Russia’s Ministry of Communications and Mass Communications plans to change the licensing conditions for small and medium-sized cable operators.
Speaking at the Vll international conference Digital & Connected TV Russia 2016, organised and quoted by ComNews, Vitaly Stytsko, the deputy DG of the Russian Television and Radio Broadcasting Network (RTRS), said that the changes would apply to those that are not affiliated to RTRS and continue to take terrestrial signals from broadcasters.
Furthermore, the new licences would be linked directly to the areas where cable operators provide their services.
To date, the RTRS has concluded agreements with 132 cable operators that give them with a connection to the federal network.
The high cost of such a connection is believed to be one reason why many small and medium-sized operators have opted to not be affliated to the RTRS.
