Madras HC rules in favour of Arasu Corporation in dispute with TRAI

[aravindan]

The Madras High Court has today allowed a petition filed by the State-run Tamil Nadu Arasu Cable TV Corporation Limited seeking to restrain Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) from taking any action to switch of the analogue cable TV signal in Chennai Metropoltain area while its application for DAS (digital addressable system) license is pending with the central government.

A single Judge in the Madras High Court today has allowed the petition. The regulator has announced that transmission of analog signals in Chennai Metro is illegal and digitisation has to implemented immediately.

The order would restrain TRAI from discontinuing the analogue signal for Chennai, as it would be against the interest of the public who have not switched over to the digitisation. Besides, a few disputes related to digitisation of Cable TV in Chennai are pending with the Madras High Court.

TRAI has issued a Press release on December 10, 2013, conveying that in Chennai Metro Area transmission of analog signals is illegal and the digitalization has to be implemented immediately.

The petition filed the General Manager of the Arasu Cable TV Corporation asked the High Court to restrain the TRAI from taking any action against it, pursuant to and in terms of a press release dated December 10 this year, pending consideration of the petitioner’s DAS licence applications dated July 5 and November 23 last year with the Union Ministry of Information and Broadcasting.

In Arasu's affidavit it was said that the Corporation is providing 90-100 channels to the subscribers through the Local Cable Operators (LCOs) including Free to Air Channels, Pay Channels and local channels.

“The Cable TV sector was totally unorganized and few Multi System Operators had created monopoly in Tamil Nadu and thereby forced the local Cable TV operators as well as the public to pay exorbitant amount towards cable TV services. The services now provided by the Corporation is a welfare step taken by the Government of Tamil Nadu, in the interest of the public and Cable TV operators,” said the Corporation.

Arasu has a subscriber base of around 64.79 lakh as on November 30, 2013 in 31 Districts across Tamil Nadu, excluding Chennai Metro Area. Chennai Metro Area, 2495 Cable Operators with a subscriber base of around 14.30 lakhs have registered with the petitioner Corporation.

Source: Business standard

 

[sathishbabu4u]

So we will get Arasu cable soon in our area?

 

[chelsumc]

i am also getting excited to have arasu cable in my area!!!!!

 

[aravindan]

So we will get Arasu cable soon in our area?

January 2014 is the deadline set by Arasu for LCO to start streaming arasu's feed in chennai..

Hope everything will change before central govt elections..

 

[sathishbabu4u]

January 2014 is the deadline set by Arasu for LCO to start streaming arasu's feed in chennai..

Hope everything will change before central govt elections..

Where u find this deadline set by Arasu. My LCO also told arasu forcing to connect the signal.

 

[Kmars]

Is it applies only to Arasu?

 

[aravindan]

Arasu DAS licence: I&B ministry told to decide

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.com

 

[HOUSE-MD]

January 2014 is the deadline set by Arasu for LCO to start streaming arasu's feed in chennai..

Hope everything will change before central govt elections..

Good to know the Arasu would be available by Jan 2014.

If Arasu really wants to seriously serve Chennai people then it has to force Chennai LCO's to subscribe to them or form Arasu's own LCO's in every single Area so we people can disconnect from our current LCO's and move towards Arasu well before New Year.

 

[HOUSE-MD]

January 2014 is the deadline set by Arasu for LCO to start streaming arasu's feed in chennai..

Will we get Arasu by New Year?

 

[meetdilip]

Is Arasu good ? Do they give enough channels ? What is the price ?