Brief

Opportunities for CAS providers

The CAS notification has created opportunities for both CAS systems and solution providers. By Vinita Gupta.

The Conditional Access System (CAS), which allows cable TV viewers to pick the channels of their choice and subscribe to only those, is set to become a reality in Delhi, Mumbai and Kolkata with the Government issuing a notification for its roll-out by end 2006.

The High Court of Delhi has stipulated that from 31 December 2006, “It shall be mandatory for every cable operator to transmit or re-transmit programmes of every pay channel through an addressable system in areas notified by the government.”

This notification presents opportunities for both the CAS systems providers such as NDS and solution providers like Tata Sky, Hathway and Dish TV.

The NDS Group is a majority owned subsidiary of News Corporation that supplies open end-to-end digital technology and services to digital pay- television platform operators and content providers. The company is presently widening its presence in India with the opening of a sales and support operation in Mumbai. It also has an office in Delhi and an R&D centre at Bangalore.

Dr. Abe Peled, Chairman and CEO of NDS Group said, “NDS has had a research and development facility in Bangalore for over five years now. NDS Bangalore is pivotal in our ability to roll out technologies, such as middleware solutions, digital video recorders (DVR) and interactive TV applications, to some of the world’s largest broadcasters. The opening of the NDS Mumbai office is in recognition of the fact that the Indian market is ready for the wide-scale deployment of digital pay-TV.” NDS presently has two customers, Tata Sky and Hathway, in India.

Tata Sky had launched a Ku-band DTH service across India back in August 2006. NDS systems are deployed by Tata Sky to offers digital, interactive TV services. The NDS systems deployed include NDS VideoGuard conditional access solution (CAS), MediaHighway middleware, and a bouquet of interactive TV applications including the electronic programme guide (EPG) for viewer navigation. Tata Sky has over 250,000 subscribers.

Hathway Cable and Datacom selected NDS systems in 2003 to power its digital cable operations. NDS had provided a customised electronic programme guide for the service. Hathway is a Multiple System Operator (MSO) that provides digital cable TV services. Reaching two million viewers, it provides digital cable TV services in 13 Indian cities including Chennai, Mumbai, New Delhi, Pune, Bangalore, and Hyderabad.

NDS VideoGuard technology is build into Set-top Box (STB) chipsets. To protect its revenues, NDS uses a smart card (viewing card) in its CAS system to prevent piracy. The system has features such as a programme guide, parental control (locking certain channels using a pin code) and in built games. Now the company is working on many EPG like Girgit (Chameleon in Hindi).

The company recently acquired Jungo, a software provider for residential gateways.