I&B Ministry
LCO forums appeal to Minister Javedekar for their inclusion in new task force
KOLKATA: The local cable operators (LCOs) have once again appealed to the Minister for Information & Broadcasting Prakash Javedekar that the last mile owners (LMOs) associations/federations from all the four corners of the country must be a part of the new task force.
The task force was set up for the implementation of digitisation in the country and particularly to oversee the execution of the last two phases of digital addressable system (DAS).
It should be noted that on 8 October, when all the stakeholders met, the LCOs expressed their view of not being given a voice in the task force.
“We have requested our president Arvind Prabhoo to communicate to the Minister and to ensure that MCOF be a part of the new task force and that LMO associations/federations from north, south, east and west of India must be part of the new task force,” said Maharashtra Cable Operators Foundation (MCOF) core committee member Bobby Shah.
He added, “The Minister himself has noticed and mentioned that more than two to four LMO association/federation must be in the task force.”
Reiterating the new government’s plan to transform the country into Digital India with the ideology ‘saabke sath saabke liye’, Kolkata-based Cable & Broadband Operators’ Welfare Association’s secretary Swapan Chowdhury said the forum has sought government’s intervention to the system, which would work in a transparent manner with a scope of protecting the livelihood of millions of people of our country.
“We appreciate government’s endeavors to re-look and re-construct the digital addressable cable TV system and accordingly take up time to reconstruct the task force,” the LCOs said.
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.
