Centre asks cable operators to get themselves registered in 10 days

The Ministry of Information & Broadcasting has directed multi-system operators (MSOs), or cable TV operators, to install monitoring devices on head-ends and complete their registration by November 25. Failure to comply may result in action or the cancellation of their registration, according to an order issued on Tuesday.

The ministry emphasized that it has observed that some MSOs have yet to complete registration and provide necessary information. Therefore, all MSOs are instructed to submit the required information by the specified deadline. The order warned that failure to do so could be interpreted as a violation of the terms and conditions of their registration, potentially leading to the initiation of proceedings for suspension or revocation of MSO registration.

In a previous advisory from May, the government had urged cable operators to adhere to the provisions of the Cable Television Networks (Regulation) Act, 1995. This includes allowing the monitoring of the output feed of cable operators through a device installed on the head-end of cable operations. Operators were requested to cooperate with the team of BECIL for the installation of monitoring devices and to provide information about head-end locations, conditional access system details, transport stream/frequency details, RF feed details, platform service details, CTAV signal distribution areas, and STB seeding details for monitoring systems.

Non-cooperation was explicitly stated to be viewed as a violation of Section 10A (4) of the Cable Television Networks (Regulation) Act, 1995, potentially resulting in action. According to information furnished by the I&B Ministry on October 31, there were 1,753 registered MSOs across the country.