TIL Desk/Business/New Delhi/ Broadcast regulator TRAI Friday said it is examining possible solutions for achieving TV Set-Top-Box (STB) interoperability, and expects to make headway with industry involvement by the end of this year. The move assumes significance since consumers get tied down to their service providers, as STBs are bound to the operator.
When a consumer wants to change the service provider, they are forced to invest in a new STB, adding to the cost burden. Besides, STBs of old service providers remain unused, and ends up as electronic waste. Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI), in a statement, said it conducted a workshop to discuss ‘downloadable’ Conditional Access System (CAS) based solution’ to implement STB interoperability.
Citing its new framework for broadcasting and cable services that allows consumers to pay only for channels they wish to see, the regulator said that choice also entails freedom to avail better service offerings in the market.
“As a logical next step towards this objective, TRAI has been exploring the important issue of interoperability of STB….Interoperability of STB is also desirable for creation of open and competitive market bringing in advantage of volume of scale and consumer preference,” TRAI said.
