ITV

Category: Regulators

  • TRAI wi-fi ideas will lead to backhaul requirements, benefit TSPs: BIF

    MUMBAI: Broadband India Forum president T.V. Ramachandran has lauded the recommendations from the telecom regulator TRAI on ‘Proliferation of Broadband  through Public WIFI‘ announced on 9 March and called it as a huge step towards expediting the availability of affordable and accessible broadband everywhere and to achieve the vision of  Digital India. 

    He said and he hoped that the Department of Telecom will provide their early consent to these recommendations and pave the way for boosting broadband penetration in the country currently languishing at a lowly 18 per cent as compared to that of mobile which is at 93 per cent.

    Explaining the importance of this regulation, Ramachandran pointed out that based on Global Average of one hotspot for every 150 persons; India should have approx. 8 Million hotspots. However, the total number of hotspots as of 2016 based on TRAI’s own report was only 31, 500. He was confident with the implementation of these recommendations; the number of hotspots would accelerate to help bridge the huge deficit that exists.

    Ramachandran went on to further state  that this would lead to introduction of a number of new small time players in WIFI provisioning space who will be able to boost the broadband availability to the masses. Besides he also mentioned that due to this, there is likely to be huge explosion of backhaul requirements and TSPs are likely to hugely benefit out of this.

    Pointing out some of the salient and path breaking recommendations made by the Regulator, he mentioned a few viz.

    a) Clarification of the mis-understanding that arose in the UL-VNO regulations regarding the clause of exclusivity by asking the DOT to amend the UL-VNO guidelines to clarify that a UL-VNO can parent to multiple NSOs for offering of Internet services.

    b) Re-iteration of  its earlier position regarding freeing up new spectrum bands for Wifi access in the 5.8Ghz band and to expedite opening up of the  E & V bands for improving backhaul capacity ( E band) and for both backhaul and for high capacity access in case of V band

    c) Suggestions towards reduction in duties to make WiFi access devices cheaper so as to pave the way for affordable WiFi services in public places, and in turn, boost broadband penetration.

    d) Suggestion for creation of a new category of `public data office aggregators’ (PDOAs) who shall deliver Public WiFi services. It has also suggested that such aggregators work with small entrepreneurs who will provide the venues for `public data offices’ for such mass WiFi deployment.

    Under specific registration requirements (to be formulated by DOT). This move shall encourage Village Level Entrepreneurship & thus provide large employment opportunities in rural areas.

    e) The regulator has also permitted ease of authentication when roaming across several hotspots and also through a process of one-time authentication using eKYC, eCAF, MAC ID or through a secure Mobile app.

    Ramachandran said that BIF shared the vision of TRAI to decentralize the internet service sector and open up the sector for provision of broadband services through a plethora of smaller players through the simple process of ‘registration‘. This will result in significant increase in broadband penetration and the uptake of broadband enabled services  and applications throughout the country that will help catapult India into the top league of nations with high density of broadband users and higher average speed and capacity consumed per user.

    Also Read: 

    TRAI wants reduction of import duty on Wi-fi equipment to help growth

  • Free Jio: TDSAT reserves order on appeal for stay

    MUMBAI: Telecom tribunal TDSAT has reserved its decision on an interim appeal seeking a stay on Reliance Jio’s free promotional offer. TDSAT reserved its order after hearing all the parties concerned including the incumbent operators Idea Cellular, Bharti Airtel, Jio and the regulator TRAI. Jio, however, maintained that it did not violate any tariff orders in giving out two promotional offers.

    Separately, Vodafone India had moved the Delhi High Court blaming TRAI to be acting as a mute spectator to Jio’s violations of regulations and IUC norms.

    Before TDSAT, Airtel had sought a stay on TRAI’s sanction to Jio to continue with the free promotional offer. Airtel had also alleged that TRAI is “perpetuating illegality” by allowing the 4G entrant to game the IUC regime by allowing Jio to offer free data and voice services. Idea had subsequently moved the tribunal.

    Both had also requested for a direction to TRAI to furnish records related to the authority’s decision. The appeal had also appealed for restraining Jio from offering its consumers the zero tariff plan and other promotional offers.

    Jio commercially launched on 5 September 2016 with inaugural free services, which it extended in December till 31 March, 2017.

    The regulator had on 31 January, 2017, said that Jio’s free plans were not the violation of the regulatory guidelines on promotional offers. It added that its examination found that the 4G entrant’s ‘Happy New Year Offer‘ launched on 4 December, 2016, is different from the Welcome Offer, thereby it could not be treated as an extension of the promotional offer as the benefits were different.

