New DTH players may have to ensure interoperability

The five million direct-to-home (DTH) subscribers may be able to switch from their current service providers to new DTH players by installing an add-on device called transcoder to their set-top boxes. The transcoder is expected to cost just Rs 400-600.

According to sources in the Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS), the onus of providing the transcoders will be on new DTH players. The BIS has also been asked to submit a detailed report on interoperability of DTH set-top boxes to the I &B ministry.

The set-top boxes being used to receive services from the existing players, Dish TV and Tata Sky, are not compatible with the new-technology services that will be provided by DTH firms like Big TV (Reliance ADA Group), Bharti or Sun Direct.

The interoperability clause in the DTH licensing norms makes it mandatory for all DTH service providers to offer a technically compatible DTH set-top box so that the consumers can easily shift their operator without changing their set-top box.

However, due to difference in technology between Dish TV, Tata Sky (MPEG-2) and the latest technology of new entrants, existing DTH subscribers cannot access the services offered by the new players on their existing DTH boxes.

Sources say BIS may recommend to the government the use of transcoders for solving the issue of interoperability.

The BIS has been requested by the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai), to make recommendations on standards of DTH boxes. A transcoder will cost the new DTH companies about $10-15 (30-40 per cent of the DTH hardware cost).

"A transcoder will help the consumers shift to the DTH services of as many operators as they want. It's like a mobile consumer shifting from one service provider to another without changing his mobile handset," said a member of the BIS technical committee.

According to sources, the BIS decided to delegate the responsibility for preparing a detailed paper on interoperability of DTH boxes to its members amid opposition from Tata Sky "" Sky opposed this move on the grounds that the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting (I&B) is the deciding body on interoperability and the BIS should not act in the matter till the ministry takes a decision.

While both Dish TV and Tata Sky are using MPEG-2 compression technology, the new DTH entrants are using MPEG-4 technology.

Through MPEG-4 technology, the DTH companies can offer 25 per cent more channels per transponder (a device fitted on the satellite through which DTH transmission takes place) than those using MPEG-2 technology.