadcasters have achieved any survey to confirm this. It is best the broadcasters who expect that they must get pay-channel sales to the music of Rs 15,000 crore. Why do they expect that one hundred cable connections withinside the united states watch all two hundred peculiar pay-channels while the best profitable survey achieved via way of means of TRAI at the side of CMS says that on a mean a subscriber watches best 7-15 channels. It interprets right into a truth that a subscriber does now no longer watch extra than eighty percentage of to be had pay-channels. If that is true, then 15 percentage sales going to the broadcasters is one hundred extra than what they must get. TRAI must cause them to go back this greater sales to the subscribers.
What surprises me extra is that first we permit unlawful access to pay channels withinside the united states, with out a law in area and with out a shipping infrastructure in area. Then, we facilitate them via way of means of permitting them to cross direct to the customers on DTH networks via way of means of-passing the cable operators. By deferring implementation of CAS on cable networks, we’ve honestly advocated DTH operators (in fact the broadcasters) and allowed them to put in HITS, Cable TV and IPTV networks and on the quit of the day reward them that they’ve made a lot quicker penetration of virtual generation than the MSO/Cable operators and merits extra incentives. As a result, TDSAT has emerge as busy in accepting litigations at the issue, nearly on a every day foundation however we hold expecting the verdicts. That’s how we come again to square-one wherein it became a unfastened for all run for the stake holders. Only the customers will go through with out strong regulations.
The 2nd crucial selection of TRAI became sending suggestions to the I&B Ministry for solving a sundown date of March 31, 2011 for digitization withinside the 4 metros and December 31, 2011 for tier-I cities having populace of extra than 1,000,000 and December 31, 2012 for all city agglomerations and December 31, 2013 for relaxation of the united states consisting of the agricultural regions. Moreoverr, you can easily flixiptv subscription
I bear in mind that the dialogue on solving a sundown-date for digitization had began out in 2003 while CAS Bill became passed. It became mentioned withinside the PMO in 2005-2006 and a seven-yr duration of digitization method became advocated. It became in addition mentioned with the stakeholders via way of means of TRAI itself and guidelines have been made for facilitating the producing of virtual set-pinnacle bins and head-quit system withinside the united states and additionally exemption of obligations and taxes to incentivize virtual implementation. Unfortunately, none of those has took place until date.
No selection on the sooner suggestions made via way of means of the authority on restructuring of Cable Television, implementation of CAS, popularity of Cable Television Networks as countrywide broadband infrastructure and supplying Right of Way to the Cable Networks has been taken. If that is the existing state, what hobby the enterprise has emigrate to virtual? The cable networks that have long gone virtual and applied CAS withinside the non-CAS regions aren’t even diagnosed via way of means of the broadcasters for the CAS vicinity price lists of pay channels and TRAI has didn’t assist them in any manner. If the authorities became hard on this regard, we might have 1/2 of the united states taking part in virtual tv via way of means of now.
Will the implementation begin simply via way of means of completing the paper work? The best those who could advantage from this sort of coverage may be the DTH businesses and telcos supplying IPTV. Even the big MSOs will now no longer advantage except good enough returns on their investments are ensured via way of means of the Regulator.
Is TRAI actually relying on DTH and the IPTV operators (In many instances they may be the same) for digitization and has given-up with the cable operators? Such a flow will misfire again. We have visible the IPTV accomplishing excellent achievement that too in a rustic wherein eighty% humans stay with out a broadband connectivity. It might also additionally appearance high-quality for DTH generation as projected via way of means of many backed surveys achieved via way of means of a few overseas groups on which TRAI regularly believes (Some of the surveys have declared that DTH connectivity could develop two times via way of means of 2012 and 4 instances via way of means of 2015), however the truth that each one DTH gamers are cribbing that they may be bleeding. Several states are but to levy enjoyment tax on DTH subscribers as achieved on cable. Well, this may honestly manifest if authorities’s plan and TRAI’s efforts to postpone the implementation of CAS in cable succeeds for any other few years and offer room for DTH to construct a monopoly in dispensing virtual signals.
It is time for our authorities to recognize that what the united states wishes is a sturdy wire-line broadband infrastructure supplied via way of means of fiberoptic networks, whether or not they may be owned via way of means of telcos or Cable Operators. No wi-fi generation consisting of DTH, BWA or 3G can in shape the rate and bandwidth of wireline networks.
