New Delhi: The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) on Monday designated the Telecommunication Engineering Centre (TEC) as a testing-and-certification agency for the operationalisation and oversight of a framework for technical compliance of the Conditional Access System (CAS) and the Subscriber Management System (SMS), notified for the broadcasting and cable sector recently.
According to an order issued by the telecom regulator, the TEC will carry out the overall administration, coordination and execution of testing and certification of the CAS and SMS.
It will also notify and maintain test schedules and test procedures, empanel and declare the list of accredited testing laboratories that fulfil the requirements for carrying out the testing, provide certification for all products tested and certified by the accredited testing laboratories, and maintain the version and deployment details of the CAS and SMS deployed in India.
The TRAI had notified the Telecommunication (Broadcasting and Cable) Services Interconnection (Addressable Systems) (Third Amendment) Regulations, 2021 on June 11 to provide for a framework for the technical compliance of the CAS and SMS for the broadcasting and cable sector.
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The regulation had stipulated that the operationalisation and oversight of the framework for CAS and SMS "shall be" carried out through a testing-and-certification agency to be notified by the telecom regulator later.
"Therefore, the Authority today, through an order, has designated Telecommunication Engineering Centre (TEC) as a testing and certification agency," the TRAI said in a statement.
While notifying the amended regulations in June, the telecom regulator had said the prescribed technical framework for CAS and SMS was expected to bring "several important benefits" to the television broadcasting sector as well as the consumers.
A tightly synchronised working of the CAS and SMS, as specified by the framework, will enable factual reporting of the subscriber base and reduce the revenue loss to the stakeholders on account of erroneous subscription reporting, the regulator had said.
The TRAI had also said the technical framework will usher in "better content security" in the distribution value chain, give confidence to the global content developer community and pave the way for increased availability of better quality, high-definition content to Indian television viewers.
The technical framework will also improve end-to-end compliance and reduce litigation among the service providers, the telecom regulator had said. PTI
