ITV

Category: Regulators

  • TDSAT fines Siti Cable for disobeying orders & contempt

    TDSAT fines Siti Cable for disobeying orders & contempt

    NEW DELHI: Siti Cable has been fined Rs 2 lakh and asked to tender an unqualified apology to the Telecom Disputes Settlement and Appellate Tribunal (TDSAT) for disobeying its order as well as for attempting to cover up its actions.

    The directive came on a contempt petition in the matter relating to UCN Cable Network against Sambuddha Cable Network and Quality Cable Network.

    TDSAT chairman Aftab Alam and members Kuldip Singh and B B Srivastava noted that the parties were in the process of settlement “as is generally the practice in the broadcasting sector.”

    Disposing the contempt petition, the main matter was listed for 29 February.

    Earlier, Siti Cable counsel Arun Kathpalia “in great fairness stated that notwithstanding the settlement with the petitioner, Siti Cable remains answerable to the Tribunal.”

    Kathpalia accepted what was asked of Siti Cable and submitted that an apology on affidavit and the payment of cost will be made within two weeks.

    The Tribunal said the amount of cost will be paid to TDSAT Employees Welfare Society.

  • Adcap violations cases against 15 TV channels put off to April

    Adcap violations cases against 15 TV channels put off to April

    NEW DELHI: Complaints against various television channels before Chief Metropolitan Magistrate relating to adcap violations by the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) are now slated to come up for hearing on 2 April.

    CMM (Delhi Central) Pooran Chand directed that as the matter was pending in the Delhi High Court, the interim orders would continue.

    TRAI had filed complaints before the Magistrate’s Court against IBN Lokmat News, Zee News, TV Today Network, Sun TV Network, Bennett Coleman & Co. Ltd, NDTV Lifestyle Ltd, Zee Entertainment Enterprises Odisha Television Ltd, Celebrities Management P Ltd, Eenadu Television P Ltd, Panorama Television P Ltd, MAA Television Network, Sarthak Entertainment P Ltd, and Prism TV Pvt. Ltd.

    According to information available with Indiantelevision.com, some of these cases have been pending since 2013. There have also been some instances wherein executives of various channels have been seeking exemption from personal appearance whenever the cases came up.

    In the Delhi High Court TRAI had earlier assured that no coercive action would be taken till the court’s final decision.

    However, the Delhi High Court had directed every channel, which was involved in the case before it, to maintain a register of the advertisement time consumed by them.

    The News Broadcasters Association (NBA) had challenged the adcap rule, contending that TRAI did not have jurisdiction to regulate commercial airtime on television channels. Apart from the NBA, the petitions were filed by Sarthak Entertainment, Pioneer Channel Factory, E24 Glamour, Sun TV Network, TV Vision, B4U Broadband, 9X Media, Kalaignar, Celebrities Management, Eenadu Television and Raj Television.

    Later Home Cable Network, which claims pay channels should not be permitted to carry advertisements, was impleaded. Discovery Communications has also filed for being impleaded and this application is slated to be heard on 29 March.  

  • Adcap violations cases against 15 TV channels put off to April

    Adcap violations cases against 15 TV channels put off to April

    NEW DELHI: Complaints against various television channels before Chief Metropolitan Magistrate relating to adcap violations by the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) are now slated to come up for hearing on 2 April.

    CMM (Delhi Central) Pooran Chand directed that as the matter was pending in the Delhi High Court, the interim orders would continue.

    TRAI had filed complaints before the Magistrate’s Court against IBN Lokmat News, Zee News, TV Today Network, Sun TV Network, Bennett Coleman & Co. Ltd, NDTV Lifestyle Ltd, Zee Entertainment Enterprises Odisha Television Ltd, Celebrities Management P Ltd, Eenadu Television P Ltd, Panorama Television P Ltd, MAA Television Network, Sarthak Entertainment P Ltd, and Prism TV Pvt. Ltd.

    According to information available with Indiantelevision.com, some of these cases have been pending since 2013. There have also been some instances wherein executives of various channels have been seeking exemption from personal appearance whenever the cases came up.

    In the Delhi High Court TRAI had earlier assured that no coercive action would be taken till the court’s final decision.

    However, the Delhi High Court had directed every channel, which was involved in the case before it, to maintain a register of the advertisement time consumed by them.

    The News Broadcasters Association (NBA) had challenged the adcap rule, contending that TRAI did not have jurisdiction to regulate commercial airtime on television channels. Apart from the NBA, the petitions were filed by Sarthak Entertainment, Pioneer Channel Factory, E24 Glamour, Sun TV Network, TV Vision, B4U Broadband, 9X Media, Kalaignar, Celebrities Management, Eenadu Television and Raj Television.

