BENGALURU: The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) reinforcing the plans to initiate inspections to monitor the quality of service (QoS) in the cable industry and broadcasting. Speaking in TelevisionPost.com is GroundPost initiative on land in Bangalore, TRAI advisor Maharashtra, Karnataka, Kerala and Goa region Sibichen Dr K Mathew said that the regulator will soon come out with quality inspection service to control all aspects of the service, installation of decoders to compensate the consumer complaints to the choice of channels.
"This inspection will begin soon, and technical audits to control the quality of delivery. We will check what MSO (operator’s multi-system) broadcasters and LCO (local cable operators) are promising and if they are or are not meeting with them, "he said. TRAI has been patient for a long time and this is the moment when you will have to take a stand and enforce regulations. "This is the fourth year (after notification DAS) and now even people wonder why the regulator is not taking action in this sector," Mathew said. He added that TRAI monitors QoS and can reach financial disincentives as all regulation is in place. "But the regulator is being very patient. We know the industry, which has been totally disorganized, is slowly coming disaster," he said.
He also stressed that it is very necessary for scanning in Phases III and IV measurements. Speaking of Karnataka, said at least on paper seems digitization has been completed in Bangalore and Mysore. "We are not happy with damage repair system and must strengthen" he added. In general, in Karnataka, said 56.2 percent scanning is achieved, demonstrating that "we have to work hard and with good coordination, can reach 100 percent." In Maharashtra and Kerala, said, TRAI is receiving a very positive response. "In fact, in Kerala MSOs we met recently asked us not to let the deadline is extended." Concerns speaking of concerns digitization, said there are many of them.
"First, there is a lot of disagreement between the MSO, LCO, and broadcasters. Until and unless solve these problems is not going to achieve the goals." He added further that the cable and broadcasting is one of the best industries, and will win a lot of revenue. "But the biggest bottleneck is that there is absolutely no coordination between the MSO, LCO, and broadcasters," he said. "Until and unless appropriate agreements on services, revenue sharing, etc., how are you going to do business? There is no consensus about the little things like repairing STB.
Who will do the service?
But you must understand that it is important questions for consumers, "he said. The second concern, he said, is that which comes from the LCO or independent MSO that large companies are reducing prices. "Here we are in an open market economy. The question is how we can regulate pricing. The only condition is that we cannot have a fixed price which affect the consumer." Another area of concern is with respect to the STB. Dr. Mathew said that the transformation has occurred in the delivery platform television as the younger generation is consuming content not only on television but also on different screens. "But now is the time to turn the idiot box on the smart box".
He stressed that the government of India is giving much importance to the sector such as television helps provide not only entertainment but also information across the nation. The first step towards convergence is digitization. However, despite covering two phases of digitization, no one is happy with the achievement, mainly because of the challenges they face in Phases III and IV added. "We have to take lessons from Phases I and II, and create an appropriate work plan for the next phases.
The main reason for this bottleneck we are designing is the large geographic region of this country and the sector has been completely disorganized for several years. “He added that services are cheap and that India has one of the lowest for cable services in the consumer side rates.”They [consumers] get to see the channels at a much cheaper price. But the scope of increasing the quality and expansion is unlimited. But for that, you need more resources." In general, we often confuse scanning with putting local decoders in consumer. "That may be only 5 percent. While it starts with the STB placed in the homes of consumers, the second step is to record each consumer registered with the form request, where the consumer says what your choice is. Unfortunately, there are many procedural lapses in Phases I and II even.
Whenever there is a gap, the ultimate goal is not met, "he added. On expectations of TRAI, the regulator said everything you want is the choice for the consumer, the forms of CAF duly completed, and subscriber management system (SMS) instead. "Each MSO must have SMS in place, which means not only data of subscribers, but a proper grievance redress mechanism." "Unless you have a proper grievance redress mechanism for Phases I and II, we will fail in Phases III and IV. Does proper billing, call centers, procedures for repairing STB, refunds, displacement, etc., in the first two phases? Ultimately, the consumer should be allowed a smile while you are giving income, "he added. "The biggest challenge before entering the next two phases lies in the delay. We need to establish the correct process in Phases I and II, he said.
