Cable operators find TRAI's CAS tariff 'unrealistic'

New Delhi, Aug 17: Cable operators have described as ''unrealistic'' the basic monthly charge of Rs 77 with 33 Free to Air channels, as proposed by the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) for areas in Delhi, Mumbai and Kolkata which will have the Conditional Access System from January 1, 2007.

The cable operators have by and large proposed that the benchmark price should be at least between Rs 100 to 150.

Their views were sent to TRAI in response to the CAS Tariff Plan released by it recently.

According to Cable Operators Federation of India (COFI), the price of Rs 72 for 30 FTA channels fixed in 2003 was not realistic, as all parameters were not taken into account.

There was no representation of stakeholders in the committee.

Only one Multi-service Operator(MSO) headend was considered and not the distribution cost through franchisee operators who maintain their own offices, technical maintenance staff, collection staff etc, they said.

The quality of service was not considered while calculating number of subscribers and their number was based on extended network of the MSO prevailing at that time. Radial distance of the network taken was seven km on 500 Series Cables as against the BIS Standard of transmission of four to five Kms, it said.

The COFI demanded that cost of FTA channels be reworked.

''Even as per our calculations submitted to the Ministry in 2003, the cost was Rs 180. One option is to use the benchmark of Rs 125, which was the charge for 15-20 channels in 1994 when there were no pay channels In our view a minimum of Rs 150 should be charged for the basic tier considering the fact that TRAI does not want last mile operators to pay for the FTA package to the MSOs. An amount of Rs 30 to Rs 50 is being paid at present to MSOs,'' the Federation said.

Col V C Khare, a Cable TV Industry Observer, says the benchmark price of Rs 72 per month did not take into account the quality of picture at the end of the line (farthest subscriber in terms of cable length in the network).

This figure of Rs 72 per month for 30 channels (analog - to be received without STB) was arrived at for a network spectrum 47-550 MHz transporting 62 channels, with a customer base of 32000 and a radius of operation of 7.5 kms on coaxial cable, he said.

Technically, Col Khare said, head ends using 500 series trunk cable over47-862 M Hz and transporting 90 channels cannot deliver signal quality per IS 13420 beyond 4.8 kms cable length, with a cascading limit of 16 amplifiers.

The subscriber base of 32000 was high as independent head ends were having 18000 subscribers on an average. On the other hand networks have consolidated with fiber, 120 digitally compressed signals, encryption and SMS hardware installed, he said.

If the upward and downward adjustment in cost for the above factors is taken into account the cost of Rs 72/- as prorated would give at least a minimum cost of Rs 100/-(exclusive of taxes), he said.

Mr Vikki Choudhry of NCTA argued that 10 years ago, most of the cable operators in the country were charging a price of around Rs 150 per month from the consumers when there were no pay channels in existence. Since this price was unregulated, it reflected market dynamics and cost structure. With an annual inflation of around five percent per year, the amount equivalent to this price at present value will be around Rs 180 per month.

''A price below this level will result in deficiency in quality of service for the consumers, Non-conformity with the provisions of CAS.&Standards of BIS, no investment in network up gradation or maintenance, loss of employment, incentivise most broadcasters to keep (or convert) their channels into pay, loss of revenue to the Indian Government and encourage under declaration by the cable service providers of FTA subscribers,'' he said.

The price as worked out by cable operators during 2003 and given to the Ministry was around Rs 201.65, he said.

Dr A K Rastogi, President, All India Aavishkar Dish Antenna Sangh said the basic service tier charges should be : Rs.100 + seven per cent inflation + service tax for 30 channels + Rs 1 + service tax per channel exceeding 30 channels. M/s Hathway Cable and Datacom Pvt Ltd, Mumbai pointed out that the price fixed three years back took into account the cost of materials like cable, amplifier, electronics, collection/service cost etc.

Most of the materials required for cable TV are manufactured out of metals like copper, aluminum whose prices have shot up significantly. Further power and fuel are important components in delivery of the services, the prices of which have also risen sharply in the last one or two years.

Under the circumstances, the price of the basic service tier should be fixed at Rs 100 per month (exclusive of taxes) for a minimum of 30 channels, it said.

The Cable Operators United Front (Couf), Delhi said that the price of Rs 72 + 7.2 = Rs 79.2 was not only unrealistic but also initially was wrongly calculated. It should be around not less than Rs 150/- per month, it said.

As per a Delhi High Court order, the CAS is to be implemented in the notified areas of Delhi, Mumbai and Kolkata from January 1, 2007.

Earlier attempt to introduce CAS in these cities in 2003 failed because of various complexities and intense opposition from the people.

UNI