TRAI and TEC release Test Guide Document for CAS and SMS for Broadcasting Sector

The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) and Telecommunications Engineering Centre (TEC) of the Department of Telecommunications (DoT) last week released the Test Guide Document for Conditional Access Systems (CAS) and Subscriber Management Systems (SMS) for the broadcasting sector.

The regulator had earlier notified the Telecommunication (Broadcasting and Cable) Services Interconnection (Addressable Systems (Third Amendment) Regulations, 2021 on 11th June 2021 to address various issues arising from the deployment of non-standard CAS and SMS in the television broadcasting sector.

The authority had further designated Telecommunication Engineering Centre (TEC) as the testing and certification agency for CAS and SMS for operationalization and oversight of the framework for CAS and SMS. TEC after appropriate stakeholder consultation has prepared a Test Guide for CAS and SMS in accordance with the requirements.

Dr P.D. Vaghela, Chairman, TRAI said, “The release of the Test Guide document is an important step in implementation of the requirements specified under Schedule-IX for technical compliance of CAS and SMS. The roll out of the testing and certification of CAS and SMS will succeed in achieving the desired benefits such as better content security, factual reporting of the subscriber base, reduce revenue loss, eventually leading to improved consumer experience“.