Conditional Access—a Hoot update

BY ninan| IN Law and Policy | 16/12/2002

A briefing document                                             

Status:  Last week the conditional access cable TV system became legally mandatory with the Rajya   Sabha  passing the Cable Television Networks (Regulation) Amendment Bill 2002  The Lok Sabha had earlier passed the Bill in May this year.  It seeks to provide protection to the consumers from arbitrary hiking of cable rates by cable operators. It also allows subscribers to pay for only those channels that they would like to view and not for an arbitrarily prepared bouquet by the broadcasters. The Bill seeks to provide for:

              Empowering the Government to mandate through notification, in a phased

              manner, installation of addressable systems for viewing pay channels;

              ‘Free-to-air’ channels in the areas thus notified , to continue to be received by

              the subscribers in the existing receiver sets without having to go through the

              addressable systems;

              A provision that the subscriber would not be required to change the receiving

              set irrespective of the channels that he wishes to receive and to provide that

              he would be free to view the channels from amongst those offered by the

              cable service providers;

              The flexibility for adoption of technological advancements and upgradation           

              in  the addressable systems and to provide that the technical standards and

              performance parameters of the systems would be laid down by the Bureau of

              Indian Standards, from time to time;

              The Government to prescribe, from time to time, the maximum amount to be

              paid by the subscriber to the cable service provider for the ‘basic service tier’

              consisting of the bouquet of notified ‘free-to-air’ channels and to determine   

              the  number of channels to be included in this ‘tier’ and the maximum cost

              for the same in different States/cities/areas of the country, from time to time;  

              and ,

              Effective enforcement of the amendments, violations of which would

              constitute a cognizable offence.

        Background

         The Government has been monitoring the implementation of the Act and taking

         corrective measures as and when considered necessary. Amendments were made

         in the Act in the year, 2000, vide, the Cable Television Networks (Regulation)

         Amendment Act, 2000. In recent months, there has been public dissatistfaction

         at frequent and arbitrary hike in the cable subscription charges. The

         subscription rates are being fixed arbitrarily by broadcasters and cable service

         providers in an almost area specific monopolistic distribution system and the

         subscribers do not have the option of receiving only the channels he wishes to

         view.

         There was no legal or administrative instrument by which the Government

         could intervene and regulate the subscription charges or ask the cable service

         providers to transmit/retransmit television signals through any addressable

          system  which would enable record of actual viewership leading to under-

         reporting of the  number of subscribers by the cable service providers, Multi

         Service Operators (MSOs) and broadcasters, which, in turn, is also affecting

         revenues due to the Government.

 The Government appointed a task force with the following terms of reference:

The need for CAS to eliminate under-reporting of households

·         Cable TV in India had developed in an unbridled manner

·         Pricing for content was undergoing arbitrary increases

·         Consumers should not have to pay unreasonably for

FTA channels

·         The existing chain from programme producer (Content

Maker) to the Broadcaster (Content Provider) to the

MSO, to the inputter (or Last Mile  Operator (LMO) to

the consumer household.

·         Now a need to make whole system transparent

·         Government to prescribe minimum standards for

equipment

·         Government to mandate the introduction of CAS and

Set-top box (STB)

·         Government should receive reports and be empowered

to inspect premises

·         Packaging of services should be left to the Operators

·         Subscriber Management Software (SMS) should provide

transparent  information

·         STBs should have interoperability (ie Delhi box

workable on Bombay cable)

·         Public Service channels should become "Must Carry"

·         Numbers of channels in Basic an Pay tiers to be

announced

·         Pricing of Basic and Pay packages to be specified

Subsequently its recommendations were taken into account and draft legislation introduced.

Shortcomings:

Does not address the issue of piracy. Encryption for CAS is vulnerable to hacking

Internationally, major systems belonging to Rupert Murdoch and Canal Plus have been hacked, and not only in the USA and UK. "Conditional Access" means "pay", which means "encryption" (or scrambling), with "de-scrambling" for those who have paid. Millions of dollars of television programming has been "stolen" thanks to the hacking of smart cards used by the major broadcasters for analogue CAS. The codes necessary for "breaking" these systems have been posted on the Internet.