    Jio will now however start charging its customers for its mobile services from 1 April, 2017. The telco had also launched 10 Prime packs of users that join the network before 31 March, 2017, and had also launched a buy one get one free offer for Jio Prime users.

  • Transponder rentals: Prior MIB approval not needed for EEFC forex payments

    MUMBAI: India’s ministry of information & broadcasting (MIB) has eased rules for broadcasters and teleport owners making foreign currency payments for transponder rentals for uplinking to foreign satellites. It has issued a notice that allows them to make payments from their Exchange Earners’ Foreign Currency (EEFC) accounts to them without approaching it for approval.

    The notice reiterates that “all broadcast companies and teleport operators, as per MIB’s advisory dated 25 June 2014, are advised to strictly follow the guidelines under provisions of the FEMA Act 1999 read with Master Circular No. 6/2014-15 dated 1 July 2014 along with Schedule II thereof issued by RBI. Proposals seeking prior approval would require to be sent to this Ministry only if the proposed remittance is from other than EEFC accounts.”

    According to the provisions, it requires prior approval of the MIB for making remittance of foreign exchange towards availing transponder services on foreign satellite for up-linking of TV Channels/Teleport services/DSNG Operations/Temporary events. Rule 4 of Master Circular provides that, “No person shall draw foreign exchange for a transaction included in the Schedule II without prior approval of the Government of India.

    However, a specific exemption is provided for EEFC account holders. Rule 6 (l) of Master Circular states that, “Nothing contained in the Rule 4 or Rule 5 shall ‘apply to drawl made out’ of funds held in Exchange Earners’ Foreign Currency (EEFC) account of the remitter,” according to the notice signed by under-secretary to the government of India Manmeet Kaur.

    In the past, the ministry had been entertaining such cases where payments (usually, part payments) were being made from this account, and then issuing approval for remittances proposed to be made from other than EEFC Account.

  • TRAI wants reduction of import duty on Wi-fi equipment to help growth

    NEW DELHI: The import duty applicable upon Wi-Fi access point equipment should be revisited in coordination with the Commerce Ministry so that the cost of providing Wi-Fi service in the country leading to proliferation of broadband services can come down, the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India has said.

    It also said that the Department of Telecom should issue a clarification in respect of Clause (1)(xxii) of the UL VNO Guidelines, specifically clarifying that there is no exclusivity requirement upon UL VNO licensees for internet services, that is, a UL VNO can patent multiple NSO for providing internet service.

    In its Recommendations on “Proliferation of Broadband through Public Wi-Fi Networks”, TRAI said a new framework should be put in place for setting up of Public Data Offices (PDOs). Under this framework, PDOs in agreement with Public Data Office Aggregators (PDOAs) should be allowed to provide public Wi-Fi services. This will not only increase the number of public hotspots but also make internet service more affordable in the country.

    It said the existing requirement of authentication through OTP for each instance of access may be done away with. Authentication through eKYC, eCAF and other electronic modes should be allowed for the purposes of KYC obligations by PDOAs. This would enable PDOAs to obtain eKYC information and automatically authenticate the user device based on parameters such as the device’s MAC ID or through a mobile APP, which will store data required for authentication of the subscriber.

    In consultation with the security agencies, the DoT may consider authentication by MAC ID of the device or through a mobile APP which stores eKYC data of the subscriber and automatically authenticates the subscriber.

    PDOAs may be allowed to provide public Wi-Fi services without obtaining any specific license for the purpose. However, they would be subject to specific registration requirements (prescribed by the DoT) which will include obligations to ensure that e-KYC, authentication and record-keeping requirements (for customers, devices and PDOs enlisted with the PDOAs) are fulfilled by the PDOAs. This will encourage village level entrepreneurship and provide strong employment opportunities, especially in rural areas.

    PDOAs should be allowed to enter into agreements with third party application/service providers for the purposes of managing authentication and payment processes. Appropriate guidelines may be issued to ensure that customer consent is obtained, and other issues surrounding privacy and protection of sensitive personal information are addressed. This will encourage innovation in authentication and payment processes resulting in ease in access of the Wi-Fi services.

    TRAI said it was of the view that implementation of the recommendations will lead to introduction of a new set of small players in the Wi-Fi service provisioning space, who will be able to contribute in a big way in making broadband available to the masses.

    The Authority had suo-moto issued a Consultation Paper on “Proliferation of Broadband through Public Wi-Fi Networks” on 13 July 2016 to explore the regulatory and commercial constraints that potentially hinder the growth of scalable and ubiquitous Wi-Fi in the country. This included a review of any potential licensing restrictions, measures required to facilitate interoperability between Wi-Fi networks, possible de-licensing of additional bandwidths for the purposes of expediting the deployment of public Wi-Fi, and several demand-side issues such as roaming capabilities, authentication and payment processes, that potentially hinder the uptake of public Wi-Fi.

