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Category: TRAI

  • TRAI to host APAC regulators’ meet in Delhi

    TRAI to host APAC regulators’ meet in Delhi

    NEW DELHI: Delegates from more than 23 countries will be participating in the Asia-Pacific Regulators’ Roundtable followed by the International Training Programme being organized next week by the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) and the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI).

    About 60 delegates from different countries have registered for the “ITU-TRAI Asia-Pacific Regulators’ Roundtable” and the “ITU- TRAI International Training Program (ITP) 2017” during 21-22 August 2017 and 23-25 August 2017 respectively.

    The Regulators’ Roundtable is the 7th edition of the Asia-Pacific Region initiative to organize an annual Roundtable to provide telecommunication/ICT regulators in the region to mutually learn from the experiences of each other.

    In a release, TRAI said: “Regulators around the globe have been dealing with the regulatory challenges created by the digital advancements. Digitization has created rapid technological progress and growth, which has generated tremendous benefits for all economies around the world. New opportunities for growth and innovation are emerging, and it is crucial that the new regulatory requirements and challenges are anticipated and addressed at both National and International level, in a coordinated way. Growing innovation and rapid deployment of digital technologies necessitates a proactive regulatory framework”.

    The main regulatory challenges include promoting growth in digital ecosystem, maximizing consumers’ interest, ensuring level playing field for all players on new and cross-sectoral markets, promoting competition, among others.

    The Regulators’ Roundtable fosters dynamic and strategic discussions, facilitates sharing of information, relevant experiences and practices as well as conclusively debate on possible solutions and opportunities for potential collaboration to address emerging regulatory issues and challenges in Digital Societies, TRAI Secretary Sunil Gupta.

    The ITU-TRAI International Training Programme 2017 will build skills to address the policy and regulatory issues in the era beyond convergence of telecommunications and information technology. In particular, the event will focus on the implications of Collaborative Regulations for Digital Societies, he added.

  • TRAI’s final recommendations on net neutrality likely by September

    NEW DELHI: India’s telecoms and broadcast regulator Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) is expected to come out with its final recommendations on net neutrality next month.

    TRAI chairman R S Sharma told indiantelevision.com  that after detailed discussions were held in Bengaluru last month on the consultation paper on Net Neutrality (NN) issued mid-2016, a similar round has been fixed for 30 August 2017 in Delhi after which TRAI will begin work on its final recommendations to ensure national security and customer privacy.

    However, the issue of NN has different meanings in different parts of the globe and depends on how regulators view the issue in terms of their own markets. For example, the present FCC chairman Ajit Pai is in favour of repealing of a regulatory framework that allowed his predecessor to establish robust rules of the road for the internet and is in the process of dismantling the previous regime’s regulatory framework for NN. In Asia too, NN is defined and regulated differently and there is no uniform approach to the issue.

    One of the chief arguments for Net Neutrality, senior tech journalists have argued, is that without rules in place, the internet could well grow into a system of tiers, akin to cable television, in which large content companies would dominate because of their ability to pay for better access to consumers.

    Asked whether the tariff order — which has been in suspended animation for few months now owing to some stakeholders moving Indian courts against its implementation — will come into effect on 2 September 2017, Sharma refused to commit anything as the matter would be subject to the outcome of court decisions.

    Referring to a paper on data protection, he said the present aim was only to start a discussion on the subject. He denied that the consultation paper had anything to do with the controversy around Apple refusing to cooperate on certain demands of the Indian regulator or had been prompted by it. “In fact, the controversy had been kicked off just over a week earlier whereas the paper had been under preparation earlier,” Sharma said.

    Elaborating on TRAI’s guiding principles, the chairman said that the organisation issues a paper or initiates a public debate or comes out with recommendations  for “transparency, (to) ensure non-discrimination, consumer protection, industry’s growth and encourage positive competition.”

    At a time when online piracy and theft of online data is gaining momentum in India, as also criticism of the country’s lack of a comprehensive legislation to protect data, including those mentioned in Adhaar, Sharma said TRAI has taken all the necessary steps to protect consumer data that it collects via its various apps.

    Though Sharma refused to be drawn into the online piracy issue (largely that falls under the domain of Commerce Ministry), he did say that inter-operable set top boxes, being tested by some government organisations in collaboration with TRAI, had provisions for dealing with pirated software.