    Later Home Cable Network, which claims pay channels should not be permitted to carry advertisements, was impleaded. Discovery Communications has also filed for being impleaded and this application is slated to be heard on 29 March.  

  • TDSAT directs Sun Distribution & Hathway to resolve disputes with LCOs

    TDSAT directs Sun Distribution & Hathway to resolve disputes with LCOs

    NEW DELHI: The Telecom Disputes Settlement and Appellate Tribunal (TDSAT) has directed Sun Distribution Services Pvt. Ltd to restore its signals to local cable operator (LCO) CK Cable Network Pvt. Ltd on receipt of a payment of Rs 12.5 lakh.

    TDSAT chairman Aftab Alam and members Kuldip Singh and B B Srivastava said, “Needless to say that the payment would be on-account and without prejudice to the rights and contentions of the two sides.”

    Listing the matter for 22 February, the Tribunal permitted Sun to file its reply by the end of this week.

    In another order, Hathway Cable & Datacom Ltd was directed to execute an interconnect agreement with Sri Sai Communications, Hyderabad by mid-February.

    Listing the matter for 22 February, the Tribunal said the parties may settle the commercial terms on the basis of mutual negotiations, otherwise, the relationship will be on the basis of the relevant provisions in the Regulations and the tariff orders.

    Following the execution of the agreement, the respondent shall supply STBs to Sri Sai Communications against duly filled customer acquisition forms (CAFs) submitted by the LCO. Invoices will be raised on the basis of the number of active STBs as reflected in Hathway’s subscriber management system.

  • TDSAT directs Sun Distribution & Hathway to resolve disputes with LCOs

    TDSAT directs Sun Distribution & Hathway to resolve disputes with LCOs

    NEW DELHI: The Telecom Disputes Settlement and Appellate Tribunal (TDSAT) has directed Sun Distribution Services Pvt. Ltd to restore its signals to local cable operator (LCO) CK Cable Network Pvt. Ltd on receipt of a payment of Rs 12.5 lakh.

    TDSAT chairman Aftab Alam and members Kuldip Singh and B B Srivastava said, “Needless to say that the payment would be on-account and without prejudice to the rights and contentions of the two sides.”

    Listing the matter for 22 February, the Tribunal permitted Sun to file its reply by the end of this week.

    In another order, Hathway Cable & Datacom Ltd was directed to execute an interconnect agreement with Sri Sai Communications, Hyderabad by mid-February.

    Listing the matter for 22 February, the Tribunal said the parties may settle the commercial terms on the basis of mutual negotiations, otherwise, the relationship will be on the basis of the relevant provisions in the Regulations and the tariff orders.

    Following the execution of the agreement, the respondent shall supply STBs to Sri Sai Communications against duly filled customer acquisition forms (CAFs) submitted by the LCO. Invoices will be raised on the basis of the number of active STBs as reflected in Hathway’s subscriber management system.

  • MIB grants provisional licence to 13 MSOs in February taking total to 695

    MIB grants provisional licence to 13 MSOs in February taking total to 695

    NEW DELHI: With 13 more multi-system operators (MSOs) getting provisional licences in the week between 2 – 8 February, 2016, the total number of MSOs operating in the country has risen to 695 including 231, which have permanent (10-year) licences.

    According to list released on 2 February, the number of provisional licences was 451, which went up to 464 by 8 February.

    The Ministry of Information and Broadcasting (MIB) had by 12 January cancelled the licences of 26 MSOs and closed their cases.

    According to the list issued today, the areas of operation of some of the MSOs have been revised or amended.

    Of the new licensees, only one provisional MSO is from the northeast – Mizoram – while the rest are from Maharashtra, Gujarat, Telangana, Andhra Pradesh and Chhatisgarh.

    With the Home Ministry directive about doing away with security clearances for MSOs not being communicated in writing to the MIB, the pace remains slow.

    The permanent licence issued to Kal Cable of Chennai had been cancelled on 20 August, 2014 but this cancellation was set aside by Madras High Court on 5 September the same year. However, Kal Cable’s name continues to be in the cancelled list – presumably because the cases are still pending. 

     

    Sources said many MSOs holding provisional licences had not completed certain formalities relating to shareholders and so on.

  • MIB grants provisional licence to 13 MSOs in February taking total to 695

    MIB grants provisional licence to 13 MSOs in February taking total to 695

    NEW DELHI: With 13 more multi-system operators (MSOs) getting provisional licences in the week between 2 – 8 February, 2016, the total number of MSOs operating in the country has risen to 695 including 231, which have permanent (10-year) licences.

