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 digital addressable system 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 multi-system operator or DTH operator or IPTV operator or HITS operator to the subscriber;
(c) “a-la-carte” with reference to offering of a TV channel means offering the channel individually on a standalone basis;
(d) “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;
(e) "Authority" means the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India established under subsection (1) of section 3 of the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India Act, 1997;
3
(f) "broadcaster" means a person or a group of persons or body corporate, or any organisation or body providing programming services and includes his authorised distribution agencies;
(g) “bouquet” or “bouquet of channels” means an assortment of distinct channels, offered together as a group or as a bundle;
(h) “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;
(i) "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;
(j) "cable service" means the transmission by cables of programmes including retransmission by cables of any broadcast television signals;
(k) "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;
(l) “Complaint Centre” means a facility established by the multi-system operator or his linked local cable operators, as the case may be, under regulation 3 of the Consumers Complaint Redressal (Digital Addressable Cable TV Systems) Regulations, 2012;
(m) “encrypted” in respect of a signal of cable television network, means the changing of such signal in a systematic way so that the signal would be unintelligible without use of an addressable system and the expression “unencrypted” shall be construed accordingly;
4
(n) “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;
(o) “manual” means the Manual of Practice referred in regulation 9 of these regulations;
(p) “maximum retail price” is the ceiling price, exclusive of taxes, which shall be payable by a subscriber to the multi-system operator or its linked cable operator, as the case may be, for each channel or bouquet of channels made available to such subscriber by the multi-system operator;
(q) “Multi-System Operator” means a cable operator who has been granted registration under rule 11 of the Cable Television Networks Rules, 1994, as amended by rule 8 of the Cable Television Networks (Amendment) Rules, 2012, 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;
(r) “Nodal Officer” means the officer appointed or designated by a multi-system operator or his linked local cable operator, under regulation 8 of the Consumers Complaint Redressal (Digital Addressable Cable TV Systems) Regulations, 2012;
(s) "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;
(t) "programme" means any television broadcast and includes;
(i) exhibition of films, features, dramas, advertisements and serials;
(ii) any audio or visual or audio-visual live performance or presentation; and---- the expression "programming service" shall be construed accordingly;
5
(u) "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;
( v ) “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;
(w) "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;
(x) "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;
(y) “TV channel” means a channel, which has been registered under -----
(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, --------- 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 6 (Ministry of Information and Broadcasting) and reference to the term ‘channel’ shall be construed as a reference to “TV channel”;
(z ) 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.
7
CHAPTER II CONNECTION, DISCONNECTION, RECONNECTION, TRANSFER AND SHIFTING OF CABLE TV SERVICES