Re: [IAC#RG] CATV Digitization - Accounting of Digital STBs (DSTBs) is Crucial to National Security and Public Safety

Dear Mahesh-ji

Without going into the rest of your email, which may be too technical for most of our members - and which we can discuss offlist, I am posing a question as you represent the technical bodies involved.

Is it that D-CAS is going to be used for real-time CENSORSHIP of all TV, mobile and broadband (ie. Convergence channels) ?

I'm sure that some of our free speech defenders would have a lot to say on that.

Sarbajit.

On Sat, Mar 9, 2013 at 5:16 PM, Mahesh Khera <mkkhera@yahoo.com> wrote:

Dear Sir,

Today's TOI reported that TRAI has admonished the Local Cable Operators (LCOs) for not completing the Customer Acquisition Forms (CAFs) and submitting the same to the MSOs while seeding the Digital STBs (DSTBs).

In CASBAA 2013 today, I raised this point to Ms Supriya Sahu, JS in-charge of national digitization of CATV. Not accounting 100 % DSTBs can become quite dangerous for national security and public safety.   

So far, only 4 metros have seen the digitization of CATV. The country has 140 million CATV connections in huts, slums, clusters, LIG, MIG and HIG homes. I am convinced that MIB is not competent to manage CATV and DTH networks serving millions of people through DSTBs  unlike MICT which accounts for each and every SIM card issued to customers. 

This is the one single most important reason that all carriage being managed by MIB (networks like CATV, DTH, satellite TV, FM broadcast and AM broadcast) must be the responsibility of MICT and all content in cinema, TV, PC, lap top, tablet, mob, on-line and print must come under the purview of MIB. Please recall how MMS clip unleashed horrible violence starting from NE and spreading like wild fire to the rest of the country and more than 100 precious lives were lost. If MIB was doing its own job, it would have established a National Content Monitoring Center (NCMC) by deploying the best available technologies and software in the world and the MMS clip could have been stopped even before it showed its ugly head or a counter to this seditious MMS clip could have been sent to all those who received this horrendous clip saying that do not pay any attention to this, it is false and a method to create communal disharmony in the country and destroy the democratic multi religious free structure of the nation. This is squarely the responsibility of Ministry of I&B (MIB). Rather than doing what it is incapable of doing, it better do its own job and leave the networks to the MICT.

In fact, this would be a historical structural change in the ruling and governance set up of the country which has been coming since the British Raj. If the country has to grow @ 10 % in GDP growth for next 5 to 7 years and get good governance and get rid of scams through establishing a National E Tendering and Procurement System (NETPS), this structural change is inescapable. We need to bring it to the notice of the political parties too.

May kindly share your thoughts on the above and do what ever is possible for taking it up with the government by the expert people opinion. I think Civil Society should also add this in their objectives.

Jai Hind

 

With warm regards,

Col Mahesh Khera