    When questioned about the permission granted to Tamil Nadu government owned Arasu to distribute digital TV signals and consequent leanings towards similar set-up in the states of Telangana and Punjab, Sharma said the Authority had thrice given recommendations advising that state governments and political or religious groups should not be permitted to enter the broadcasting sector. “We still stand by those recommendations. But the ministry (MIB) has said the recommendations were under consideration,” he added.  

    He agreed that technologies were converging and said that regulations, attitude and outlook will “soon have to move in that direction.”

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  • TRAI starts process of STBs’ interoperability, issues consultation note

    NEW DELHI: Realising that lack of technical interoperability of set-top boxes creates problems for consumers wanting to switch over to another service provider, the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India today issued a consultation note on the solution architecture for technically interoperable STBs after receiving 28 comments to a pre-consultation note issued on 4 April 2016.

    All stakeholders which include CAS providers, SoC vendors, middleware providers, EPG solution providers, STB manufacturers, smart card providers, and service providers like Broadcasters, Multi System Operators, and DTH operators are requested to provide their written comments on the proposed solution architecture for technical interoperable STBs by 25 August 2017.

    Subsequently, TRAI is planning to organise a workshop on proposed solution architecture for technically interoperable STB during the first fortnight of September 2017 to elaborate in detail on various technical aspects commented upon by the stakeholders in response to this consultation note.

    After incorporation of comments received from the stakeholders and the workshop, TRAI will be launching a pilot project on STB interoperability. Entities interested in pilot projects for deployment of Interoperable STBs can also send their details to TRAI.

    TRAI said this inter-operability between different service providers has an adverse effect on competition and service quality in the Pay-TV distribution market. Non-availability of STB in an open market is also a major hindrance to technological innovations. Whenever, a consumer changes its service provider, the STB of existing service provider becomes useless as the same STB cannot be used; resulting in electronic waste (e-waste). The availability of practical solution which can provide technical interoperability of STB is always desirable.

    The framework of interoperable STB should ensure the following:

    a. The level of security should be similar to or better than what is present today.

    b. The framework must be sound enough to prevent reception of services by unauthorized persons.

    c. The prices of the interoperable STBs should remain comparable to non-interoperable STBs.

    d. The portability cost should reduce considerably

    e. The DPOs should be able to choose security solutions (Conditional Access System) as per their requirements.

    f. The proposed solution must be able to identify pirates, if any

    g. The User Interface (UI) and Electronic Program Guide (EPG) format customization.

    h. The framework should ensure that TV channels with EPG listing continue toØ be available to the consumers on migration to another operator.

    At the outset, TRAI said digital TV broadcasting services can be received by a subscriber using STB which is connected with the TV set (sometimes the STB is in-built in the TV set). The STB receives TV signals from distribution network and decodes them into viewable form on a TV set. STB enables the subscriber to view only those TV channels which he/she has subscribed.

    Cable TV and direct-to-home (DTH) platforms are the major distribution platforms for delivery of TV broadcasting services in India. Whereas, the DTH services delivered in digital mode since beginning, the migration of cable TV services, from analogue to digital, has also been completed with implementation of Digital Addressable Cable TV systems (DAS) in the country.

    Presently, Distribution Platform Operator (DPO) provides STB, which is compatible with his network to provide services to subscriber. Over a period of time, variety of technologies has been deployed by DPOs into the networks. It has led to a situation where STBs provided by one operator are not compatible with the system of the other operator. This impedes portability of a subscriber from one operator to another in case he wishes to do so

    TRAI collaborated with IIT-Bombay and Centre for Development of Telematics (C-DOT). The issues identified by stakeholders in response to the pre-consultation paper were communicated to C-DOT and IIT-Bombay. Now C-DOT, the telecom technology development centre of the Government of India, in close coordination with TRAI, has developed a solution for interoperable STBs. Describing the same, C-DOT has provided TRAI, a copy of the document titled “C-DOT framework and feature requirements for the ecosystem entities towards implementation of STB interoperability framework.”

    Through this consultation note, TRAI presents the solution architecture for technically interoperable STB to all the concerned stakeholders to seek their comments on proposed solution.

    Some of the reasons for non-interoperability of STBs and the C-DOT framework and feature requirements for the ecosystem entities towards implementation of STB interoperability framework” are available on trai.gov.in.

  • TRAI begins work on data protection and government’s role

    NEW DELHI: Noting that there is a global trend in the creation of new services on the basis of data which provide significant value to customers, and businesses, the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India today issued a consultation paper on ‘Privacy, Security and Ownership of the Data in the Telecom Sector’.