    According to list released on 2 February, the number of provisional licences was 451, which went up to 464 by 8 February.

    The Ministry of Information and Broadcasting (MIB) had by 12 January cancelled the licences of 26 MSOs and closed their cases.

    According to the list issued today, the areas of operation of some of the MSOs have been revised or amended.

    Of the new licensees, only one provisional MSO is from the northeast – Mizoram – while the rest are from Maharashtra, Gujarat, Telangana, Andhra Pradesh and Chhatisgarh.

    With the Home Ministry directive about doing away with security clearances for MSOs not being communicated in writing to the MIB, the pace remains slow.

    The permanent licence issued to Kal Cable of Chennai had been cancelled on 20 August, 2014 but this cancellation was set aside by Madras High Court on 5 September the same year. However, Kal Cable’s name continues to be in the cancelled list – presumably because the cases are still pending. 

     

    Sources said many MSOs holding provisional licences had not completed certain formalities relating to shareholders and so on.

  • Facebook pulls plug on Free Basics post TRAI’s decision on differential pricing

    Facebook pulls plug on Free Basics post TRAI’s decision on differential pricing

    NEW DELHI: Even as Facebook founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg voiced his disappointment on the ruling by the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) against differential pricing and in favour of net neutrality, the social media giant has pulled the plug on its Free Basics offering in India.

    Meanwhile, a recent tweet by Silicon Valley investor and a member of the Facebook Board Marc Andreessen, which was later deleted, had created controversy as he criticised India’s opposition to Free Basics.

    Indian users of the net protested against the tweet comparing the opposition to Free Basics in India to anti-colonialism, which did not go well with them.

    Later Zuckerberg had attempted to do some damage control when he put a post on his Facebook page disassociating from Andreessen’s views. He said the comment was “deeply upsetting and doesn’t represent the way Facebook or I think.”

    Facebook has clearly been hit by the decision as it is a popular social media site in the country and was hoping to increase its presence by offering free access to services to the joining user.

    In its ruling on differential pricing for data services, TRAI had said that it would impose a fine of Rs 50,000 per day for anyone violating the same with immediate effect.

  • Facebook pulls plug on Free Basics post TRAI’s decision on differential pricing

    Facebook pulls plug on Free Basics post TRAI’s decision on differential pricing

    NEW DELHI: Even as Facebook founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg voiced his disappointment on the ruling by the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) against differential pricing and in favour of net neutrality, the social media giant has pulled the plug on its Free Basics offering in India.

    Meanwhile, a recent tweet by Silicon Valley investor and a member of the Facebook Board Marc Andreessen, which was later deleted, had created controversy as he criticised India’s opposition to Free Basics.

    Indian users of the net protested against the tweet comparing the opposition to Free Basics in India to anti-colonialism, which did not go well with them.

    Later Zuckerberg had attempted to do some damage control when he put a post on his Facebook page disassociating from Andreessen’s views. He said the comment was “deeply upsetting and doesn’t represent the way Facebook or I think.”

    Facebook has clearly been hit by the decision as it is a popular social media site in the country and was hoping to increase its presence by offering free access to services to the joining user.

    In its ruling on differential pricing for data services, TRAI had said that it would impose a fine of Rs 50,000 per day for anyone violating the same with immediate effect.

  • MIB cancels permission of 126 TV channels; total permitted channels touch 857

    MIB cancels permission of 126 TV channels; total permitted channels touch 857

    NEW DELHI: While the total number of satellite television channels uplinking from or downlinking into India has risen to 857, the permission to as many as 126 channels have been cancelled.

    Thus, the government had given permission to a total of 983 channels, which included those whose permissions were cancelled later. Of the 29 channel permitted after 30 November, 19 were cleared in December 2015 and 1o in January 2016.

    Of the permitted channels, 399 are news and current affairs channels, while 458 are general entertainment channels (GECs).

    Twenty channels including seven news channels have been permitted to uplink from India but not downlink within the country, as on 31 January, 2016.  

    A total of 749 channels including 372 GECs are allowed to uplink and downlink in the country while 88 including 73 GECs are uplinked from overseas but allowed to downlink into TV homes in the country.    

    The largest gainer after the last list of 30 November, 2015 was Star India, which launched 10 channels, while Viacom 18 launched seven. Sony and the Times Group launched four each, Zee launched two channels, and one channel each was launched by Travel XP Celebrities Management and Vijay TV.

    While Star India and Zee (Ten Sports) launched sports channels (which fall in the category of GECs), some others launched High Definition channels.