    While the comments and counter-comments received from the stakeholders were placed on the TRAI website, a workshop on public Wi-Fi networks was conducted in collaboration with the International Institute of Information Technology (lilT), Bangalore, on 28 September 2016.

    The purpose of this workshop was to explore various models of public Wi-Fi that could address the resource gap in terms of delivering public Wi-Fi in remote areas. Based on the discussions held at the workshop, the Authority released a Consultation Note on “Model for Nationwide Interoperable and Scalable Public Wi-Fi Networks” on 15 November 2016. The Consultation Note attempted to explore the roles of different stakeholders in the Public Wi-Fi network value chain and build an ecosystem for promoting scalable and sustainable partnerships for large scale nation wide deployment; and explore viable models that could be adopted towards rapidly deploying affordable and interoperable public Wi­ Fi networks. The comments received from the stakeholders were placed on the TRAI’s website. An Open House Discussion (OHD) with stakeholders was also organized on 9 January 2017 at New Delhi.

    The detailed recommendations are on trai.gov.in

  • Don’t levy spectrum usage charges as percentage of AGR: TRAI

    NEW DELHI/MUMBAI: The minimum presumptive Adjusted Gross Revenue should not be made applicable to ISP licensees, and the spectrum usage charges should not be levied as percentage of AGR and existing formula-based mechanism of charging SUC should continue as also the existing system of payment of SUC charges on an annual basis by ISP licensees.

    Following a request from the DoT, the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) had issued a consultation paper on “Spectrum Usage Charges (SUC) and Presumptive-Adjusted Gross Revenue for Internet Service Providers and Commercial Very Small Aperture Terminal Service Providers” on 19 August 2016.

    Apart from written comments and counter comments, an Open House Discussion was held on 19 January 2017 with the stakeholders. TRAI’s recommendations were based on the analysis of the comments received from the stakeholders and its own analysis.

    The interest for delayed payment of SUC by ISP licensees, TRAI recommends, should be two per cent above the SBI PLR rate existing on the beginning of the relevant financial year, and there should be no requirement of FBG for ISP licensee in respect of formula-based SUC payable.

    The minimum presumptive AGR should not be made applicable to commercial VSAT license and the SUC should not be more than one per cent of AGR irrespective of the data rate.

    The Department of Telecom should put in place a comprehensive, integrated on-line system that acts as a single window clearance for the allocation/ clearances/issuance for approval/ clearance / issue of No Objection Certificates and other permissions to the licensees of spectrum,

    In its Recommendations on “Spectrum Usage Charges and Presumptive Adjusted Gross Revenue for Internet Service Providers and Commercial Very Small Aperture Terminal Service Providers”, TRAI has said DoT should make arrangement to accept online payment of financial levies / dues such as Licence Fee, Spectrum Usage Charges and other fees that are paid by the licensees for obtaining licence/ approval/ clearance / issue of No Objection Certificates from DoT.

    The regulator has said that the existing system of spectrum assignment on location/link-by-link basis on administrative basis to ISP licensees in the specified bands (viz 2.7 GHz, 3.3 GHz, 5.7 GHz and 10.5 GHz) should continue.

    DoT may take up with the Department of Space to evolve a system where the VSAT licensees are not made to run from pillar to post to get their services activated.

    The clock should start from the day the bandwidth is allotted by DoS and DoT should allot frequency within three months of allotment of spectrum by DoS. The two departments may also explore the possibility of implementing an on-line application for automating the whole process to bring in transparency.

    DoT had sought TRAI’s recommendations in terms of clause 11(1) of TRAI Act 1997 (as amended), on :

    (A) ISP  license

    (i)    Rates for  SUC;
    (ii)   Percentage of AGR including minimum AGR;
    (iii)  Allied issues like schedule of payment, charging of interest, penalty and Financial Bank Guarantee (FBG)

    (B) Commercial VSAT license

    (i)  Floor level (minimum) AGR, based       on the amount of spectrum held by commercial VSAT operators.

  • Naidu meets MIB women officers to establish empowerment, emancipation & equality within society

    NEW DELHI: On a day when Women are taking centre-stage in every field. Information and Broadcasting Minister M.Venkaiah Naidu took time off to just meet the women officers in his Ministry to assure them that he appreciated the efforts made by them to mainstream the vision of Reform, Perform and Transform.

