I&B Ministry
17.8 million STBs deployed in Phase IV areas: MIB
MUMBAI: The ministry of information and broadcasting says that close to 17.8 million set top boxes have been seeded in Phase IV areas. The figure was 138 million set top boxes during the fifteenth task force meeting held in end May this year.
Speaking at the sixteenth task force meeting which was held on 26 July, the joint secretary R. Jaya stated that most of this is coming courtesy voluntarily digitization.
She also urged representatives of the MSOs to finalise their procurement plans of STBs, and cautioned that “they should not let some disinterested players in phase IV areas delay digitization in phase IV areas on the grounds of non-availability of STB as it was done in phase III.”
She added that except for some DTH operators the public awareness campaign for DAS Phase IV digitization has not come up to scratch. She urged the industry to develop its own creative and its own spots to spread the message of cable TV digitization in the phase IV regions.
This is of course apart from the spots that have been developed by the ministry and which were playing out on the public broadcaster Doordarshan’s channels.
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.
