12704_SCTE_Broadband_Nov2016_COMPLETE_lowres

news from the scte

Over 150 million subscribers are served through an estimated 60,000 cable operators, employing over 240,000 technicians.

subscribers are not aware of DAS provisions. They are reliant on technicians who, in turn, have not received any recognized/ structured training on the subject. In the absence of any enforced easement rights, technician philosophy is based upon a vaguely connected approach without valid RoW (Right of Way). Most of them have little understanding of Indian standards on EoL (End of Line) specifications for connectivity, digital transmission parameters for assured QoS (Quality of Service) and resultant QoE (Quality of Experience). Paradoxically, these technicians were expected to appraise the subscribers on the user perspective on DAS when installing addressable STBs but could not do so in the absence of any formal training. The outcome, after four years of the mandate, is that subscribers still do not understand DAS except for their compulsion to install an STB, not always conforming to Indian standards, and continue to pay a fixed monthly subscription for watching more content with improved noise reduction on their TV screens, thanks to digital transmission mandates. India’s Prime Minister has conceived a ‘Digital India’ with 150 million cable homes (at present, uni-directional) to proliferate broadband into homes and dilute the digital divide. Potential for SCTE training in India In the absence of any organised training facilities for mandatory DAS, the SCTE philosophy is very conducive to the Indian environment. SCTE training modules already exist for:- (a) Installers to follow recommended practices for installing CPE (Customer Premises Equipment) i.e. STB, fixed line telephones and broadband modems. This training is deemed to confine itself to the in-house environment with full training on subscriber relations and awareness as the ‘nearest and always available’ point of service restoration. (b) Network engineers, proficient in the route from the DEMARC point (telco terminology) all the way up to the Headend/Central Office. (c) Headend/Central Office engineers who understand the lay-out of a designed Headend/Central office and

Lt. Col. VC Khare, Founder Member, SCTE India

prohibited from performing any technical functions of a headend). Coaxial cable is extended through amplifiers and passives to subscriber premises and accessed through an addressable Set-Top Box (STB). MSOs, (totalling approximately 6000 headends), were mandated to encode and encrypt all content transported from their headend (strictly prohibiting any analogue transmission) in encrypted, digitally addressable format. Addressability, in simple terms, refers to enabling or disabling viewing through the STB remotely and selectively from the headend through a compatible SMS (Subscriber Management System). At the subscriber end, it involved installing an STB, conforming to Indian standards, for the subscriber to select and view programmes of their choice only (authorised in the addressable STB), be billed for the same and remit charges for the service when billed. Over 150 million subscribers are served through an estimated 60,000 cable operators, employing over 240,000 technicians. Training perspective of mandatory DAS India is a country with a very large population and lean degrees of understanding of wireline/CATV technology and the intricacies of legislation and compliance issues. Hence,

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Vol. 38 No. 4 - November 2016 Issue