See this article on the Hoot for issues in conditional access:

http://www.thehoot.org/story.asp?section=S3&lang=L1&storyid=intranethootL1K0729022&pn=1

During the Rajya Sabha debate, the dissenting note on the amendment was struck by Nilotpal Basu of the CPM. His intervention:

SHRI NILOTPAL BASU: Everybody knows that all the three sectors, i.e., information, communication and  broadcasting are merging in the background of the technology changes where analogue technology in the broadcasting sector

is giving way to the digital technology in the same sector.  Therefore, when the Government is placing the proposed legislation before the Parliament to go towards the digital regime, here is a Bill which talks about changes which are aimed at

perpetuating the analogue technology.

Now, we have a situation where we may have a number of free-to-air channels, which will be excluded from the basic tier because the slots available in the basic tier are not limited to the number of free-to-air channels.  Therefore, the Government, in effect, is assuming powers to decide as to which particular free-to-air channels will be beamed by the cable operators.  This is a huge discrepancy, and I think, this also is against the very grain of fundamental right which is enshrined in our Constitution. If the set of box, which will be controlled by the cable operators, is tampered with, and if there is

under-reporting, then the dispute between the operators and the channel providers would continue to be there.  The Minister has missed the point. I don’t understand why the Government is assuming such sweeping powers when it is the market forces

that determine all things.  In the present form, the Bill would only increase the ultimate burden to be borne by the subscribers. Instead of reducing the burden on the consumer, I think, it would simply increase the burden. Therefore we are not in a

position to support this Bill.  I would still urge, we can have a Select Committee to make certain improvements necessary for  this legislation.

Minister’s reply to the debate before passing of the bill

: A total of fifteen colleagues have participated in the discussion

on this Bill and all of them have given their support for it.  I want to earnestly thank the entire House for giving me an overwhelming support.

Shri Prabhakar Reddy has expressed the apprehension that Government will decide about the channels which would be an unnecessary interference which the Government should not do.  The Government is not going to specify the channels.

The Government will decide the number and amount only.  But which of the channels should be shown and which channels  should not be shown, this will not be decided by the Government, but it will be decided by the subscribers themselves.  The

cable operator would only tell them about the channels available with him and the choice would be of the subscribers.

A number of hon’ble Members have asked about the price and availability of the ‘Set Top Box’.  As all of us know that initially these items are costly but as their demands increase, their prices begin to fall.  However, its price will not be so high as the subscribers cannot afford, we have taken care of this.  So for as its availability is concerned, it may have to be imported from where they are produced but later on, when its demand will increase, no imports would be necessary.  Instead,

it may become a booming industry. As regards the stopping of showing of ‘FTV’ and ‘MTV’ this Bill is a positive step in that direction because the subscribers would get a chance to opt for a channel of their choice and the cable operator will ask you about your choice of channels.

Legal action will be taken against the violators of the provisions of this Bill.  We have brought this Bill to save the subscribers who is suffering today.  We have made a provision for specifying the amount also.  It has been provided that

maximum amount in the ‘basic service tier’ would be specified by the Government whereas the list of ‘pay channel’ would be demonstrated by the cable operator.

As regards the queries raised by Shri Satish Pradhan and Shri Rajiv Shukla about non-showing of Doordarshan by the cable operators on prime band, it is stated that we have decided ‘authorised officers’ for this purpose and when a complaint is registered against a cable operator, they will take action against him. There is a ban on advertisement regarding liquor on the television.  This is not a means of earning money and it spoils our future generation.

Once the CAS comes into effect, the ‘pay channel’ will again become ‘free to air channel’ and their rates would also go down.  Ultimately, the subscribers will get the relief because it is they who pay the cable operator. Shri Ajay Maroo and Smt. Saroj Dubey have asked about banning the obscene programmes as well as programmes

of extra-marital relationships being shown an television. This has been my concern also and there is a need for ‘content  regulatory body’ for it.

This is a Bill, which will provide great relief to the subscribers and keeping him in view it has been brought.  He will be able to see the channels of his choice only and pay for it accordingly. The cable operators would desist from forced recovery

of charges because it would not be their compulsion and so they would not be blamed.  Besides, there would be transparency in reporting by the cable operator to the broadcaster and he cannot do under reporting.  The Government would also receive

full revenue. I express my gratitude to all of you who have extended their support to this Bill and request that the Bill be passed unanimously.

end