Section 2 in Telecommunication (Broadcasting and Cable Services) Interconnection (Digital Addressable Cable Television Systems) Regulations, 2012
2. Definitions.
- In these regulations, unless the context otherwise requires : -(a)"Act" means the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India Act 1997 (24 of 1997);(b)"addressable system" means an electronic device (which includes hardware and its associated software) or more than one electronic device put in an integrated system through which signals of cable television network can be sent in encrypted form, which can be decoded by the device or devices, having an activated Conditional Access System at the premises of the subscriber within the limits of authorisation made, through the Conditional Access System and the subscriber management system, on the explicit choice and request of such subscriber, by the cable operator to the subscriber;(c)"agent or intermediary" means any person including an individual, group of persons, public or body corporate, firm or any organization or body authorised by a broadcaster/ multi system operator to make available TV channel/s, to a distributor of TV channels;(d)"a-la-carte" with reference to offering of a TV channel means offering the channel individually on a standalone basis;(e)"a-la-carte rate" means the rate at which a standalone individual channel is offered to the distributor of TV channels or to the subscriber, as the case may be;(f)"Authority" means the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India established under subsection (1) of section 3 of the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India Act, 1997;(g)"broadcaster" means a person or a group of persons, or body corporate, or any organisation or body providing programming services and includes his or its authorised distribution agencies;(h)"broadcasting services" means the dissemination of any form of communication such as signs, signals, writing, pictures, images and sounds of all kinds by transmission of electro magnetic waves through space or through cables intended to be received by the general public either directly or indirectly and all its grammatical variations and cognate expressions shall be construed accordingly;(i)"bouquet" or "bouquet of channels" means an assortment of distinct channels, offered together as a group or as a bundle;(j)"bouquet rate" or "rate of bouquet" means the rate at which a bouquet of channels is offered to the distributor of TV channels or to the subscriber, as the case may be;(k)"cable operator" means any person who provides cable service through a cable television network or otherwise controls or is responsible for the management and operation of a cable television network and fulfils the prescribed eligibility criteria and conditions;(l)"cable service" means the transmission by cables of programmes including re-transmission by cables of any broadcast television signals;(m)"cable television network" means any system consisting of a set of closed transmission paths and associated signal generation, control and distribution equipment, designed to provide cable service for reception by multiple subscribers;(n)"carriage fee" means any fee paid by a broadcaster to a distributor of TV channels, for carriage of the channels or bouquets of channels of that broadcaster on the distribution platform owned or operated by such distributor of TV channels, without specifying the placement of various channels of the broadcaster vis-a-vis channels of other broadcasters;(o)"commercial subscriber" means any subscriber who receives a programming service at a place indicated by him to a service provider and uses signals of such service for the benefit of his clients, customers, members or any other class or group of persons having access to such place;(p)"DAS area" means the areas where in terms of notifications issued by the Central Government under sub-section (1) of section 4A of the Cable Television Networks (Regulation) Act, 1995 (7 of 1995), it is obligatory for every cable operator to transmit or retransmit programmes of any channel in an encrypted form through a digital addressable system;(q)"distributor of TV channels" means any person including an individual, group of persons, public or body corporate, firm or any organization or body re-transmitting TV channels through electromagnetic waves through cable or through space intended to be received by general public directly or indirectly and such person may include, but is not limited to a multi system operator;(r)"free-to-air channel", in respect of a cable television network, means a channel for which no subscription fee is to be paid by the cable operator to the broadcaster for its retransmission on cable;(s)"Multi-System Operator" means a cable operator who has been granted registration under rule 11C of the Cable Television Networks Rules, 1994, and who receives a programming service from a broadcaster or its authorised agencies and re-transmits the same or transmits his own programming service for simultaneous reception either by multiple subscribers directly or through one or more local cable operators and includes his authorised distribution agencies, by whatever name called;(t)"ordinary subscriber" means any subscriber who receives a programming service from a multi system operator directly or through his linked local cable operator and uses the same for his domestic purposes;(u)"pay channel", in respect of a cable television network, means a channel for which subscription fees is to be paid to the broadcaster by the cable operator and due authorisation needs to be taken from the broadcaster for its re-transmission on cable;(v)"placement fee" means any fee paid by a broadcaster to a distributor of TV channels, for placement of the channels of such broadcaster vis-à-vis channels of other broadcasters on the distribution platform owned or operated by such distributor of TV channels;(w)"programme" means any television broadcast and includes-(i)exhibition of films, features, dramas, advertisements and serials through video cassette recorders or video cassette players;(ii)any audio or visual or audio-visual live performance or presentation and the expression "programming service" shall be construed accordingly;(x)"RIO" means the Reference Interconnect Offer published by a service provider specifying terms and conditions on which other service provider may seek interconnection form the service provider making the offer;(y)"service provider" means the Government as a service provider and includes a licensee as well as any broadcaster, multi system operator, cable operator or distributor of TV Channels;(z)"set top box" means a device, which is connected to, or is part of a television and which allows a subscriber to receive in unencrypted and descrambled form subscribed channels through an addressable system;(za)"subscriber" means a person who receives the signals of a service provider at a place indicated by him to the service provider without further transmitting it to any other person and includes ordinary subscribers and commercial subscribers unless specifically excluded;(i)the guidelines for uplinking from India, issued vide No.1501/2/2002-TV(I)(Pt.) dated the 2nd December, 2005; or(ii)policy guidelines for downlinking of televisions channels, issued vide No. 13/2/2002-BP&L/BC-IV dated the 11th November, 2005, -(zb)"subscriber base" means the number of subscribers reflected in the subscriber management system, of the digital addressable systems;(zc)"subscriber management system" means a system or device which stores the subscriber records and details with respect to name, address and other information regarding the hardware being utilised by the subscriber, channels or bouquets of channels subscribed to by the subscriber, price of such channels or bouquets of channels as defined in the system, the activation or deactivation dates and time for any channel or bouquets of channels, a log of all actions performed on a subscriber's record, invoices raised on each subscriber and the amounts paid or discount allowed to the subscriber for each billing period;(zd)"TV channel" means a channel, which has been registered under -as amended from time to time, or such other guidelines for uplinking or downlinking of television channels, as may be issued from time to time by Government of India (Ministry of Information and Broadcasting) and reference to the term 'channel' shall be construed as a reference to "TV channel";(ze)all other words and expressions used in this regulations but not defined, and defined in the Act and rules and regulations made thereunder or the Cable Television Networks (Regulation) Act, 1995 (7 of 1995) and the rules and regulations made thereunder, shall have the meanings respectively assigned to them in those Acts or the rules or regulations, as the case may be.Chapter - II Interconnection
