I&B Ministry
160 MSOs get 10-year licences under DAS for specified areas; 27 denied permission
NEW DELHI: With addition of two more multi-system operators (MSO) from Sikkim and Bihar, the total number, who have been granted permanent registration for 10 years to operate the digital addressable system during the last two months has gone up to 158 as compared to 142 by December-end.
Most of these MSOs had been given provisional permission earlier. Thus five more MSOs have been granted permission after 5 March till 25 March.
The MSOs, who have received permission after 5 March are Siti Maurya Cable Network Pvt. Ltd for areas in all districts in the state of Bihar except Madhepura and Arawal; Sikkim Digital Network for Gangtok city and Kabi, Phodong, Mangan, Chunthang, Lachen, Lachung, Ranka, Ranipool, 32 Mile, Singtam, Central Pandam, Namthang, Majitar, Rangpo, Duku, Pakyong, Rorathang, Rhenock, Rongli Aritar, Dalapchand, Legship, Geyzing, Pelling, Tasiding, Yuksom, Soreng, Dentak, Reshi, Sombaria, Daramdin, Melli, Bermoik, Temi, Tarku, Namchi, Jorethang and Romang; International Cable Network for Bhojpur, Buxar and Rohtash; SaiStar Digital Media Private Limited for Ahmedabad, Rajkot, Surat, and Vadodara under Phase II, all other areas under Phase III and Phase IV; and Maharaja Entertainment for pan India in all Phases of DAS.
The list of MSOs, who have been refused permission as on 28 February has gone up to 27 from 26 with one more MSO being denied permission. Some of those in the cancelled list applied as early as March 2013.
MSO sources, however, said that the approved list was in addition to the 140 whose names had been approved earlier in March last year.
The Ministry website mib.nic.in has listed the areas and the date from which the MSOs have been given permission.
I&B Ministry
Prasar Bharati sets EPG standards for DD Free Dish platform
New specs define 7-day guide, LCN mapping, and device compatibility.
MUMBAI: Your TV guide just got a backstage pass structured, scheduled, and far more in sync. Prasar Bharati has released detailed technical specifications for Electronic Programme Guide (EPG) services on DD Free Dish, laying down a standardised framework for how channels and programme information are organised and delivered. At the core of the update is a defined EPG data structure, covering genre-based categorisation, scheduling formats, and Logical Channel Numbering (LCN). The aim is simple: make navigation less guesswork and more guided experience across the platform’s over 40 million households.
The specifications also introduce a seven-day programme guide window for each channel, alongside clear rules for channel grouping and LCN mapping effectively deciding not just what you watch, but how easily you find it.
On the technical front, the document outlines requirements for Program Specific Information (PSI) and Service Information (SI), including descriptor usage across tables such as PAT, BAT and NIT. It further details service lists and network linkage parameters, giving OEMs and developers a clearer blueprint for integration.
Importantly, the framework is designed to work seamlessly with television sets equipped with in-built satellite tuners, enabling users to access DD Free Dish directly without additional hardware, an incremental but meaningful step towards simplifying access.
The platform will continue to operate on GSAT-15 transponders, using MPEG-4 compression and DVB-S2 transmission standards, ensuring continuity even as the interface evolves.
While largely technical, the move signals a broader push towards standardisation and user-friendly discovery in India’s free-to-air ecosystem because sometimes, the real upgrade isn’t what’s on screen, but how easily you get there.
