Cable digitisation

SHILLONG, JULY 13: Joint Secretary of Ministry of Information and Broadcasting Manoj Kumar Pingua today reviewed the status of Cable TV Digitisation of the North Eastern States in a workshop held in the city here.

State Level and District Level Nodal Officers from NE States and Multi System Operators (MSOs) operating in NE States attended the workshop.

The Government of India has mandated with effect from April 1, this year that only digital encrypted signals can be carried on the cable television networks in the country. No cable subscriber can now watch TV programmes without a set to box (STB).

However, for its successful implementation, it is important that regular monitoring is carried out by the Authorized Officers {DC, SDM and Police as per Sec 2 of the Cable Television Network (Regulation) Act 1995} to ensure that cable operators carry only digital encrypted signals, follow provisions in the Cable Television Networks (Regulation) Act 1995 and Rules framed there under, and prompt action is taken against the defaulters.

Cable TV Digitisation has been implemented across the country but still it has been found that there has been lack of awareness among different stakeholders, consumers, government officials, MSOs etc. In order to raise their awareness this workshop has been organized.

Speaking during the meeting, Pingua said, “Though most the States have made remarkable achievements in the implementation of Cable TV Digitisation, there are some of states where the seeding of Set Top Box is not up to the mark. We have requested these State Authority and Nodal Officers to complete this at the earliest”.

He, however, hinted that there may be some mistakes while feeding of data in the portal by MSOs which can be rectified during the course of the workshop.

“Digitisation is the first step towards ensuring seamless facilities to the cable TV subscribers. Once the process of digitisation is achieved other facilities for consumers can also be ensured, viz, subscriber management system, online grievance redressal system, nodal officer for grievance redressal,” he added.

It is pertinent to mention here that as per the Cable Television Network (Regulation) Act 1995 and Rules framed there under, no multi-system operator (MSO) can provide cable television services with digital addressable systems (DAS) without a valid registration from the Ministry of Information & Broadcasting. Registered MSOs must transmit all TV channels only in Digital and encrypted format.

The STBs supplied by MSOs must be BIS (Bureau of Indian Standards) compliant. Registered MSOs must operationalise the cable service within 6-months of getting the registration failing which their registration is likely to be withdrawn or suspended.

The Joint Secretary hoped that this kind of workshops will go a long way in doing away with all the doubts and miscommunications among the stakeholders, thereby increasing the seeding percentage of Set Top Box across the country.