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EXPOSED! ...The foreign hand which is destroying India on Twitpic

EXPOSED! ...The foreign hand which is destroying India on Twitpic

Trai wants DTH users to get broadband too

The consumers who subscribe to direct-to-home (DTH) services may soon be able to get broadband services from their operators as well. The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai) has recommended that the government ensure and expedite availability of more Ku band transponders (which can be used for TV as well as data transmission) so that DTH companies can also offer broadband services. There is a severe shortage of Ku band transponders even for broadcasting. But the regulator has suggested that the Indian Space Research Organisation (one can take transponders on lease only from ISRO) — which is launching two more satellites with Ku band transponders and negotiating for more from Malaysia's Measat — should expedite the process. Trai had earlier suggested that the government should follow an open sky policy and allow DTH operators to get into long-term contracts with international satellite companies. These are among the recommendations of a report released today by Trai. The report seeks to boost the current poor growth of broadband in the country. DTH operators, however, say that broadband on their platform will not be cheap and may be effective only in areas where there are few alternatives. Dish TV (country's largest DTH operator) head Jawahar Goel says that to get a two-way communication (which is required in Internet and not for TV channels), subscribers may have to fork out around $500 for a satellite modem (of course you can subsidise). "We are planning to keep some capacity on our Agrani (controlled by the Subhash Chandra-led group) group satellite for broadband as we will have over 10-12 transponders by April. But it will be a limited market. There are also many regulatory issues which need to be tackled," said Goel. He points out DTH can offer a high speed of as much as 1.5 mbps without difficulty. Meanwhile, taking a cue from telecom, the regulator has suggested that operators should share infrastructure, like optical fibre ducts that are being laid across the country, to bring broadband to homes and save costs considerably. It has also suggested certification of customer premise equipment (like DSL machine at home) so they there can be interoperability for provisioning broadband. This means customers can pick up equipment from the market rather than be dependent on operators. The equipment would work for all operators. This, the regulator hopes, will bring down prices of customer equipment dramatically. Acknowledging that state-owned companies like BSNL and MTNL have failed miserably in meeting their broadband targets, the regulator has suggested that they should appoint franchisees to supplement their efforts and develop a more commercial approach. BSNL, for instance, had targeted 1.5 million broadband subscribers by 2005, but had only 1.62 million subscribers till September 2007. Apart from asking the government to push broadband connectivity through cable, Trai has also pleaded that the government expedite decisions regarding pricing of spectrum for 3G and Wimax — effective wireless solutions — to provide broadband in the country. In an effort to push broadband in rural India, Trai has also suggested that the USO (Universal Service Obligation) fund be used to provide subsidy and at least two service providers offering minimum subsidy should be identified and given a rollout obligation.

DTH players cry foul as taxes mount

Direct-to-home (DTH) operators have urged the government to rationalise the taxation structure on DTH service. In a letter to the Information & Broadcasting ministry, Essel Group’s Dish TV has said that even though DTH is considered to be a nascent segment, the levy of taxes by various government departments works out to be about 50%.

The DTH operator has asked the government to categorise DTH players as service providers and thus entertainment tax should not be applicable on the sector. At present, the DTH services are subject to multiple taxation which include a license fee of 10% on gross revenue to the I & B ministry. Then there is a 12.3 % service tax charged on the subscription fee revenue earned by the DTH service provider. In addition, entertainment tax in the range of 20-30% is collected by different states on subscription revenue earned by the service provider. Also, there is about 12.5% sales tax levied on the purchase of hardware by the consumer. “The cumulative impact of all these taxes on DTH service revenue is 47.5% apart from 12.5% on the hardware,” the letter pointed out.

Dish TV managing director, Jawahar Goel said, “DTH has been categorised as service and any tax on services falls within the domain of Union government. We have already been charged a 12.36% service tax. In addition to the service tax, states are charging entertainment tax which has led to the double taxation. This needs to be corrected.”

Earlier, Tata Sky also said that there is a need to rationalise the tax structure on the operators. It’s CMD Vikram Kaushik had pointed out that the high level of taxes on revenues and on the set top box is “punitive”. The industry players believe that high taxes would lead to the segmentation of DTH as a premium service and not a mass-market service.

According to a recent study released by the E & Y and Assocham, DTH is likely to drive the digitisation wave in the Indian entertainment industry with about 28% of the 110-million television households expected to migrate to DTH. According to the E & Y estimate, the subscriber base of DTH is likely to touch 19 million from the current 4-5 million subscribers which include DD Direct free service.

Reliance signal at MEASAT-3 Satellite.

Reliance BIG TV DTH Signals being beamed KU BAND in India through MEASAT -3 satellites @91.5*E. Right now they are using 8 transponders for 37 channels, where SAHARA & few FTA channels are in air.
Measat-3 @ 91.5° East
Freq Pol SR FEC Mode
12523 V 27500 3/4 MEPG-4
12563 V 27500 3/4 MEPG-4
12603 V 27500 3/4 MEPG-4
12643 V 27500 3/4 MEPG-4
12683 V 27500 3/4 MEPG-4
12683 H 27500 3/4 MEPG-4
12723 H 27500 3/4 MEPG-4
12723 V 27500 3/4 MEPG-4.

SUN DIRECT DTH, India ::. All inside out... Tech Stuff

At last SUN has started its DTH Service on INSAT 4B at 93.5°E, Here are some info over the same:-Cost: 1,999/- INR with FREE Subscription for 2 months in Tamilnadu & 1yr in Karnataka State. After 1yr Rs.75/month(Not sure, they may increase n announce soon). Package includes :-STB+KU-Band Dish+LNB+15mtrs Cable+SmartCard+Installation.Please NOTE: No User Guide(manual) provided alongwith STB.

Customer Care Service: Very Pathetic & you will NOT get any answer for your quiry. STB (Receiver) technology is MPEG4 with IRDETO Encryption type. It got an CI (CAM) Slot too!!

SUN has blocked ETC Music channel (FTA) from Doordarshan's DTH, I tried it manually to get it on DD+ TP: 11150 V & Got the channel successfully but after watching other channel coming back to ETC Music, receiver's software protesting that & resulted in Receiver HANG-UP. One more Good News, SUN will NOT Paired the STB & VC, Means you can use your VC on any IRDETO Receiver, Even on Dish-TV's ZENEGA with IRDETO CAM.

Here is a Inside View of SUN DIRECT STB SN9000IR. To download the High Resolution FULL Image, Please follow this Link:-

http://xs122.xs.to/xs122/07011/SN9000IR_small.jpg