    The paper describes data protection as the legal control over access to and use of data stored in the digital format, and the ability of individuals to understand and control the manner in which information pertaining to them can be accessed and used by others. It may also be considered as a process of safeguarding digital information from corruption and or loss.

    While posing twelve questions, the Authority has asked stakeholders to respond by 8 September with counter-comments if any by 22 September 2017.

    (indiantelevision.com had reported that TRAI chairman R S Sharma had indicated this paper would be issued in a day or two.)

    TRAI says it is important to establish the ownership of the data. For instance, if the data is recognized as belonging to the user to whom it pertains, then this data becomes available for use by them to better their own lives. This brings in the dimension of empowerment to the user.

    It says the government should enable the industry to grow by way of creation of newer services. The country may be at risk of falling behind, if action is not taken to encourage the creation of such businesses. This could be done through enabling newer players to bring in innovative services, while also ensuring a level playing field. There are two equally critical steps to do so. The first is Data Portability – the ability to extract all user data from a service, and share it with another- and the second is to create anonymized, public data sets, which can be used as a test bed by newer service providers.

    The rapid evolution of telecommunications services in India has aided the overall economic and social development of the country and enabled better connectivity among users, increasing use of information and communication technology (ICT) services and emergence of a variety of new business models. There is also a quantum leap in the quantity and value of data that is being generated through the use of modern communication services. Each step of a user’s interaction with ICT services, whether through traditional telecom services, Internet services, devices, applications or other forms of content, results in the generation of large amounts of data.

    Reports indicate that 90 percent of the data in the world today has been created in the last two years alone with new data being added to this pool at the rate of approximately 2.5 quintillion bytes of data every day. Data collection, storage and analytics have therefore become widely used tools that allow businesses to monetise their products and services and gain a competitive advantage over other providers. Data is collected by various businesses and agencies as a by-product of the user’s interactions with them. This data is then retained by the business, and used to its advantage.

    At the same time, various Government agencies also benefit greatly from the generation of vast amount of data, which acts as an enabler for more efficient delivery of services and prevention and handling of crimes.

    The focus is on the issue of informational privacy, which forms a subset of the broader concept of ‘privacy’ that encompasses many other philosophical, psychological, sociological, economic and political perspectives.

    The rationale for government intervention in this sphere arises on account of three key reasons to prevent harm to consumers. First, there is often an information asymmetry between the consumer and the data user on account of the under-estimation by consumers about the value of their personal data and ignorance about the scale and use of the data being collected and its use. The ability of data collectors to unilaterally change their privacy policies also contributes to this asymmetry.

    Second is the problem of bounded rationality, which often leads consumers to underestimate the long term consequences of their actions while consenting to share their personal information in the course of availing specific products or services.

    Third is the problem of a data monopoly. Since the service providers, through the provision of service generate and hold the data, it gives them an advantage, which they can use to get into adjacencies (and thus extending their monopoly). This results in harm to the market. The government or its authorized agency may take steps to make this data portable, under the control of the user, thus enabling the creation of newer services. The technical standards for this purpose may have to be defined in this case.

    The questions posed are:

    Q.1 Are the data protection requirements currently applicable to all the players in the eco-system in India sufficient to protect the interests of telecom subscribers? What are the additional measures, if any, that need to be considered in this regard?

    Q. 2 In light of recent advances in technology, what changes, if any, are recommended to the definition of personal data? Should the User’s consent be taken before sharing his/her personal data for commercial purposes? What are the measures that should be considered in order to empower users to own and take control of his/her personal data? In particular, what are the new capabilities that must be granted to consumers over the use of their personal data?

    Q.3 What should be the rights and responsibilities of the Data Controllers? Can the rights of Data Controller supersede the rights of an Individual over his/her Personal Data? Suggest a mechanism for regulating and governing the Data Controllers.

    Q. 4 Given the fears related to abuse of this data, is it advisable to create a technology enabled architecture to audit the use of personal data, and associated consent? Will an audit-based mechanism provide sufficient visibility for the government or its authorized authority to prevent harm? Can the industry create a sufficiently capable workforce of auditors who can take on these responsibilities?

    Q. 5 What, if any, are the measures that must be taken to encourage the creation of new data based businesses consistent with the overall framework of data protection?

    Q.6 Should government or its authorized authority setup a data sandbox, which allows the regulated companies to create anonymized data sets which can be used for the development of newer services?

