Question : Unauthorised DTH Operators

(a) whether direct-to-home (DTH) operators are beaming into India’s free-to-air channels without obtaining due license, registration or authorisation and if so, the details thereof;
(b) whether downlinking guidelines have been recently violated by registered broadcasting companies who have provided signals to unauthorised DTH operators and if so, the details thereof, including the names of broadcasting companies who have violated downlinking guidelines; and
(c) the action taken by the Government against those who have violated downlinking guidelines along with the number of notices issued by the Government during the last three years?

THE MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF INFORMATION AND BROADCASTING {COL RAJYAVARDHAN RATHORE (Retd.)}

(a) to (c) It had been brought to the notice of this Ministry by Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) that a DTH service called Asia Broadcast Satellite (ABS) FTA channels had started providing permitted free to air (FTA) channels in India. Ministry of Information and Broadcasting is the licensing authority for Direct to Home (DTH) broadcasting services in India and it has received no application or reference from ABS for DTH operations. This Ministry consulted Ministry of Home Affairs on the issue of unauthorized DTH service of ABS from security angle and its implication from national security perspective. Ministry of Home Affairs mentioned that the transmission of DTH service by ABS is without any application to the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting and not in line with the guidelines of Ministry of I&B. Keeping in view the national security angle, Ministry of I&B requested Department of Space (DOS) to block the signals of ABS which is beaming in India.

Clause 5.6 of the Article 5 of Downlinking guidelines issued by Ministry of I&B stipulates that all the Broadcasters (Channels) shall provide Satellite TV channel signal reception decoders only to MSOs/Cable Operators registered under the Cable Television Networks (Regulation) Act, 1995 or to a DTH operator registered under the DTH guidelines issued by the Government of India or to an Internet Protocol Television Service Provider duly permitted under their existing Telecom License or authorized by Department of Telecommunications or to a HITS operator duly permitted under the policy guidelines for HITS operators issued by the Ministry

of Information and Broadcasting. In order to deter the permitted Broadcasters (channels) from violating the downlinking guidelines, this Ministry has issued a Web Notice on 23.12.2015 which is available at following link:

http://mib.nic.in/WriteReadData/documents/Notice_to_all_Broadcaster_Private_TV_(Channels)_registered_with_MIB_.pdf

No violation of Downlinking guidelines by permitted Broadcasters (channels) on account of providing signals to unauthorised DTH operators has been brought to the notice of Ministry of Information and Broadcasting.
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