Rushil
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MUMBAI: It seems like deja vu. It was around this time last year that Information and Broadcasting (I&B) Minister Manish Tewari was urging the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) to move fast on deciding on the issue whether the Tamil Nadu Arasu Cable TV Corp should be given a digital addressable system (DAS) licence. The TRAI had responded with a paper issued on 28 December 2013 on “Issues related to entry of certain entities into broadcasting and distribution activities.”
It had recommended that the Central Government, State Governments and their entities should not be permitted to enter into the business of broadcasting and distribution of TV channels. Based on that, a DAS licence was not issued to Arasu, despite continued pressure from the Centre’s allies AIADMK and Tamil Nadu chief minister Jayalalithaa.
Now the ball has landed back with the I&B Ministry over the weekend, the Madras High Court reportedly telling it to once again take a stand on the MSO's DAS licence. The court also directed the TRAI not to take any coercive action against it even if it continues to deliver analogue signals to its six million odd subscribers in the state. And it also said the case was adjourned for four weeks.
The Madras High Court issued these orders based on a petition that Arasu cable had filed with it. Arasu, on its part, had taken a decision to move the courts following TRAI's announcement, earlier this month, that Chennai's cable TV operators, broadcasters, and MSOs should take positive steps towards complete DAS in Chennai - one of the initial phase I metros - or face its wrath.
Clearly, the I&B Ministry is in a catch 22 situation. The TRAI in its recommendations has been clear on disallowing state control in cable TV and DAS.
Tewari had last year urged the reconsideration of DAS licence to be issued to Arasu
With the Madras High Court now telling the Ministry to reconsider its earlier stance on it, could the court's direction provide it with a parachute? With the Congress (I) appearing to be on shaky ground following its debacle in four states, it might well use this as a trump card to win some points with the AIADMK in what appears to be building up as a tough battle for it in the 2014 elections. Additionally, the Central government and TRAI also wants tardy Chennai to move full steam on digitisation and licensing the largest player Arasu – albeit it being state owned – might well help it achieve that objective.
But if the I&B Ministry continues to hold on to its position that it will not issue the licence, digitisation might not really progress as Arasu will not take things lying down as it is a tour de force in the state and the city of Chennai. And that’s something which will make a government dictated mandated of digitisation look incomplete with one state seceding from its order of digitisation.
Or the other option is available with local cable TV operators who are not part of Arasu's network in Chennai: a bunch of them went on a hunger strike yesterday to protest against analogue signals being transmitted by it.
“First and foremost a call needs to be taken on Arasu’s licence but more importantly TRAI needs to caution broadcasters who are giving these analog signals to them. They should be asked to sign official deals with MSOs for giving digital signals only,” says Chennai Metro Cable TV Operators Association General Secretary M.R. Srinivasan.
Now which one will it take? Let's wait and watch.
Indian Television Dot Com > Digital Edge > Arasu DAS licence: I&B ministry told to decide
It had recommended that the Central Government, State Governments and their entities should not be permitted to enter into the business of broadcasting and distribution of TV channels. Based on that, a DAS licence was not issued to Arasu, despite continued pressure from the Centre’s allies AIADMK and Tamil Nadu chief minister Jayalalithaa.
Now the ball has landed back with the I&B Ministry over the weekend, the Madras High Court reportedly telling it to once again take a stand on the MSO's DAS licence. The court also directed the TRAI not to take any coercive action against it even if it continues to deliver analogue signals to its six million odd subscribers in the state. And it also said the case was adjourned for four weeks.
The Madras High Court issued these orders based on a petition that Arasu cable had filed with it. Arasu, on its part, had taken a decision to move the courts following TRAI's announcement, earlier this month, that Chennai's cable TV operators, broadcasters, and MSOs should take positive steps towards complete DAS in Chennai - one of the initial phase I metros - or face its wrath.
Clearly, the I&B Ministry is in a catch 22 situation. The TRAI in its recommendations has been clear on disallowing state control in cable TV and DAS.
Tewari had last year urged the reconsideration of DAS licence to be issued to Arasu
With the Madras High Court now telling the Ministry to reconsider its earlier stance on it, could the court's direction provide it with a parachute? With the Congress (I) appearing to be on shaky ground following its debacle in four states, it might well use this as a trump card to win some points with the AIADMK in what appears to be building up as a tough battle for it in the 2014 elections. Additionally, the Central government and TRAI also wants tardy Chennai to move full steam on digitisation and licensing the largest player Arasu – albeit it being state owned – might well help it achieve that objective.
But if the I&B Ministry continues to hold on to its position that it will not issue the licence, digitisation might not really progress as Arasu will not take things lying down as it is a tour de force in the state and the city of Chennai. And that’s something which will make a government dictated mandated of digitisation look incomplete with one state seceding from its order of digitisation.
Or the other option is available with local cable TV operators who are not part of Arasu's network in Chennai: a bunch of them went on a hunger strike yesterday to protest against analogue signals being transmitted by it.
“First and foremost a call needs to be taken on Arasu’s licence but more importantly TRAI needs to caution broadcasters who are giving these analog signals to them. They should be asked to sign official deals with MSOs for giving digital signals only,” says Chennai Metro Cable TV Operators Association General Secretary M.R. Srinivasan.
Now which one will it take? Let's wait and watch.
Indian Television Dot Com > Digital Edge > Arasu DAS licence: I&B ministry told to decide
