Lok Sabha Question No. 5279 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2017-04-05
Subject: Unauthorised DTH Operators
Ministry: INFORMATION AND BROADCASTING
Asked by: LAXMI NARAYAN YADAV, LAXMAN GILUWA, POONAM  MAHAJAN

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF INFORMATION AND BROADCASTING

## LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 5279 (TO BE ANSWERED ON 05.04.2017)

## UNAUTHORISED DTH OPERATORS

## 5279.  SHRI LAXMI NARAYAN YADAV: SHRI LAXMAN GILUWA: SHRIMATI POONAM MAHAJAN:

## Will the Minister of INFORMATION AND BROADCASTING be pleased to state:

- (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?

## ANSWER

## 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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