    He said he was hopeful of political empowerment of women becoming a reality soon under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

    This is for the first time that such an interface with women personnel was organized on the occasion of International Women’s Day by the Ministry. Women staff from all sections and ranks participated in the interaction with Naidu.

    The Minister also interacted with the staff on their experiences in working in the Ministry.

    On the issue of reservation for women, Naidu said a strong political will and change in mind sets were critical elements in addressing the larger issues related to women. It was also critical to firmly establish the 3Es – Women Empowerment, Emancipation and Equality – within the institutional framework of society and this should be facilitated by all stakeholders.

    Naidu said it was time to celebrate all the women in our lives – our Mothers, Sisters, Daughters and Wives. Each and every woman is gentle, caring and kind. He said that woman is synonymous to perfection, hard work, efficient, multi- tasker and compassion that have made this world more humane. It was imperative that we must appreciate and respect their beautiful hearts. He urged all to acknowledge and celebrate all the things they have achieved. Although Women’s Day was celebrated today, but Celebrating women and girl child should be an everyday ritual.

    He said women who are referred to as the ‘better half’ in a relation were actually the ‘best half’ in any relation. They have always been Friend, Philosopher and Guide in each and every aspect of life. Mentioning the importance of woman in our lives, the Minister also quoted Brigham Young that, “You educate a man; you educate a man. You educate a woman; you educate a generation”.

  • 892 pvt TV channels against 1500 targeted in 12th Plan

    NEW DELHI: India has a total of 892 functional private television channels as on 28 February 2017 despite a claim made last year that the country will have 1500 channels by the end of this month. A master list issued by the Government includes in the 892 eleven channels whose permission has been “cancelled by the Information and Broadcasting Ministry due to security denial by Home Ministry However stay order given by Court.”

    While permission was accorded to a total of 1061 TV channels, the licences of 169 were cancelled. (This does not include the eleven whose cases were stayed by Courts.)

    Of the 892, 391 are news channels while 501 are general entertainment channels. Of these, 782 channels including 369 news channels are permitted to uplink from and downlink in India. Another 90 including 15 news channels are uplinked from overseas but permitted to downlink into India.

    In comparison, the country has only twenty channels including seven news channels which are uplinked from India but permitted to downlinked in other countries.

    Interestingly, the number of total channels has grown from 869 in February-end 2016 to 892 in February-end this year. This number had risen to 899 by the end of December 2016 when the total cancellations were 155. By January-end this year, the number had fallen to 889 of which twelve banned channels had received stay orders from Courts.

    Channels permitted in February this year are: History TV18 HD uplinking and the Telugu Hindu Dharmam which only uplinking permission and Sony BBC Earth HD which has downlinking permission.

    The list of the channels permitted as on 28 February 2017 along with their area and language of operation and the names of owning companies has been placed on the ministry site.

    The Parliamentary Standing Committee for Information Technology which goes into issues relating to Information and Broadcasting had last year noted that the State Finance Commission while drafting its proposals for the 12th Plan (2012-17) had assumed that the number of permitted TV channels would rise to 1500.

    The Committee was informed that during the year 2015-16, 11 cases were found where TV channels were in violation of content guidelines (Programme Code and Advertisement Code).

    While there is no provision of pre-censorship of the content telecast on private TV channels, all programmes/ advertisements telecast on such TV channels are required to adhere to the Programme and Advertising Codes prescribed under the Cable Television Networks (Regulation) Act, 1995 and the rules framed thereunder. Action is taken whenever any violation of the Codes is noticed or brought to the notice of the Ministry.

    Meanwhile, the Committee was told that the present set up of Electronic Media Monitoring Centre had developed logging and recording facility for 900 TV channels and is thus fully equipped to start monitoring of all permitted channels available on public domain.

    The Broadcast Engineering Consultants India Ltd. (BECIL) is configuring all available free to air channels in the content monitoring system of the EMMC.

    However, configuration of pay channels requires broadcasters to provide necessary equipment for downloading and decryption of the content/signal and this is expected to be completed within four months’ time.

    By the end of Fiscal Year 2014-15, EMMC successfully achieved the Plan target of content acquisition facility of 600 TV channels. Under the 12th Plan, Rs.563.7 million had been utilized as of 31 March 2016 out of the total outlay of Rs.900 million.

    The Committee was told that the budget estimate for 2016-17 had been reduced to Rs 120 million as compared to Rs 210 million in 2015-16, out of which Rs 197.6 million had been spent by 3 March 2016. The budget for EMMC for 2017-18 has again been retained at Rs 120 million, same as in the previous year.

