I&B Ministry
Report details of TV channels by Mar-end or face action, teleports warned
NEW DELHI: Teleports which fail to give full information of TV channels uplinked or downlinked by them within 15 days will be considered as lapsed and action initiated to cancel permission.
The Information and Broadcasting Ministry said in a note put on its website but dated 17 March that all teleports have to report within fifteen days according to the formula attached to the notice on mib.nic.in.
The Ministry had on 7 January 20I3 directed all the teleport operators having permission for up-linking and down-linking of TV channels to furnish the detailed list of TV Channels being uplinked from their teleport every month.
The note said: “It has come to the notice of this Ministry that some of the teleport operators are still not furnishing the above monthly report and those who are furnishing the report, the data do not match with the permissions issued by this Ministry for uplinking/downlinking of TV channels from their respective teleports.
The Ministry had decided that all the teleport operators having permission for up-linking and down-linking of TV channels shall immediately furnish details of the permissions issued by Ministry till date for uplinking/downlinking of TV channels from their teleports in the fixed proforma.
Teleports who do not give such information will be presumed to be non-functional and action will be initiated for cancellation of the teleport permission.
“Furnishing this information is mandatory and non-compliance will be construed as violation of the uplinking guidelines”, the Ministry 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.
