Circular No. 18/2009/TT-BTTTT stipulates certain requirements for managing the provision of analog cable television services at the end-user's premises.

CIRCULAR

Article 24Prescribing certain requirements for managing the provision of analog cable television services at the end user's location

MINISTER OF INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATIONS

Decree No. 178/2007/ND-CP dated December 3, 2007 of the Government on functions, tasks, powers, and organizational structure of Ministries and ministerial-level agencies;
Decree No. 187/2007/ND-CP dated December 25, 2007 of the Government on functions, tasks, powers, and organizational structure of the Ministry of Information and Communications;
Pursuant to the proposal of the Director of the Radio, Television and Electronic Information Management Department,

REGULATIONS

Article 1. General Provisions

1. Cable television as defined in this Circular is a type of paid television service using cable network (CATV) transmission means to provide analog television programs to end users (hereinafter referred to as subscribers) according to contracts with service providers.

2. Analog cable television signal is a composite video signal and accompanying audio signal modulated by analog technology, transmitted over a cable network to the subscriber's analog receiving equipment.

3. Subscriber terminal is the point where the analog cable television signal is provided at the location registered by the subscriber for cable television service.

4. Licensing and management of activities of analog cable television service providers shall be carried out in accordance with Decision No. 79/2002/QD-TTg dated June 18, 2002 of the Prime Minister and state regulations applicable to news agencies.

5. Cable television service providers licensed to operate must comply with reporting requirements as stipulated in Article 2 of this Circular and technical signal requirements for analog cable television at the subscriber terminal as stipulated in Article 3 of this Circular.

Article 2. Reporting System

1. Cable television service providers licensed to operate must implement annual periodic reporting (before December 15) in the following areas:

a) Subscriber development: Number of subscribers developed quarterly and by each operational area;

b) Infrastructure development: Types of equipment, transmission technology, network configuration, total length of new cable developed (in kilometers);

c) Service development: Types of services (value-added services, newly developed services during the period);

d) Program content development: Number of programs (foreign programs, domestically produced programs, self-produced programs), new programs added during the period;

đ) Customer complaint resolution and customer care: Total number of complaints received, total number of complaints resolved, time taken to resolve complaints, customer support and care services;

e) Quality assurance work: Periodic technical quality testing, service quality assurance plans, and technical fault resolution measures.

2. In cases of necessity, cable television service providers licensed to operate shall be responsible for submitting ad hoc reports upon request of competent state management authorities.

Article 3. Technical Requirements

1. Frequency Band Requirements

The operating frequency band of the analog cable television signal is the very high frequency (VHF) and ultra-high frequency (UHF) bands used for television broadcasting.

2. High-Frequency Signal Requirements

a) High-frequency signal level in the VHF band within the range of 60 decibel microvolts to 80 decibel microvolts;

b) High-frequency signal level in the UHF band within the range of 60 decibel microvolts to 80 decibel microvolts;

c) Channel bandwidth for the PAL D/K color system is 08 Megahertz;

d) Channel bandwidth for the PAL G color system is 08 Megahertz;

đ) Channel bandwidth for the PAL B color system is 07 Megahertz;

e) Frequency difference between the carrier frequency of the video signal and the carrier frequency of the audio signal for each channel of the PAL D/K color system is 6.5 Megahertz;

g) Frequency difference between the carrier frequency of the video signal and the carrier frequency of the audio signal for each channel of the PAL B/G color system is 5.5 Megahertz;

h) Video-to-audio power ratio within the range of 10 times to 20 times.

3. Video Signal Requirements

a) Modulation depth within the limit of (87.5 ± 2)% of the peak-to-peak amplitude of the sync pulse signal;

b) Post-demodulation sync pulse level within the limit of (300 ± 15) millivolts;

c) Differential amplifier distortion within the limit of (± 7)% compared to the standard amplitude value of the color carrier signal;

d) Differential phase distortion within the limit of (± 5) degrees compared to the standard phase value of the color carrier signal;

đ) Group delay within the limit of (± 100 x 10^-9) seconds;

e) Signal-to-noise ratio not less than 45 decibels;

g) Amplitude frequency response deviation of the video signal from 0 Megahertz to 5 Megahertz within the limit of (± 2) decibels;

h) Carrier-to-noise ratio not less than 43 decibels.

4. Audio Signal Requirements

Audio frequency response deviation from 30 Hertz to 15000 Hertz within the limit of (± 1.5) decibels.

Article 4. Organization of Implementation

1. The Radio, Television and Electronic Information Management Department shall take the lead, guide, and inspect cable television service providers licensed to operate in implementing this Circular.

2. The Department of Information and Communications shall take the lead, coordinate with the Radio, Television and Electronic Information Management Department to carry out inspection, supervision, and monitoring of the implementation of this Circular within their jurisdiction.

3. Violations of the provisions of this Circular will be handled in accordance with current laws.

4. During the implementation process, if there are any difficulties, units should promptly reflect them to the Ministry of Information and Communications for consideration and resolution.

Article 5. Effective Date

1. This Circular takes effect from September 1, 2009.

2. The Head of the Office, the Director of the Radio, Television and Electronic Information Management Department, Heads of agencies and units under the Ministry, Directors of Departments of Information and Communications, Cable Television Service Providers licensed to operate, and related organizations, entities, and individuals are responsible for implementing this Circular./.