    The Ministry said its target under the Machinery and Equipment head was to develop content acquisition facility for additional 300 TV channels by the end of FY 2016-17.

  • Govt committed to self-regulation on issues of freedom of press: Rathore

    NEW DELHI: Minister of State for Information and Broadcasting Rajyavardhan Rathore today said the Government believes in the philosophy of Self Regulation regarding to the issues related to freedom of Press.

    The Minister was speaking with a UNESCO delegation led by its Assistant Director General for Communication & Information today in New Delhi Frank La Rue.

    The delegation apprised the Minister about the varied activities of UNESCO in the field of Media and Communication. Possible areas of collaboration with the Government were also highlighted by the delegation.

    The Minister said Community Radio will address the information needs at the grassroot level, providing updates on different local and relevant issues in their own language and dialect.

    He said the Government stood committed in its objective to provide the last mile connectivity through various communication platforms including Community Radio which has been provided a big push through various initiatives.

    He said the Ministry has increased the subsidy for setting up CRS from 50 per cent to 90 per cent in the North Eastern States and 75 per cent in other states subject to a maximum limit of Rs 7,50,000. In order to make it more participatory, varied set of participants including Universities and NGOs have been permitted to set up CR stations in the country.

  • Naidu concerned over stereotypical portrayal of women

    NEW DELHI: Information and broadcasting minster M Venkaiah Naidu expressed concern over the stereotypical portrayal of women in movies which led to increased objectification.

    The minister said media should play a greater role in informing women about their rights and Nari Shakti programmes should be encouraged across media platforms. It was imperative to draw from the valuable contributions and examples set by great women leaders and intellectuals who have adorned the history of our nation.

    Speaking at the celebration of the 100th episode of the DD News programme Tejaswani devoted to women empowerment at which Minister of State Rajyavardhan Rathore was also present, Naidu said gave another example of media playing a positive role when he said the #SelfieWithDaughters campaign launched by Prime Minister through his Mann ki Baat on All India Radio became a worldwide phenomenon trending among top five across the world.

    Naidu also felicitated 14 Tejasvini from different walks of life on the occasion. The Minister also inaugurated the Tejaswini YouTube link on the occasion.

    He urged Prasar Bharati to play a vital role in spreading the message of the numerous schemes the government for the girl child, adolescent girl and women. Creating and developing programmes which carried the message, preferably in a subtle manner, of the latent talent and strength women possessed.

    Some iof the Tejasvinis honoured are:  

    1.  Deepa Malik, Paralympic 2017 Silver Medalist

    2.  Pandita Anuradha Pal, World’s First Woman Professional Tabla Player

    3.  Sonal Mansigh, Bharatnatyam Artiste

    4.  Pragya Ghildiyal, Best Sports person with disabilities

    5.  Santosh Yadav, Mountaineer

  • TRAI justifies tariff, QoS, interconnect orders, declines comment on jurisdiction

    NEW DELHI: The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India today justified the issuance of the regulations relating to tariff, interconnect and quality of service regulations relating to digital addressable system on the ground that this will bring transparency in the system.

    In a hurriedly-called press meet, principal advisor Sunil Gupta said the aim was to bring in a fair and equitable share of revenue to all stakeholders.

    However, the regulator refused to comment on whether it had the jurisdiction to issue any or all the orders as the matter was sub-judice in the Madras High Court.

    The Supreme Court, while allowing an appeal by TRAI on 3 March and vacating the stay order, had said that the Madras High Court could continue hearing the case. However, it said the case in the High Court would continue and would have to be completed within sixty days.

    Both channels were also given leave to amend their petitions in the event of TRAI issuing any orders.

    The petition had been filed by Star India and Vijay TV under the Copyright Act on the ground that TRAI could not give any directives that will affect the content since that did not fall in its purview.

    Apart from the Tariff order which had been issued on 10 October last year, the regulator also issued the DAS Interconnect Regulations which had been issued on 14 October last year, and the Standards of Quality of Service and Consumer Protection (Digital Addressable Systems) Regulations which had been issued on 10 October last year.

    A cursory glance shows that the regulator has stuck to its draft with some incidental changes.

    The orders can be seen at:
    http://trai.gov.in/sites/default/files/Tariff_Order_English_3%20March_2017.pdf
    http://www.trai.gov.in/sites/default/files/QOS_Regulation_03_03_2017.pdf
    http://www.trai.gov.in/sites/default/files/Interconnection_Regulation_03_mar_2917.pdf

    Also read:

    TRAI tariff & quality of services regulations

    TRAI issues comprehensive interconnect draft guidelines

    Offer Premium channels as a la carte, don’t bundle: TRAI