I&B Ministry
MSOs warned again not to approach middlemen or touts for licence applications
NEW DELHI: Applicants for registration as multi-system operators (MSOs) in digital addressable systems have been warned by the Information and Broadcasting Ministry not to be misled by middlemen.
Reiterating that it uses a very transparent system, the Ministry has said it has come to its notice that there a few who are approaching MSO applicants with false claims for providing MSO licences and demanding some gratifications/bribe to get the work done.
The Ministry says MSO applications with all details furnished are forwarded to Home Ministry for obtaining Security clearance and processed.
All MSO applicants have therefore been asked not to deal with such unauthorised/mischievous persons.
The Ministry organises Open House Meetings, every Tuesday at 11.00 am in Room No.662, A Wing in Shastri Bhavan, New Delhi. For any doubt or enquiry about status of their applications, MSOs may participate/ attend the Open House Meeting by sending an email at obpandl@qmail.com or at das.mib@gmail.com.
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.