    Q. 7 How can the government or its authorized authority setup a technology solution that can assist it in monitoring the ecosystem for compliance? What are the attributes of such a solution that allow the regulations to keep pace with a changing technology ecosystem?

    Q. 8 What are the measures that should be considered in order to strengthen and preserve the safety and security of telecommunications infrastructure and the digital ecosystem as a whole?

    Q. 9 What are the key issues of data protection pertaining to the collection and use of data by various other stakeholders in the digital ecosystem, including content and application service providers, device manufacturers, operating systems, browsers, etc? What mechanisms need to be put in place in order to address these issues?

    Q. 10 Is there a need for bringing about greater parity in the data protection norms applicable to TSPs and other communication service providers offering comparable services (such as Internet based voice and messaging services). What are the various options that may be considered in this regard?

    Q. 11 What should be the legitimate exceptions to the data protection requirements imposed on TSPs and other providers in the digital ecosystem and how should these be designed? In particular, what are the checks and balances that need to be considered in the context of lawful surveillance and law enforcement requirements?

    Q.12 What are the measures that can be considered in order to address the potential issues arising from cross border flow of information and jurisdictional challenges in the digital ecosystem?

    Also Read: TRAI to discuss IPR of data generated on apps

  • TRAI to discuss IPR of data generated on apps

    NEW DELHI: The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India is expected to issue a consultation paper on the right of ownership of data generated on smartphones in the next two or three days.

    This was indicated by TRAI Chairman R S Sharma at a meet on Create4India organized by Digital India Foundation.

    He told mediapersons that a lage amount of data is generated every minute on various apps.

    The paper is expected to raise questions on whether the data generated on smartphones belongs to the person who generates, or the person who receives the data.

    The matter gains urgency in view of complaints about messages sent by people though apps on their phones.

    The issue also relates to intellectual property rights (IPR).

  • Govt rules out TV channel categorisation (updated)

    NEW DELHI: The government has ruled out categorisation of TV channels, fixing telecast time and framing code of conduct for contents of various serials and other telecast, the Parliament has been told.

    Minister of state for information and broadcasting Rajyavardhan Rathore said the programmes and advertisements telecast on private TV channels are required to be in conformity with the Programme and Advertising Codes prescribed in the Rule 6 and 7 of the Cable Television Networks Rules 1994.

    Rule 7(11) of the said rule provides that “No programme shall carry advertisements exceeding 12 minutes per hour, which may include up to 10 minutes per hour of commercial advertisements and up to two minutes per hour of a channel’s self-promotional programmes.”

    Meanwhile, the Delhi High Court is to hear on 11 October the case challenging the ad cap on television channels.

    In the hearing on 29 March 2016, a plea was made on behalf of the information and broadcasting ministry that a proposal was being contemplated to amend the relevant provision relating to limiting ads to 12 minutes an hour. The petition has been filed against the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India and the Union Government by the News Broadcasters Association (NBA) and other stakeholders.

    The court has already directed that the order that TRAI would not take any action against any channel pending the petition would continue. In an earlier hearing, the court had, at the regulator’s instance, directed that all channels keep a record of the advertisements run by them.

    The NBA had challenged the ad cap rule, contending that TRAI does not have jurisdiction to regulate commercial airtime on television channels. Apart from the NBA, the petitions have been filed by Sarthak Entertainment, Pioneer Channel Factory, E24 Glamorous, Sun TV Network, TV Vision, B4U Broadband, 9X Media, Kalaignar, Celebrities Management, Eanadu Television and Raj Television.

    Also read:   

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  • TRAI seeks conclusive views on ease of doing broadcast biz

    NEW DELHI: Noting that a business-friendly environment is a pre-requisite for the growth of a nation and makes a country a favorite business destination particularly with the fast changing regulatory framework for the media and entertainment sector,the Telecom Regulatory Authority has issued a consultation paper on the ease of doing business in broadcasting based on views received by it on a pre-consultation paper issued on 19 April this year.

    Responses to the paper, which poses around 18 questions to stakeholders, have to be sent by 28 August with counter-comments if any by 11 September 2017.

    Noting that the M and E sector in India is one of the fastest growing sectors, TRAI has noted that It not only leads to employment generation but also helps in the growth and development of an economy.

    The economic liberalisation measures initiated in the early 1990s had focused on reduction of regulatory burden on enterprises as an underlying objective of the reform process. The Government has launched an ambitious programme of regulatory reforms aimed at making it easier to do business in India. The programme aims to pinpoint the bottlenecks and ease them to create a more business-friendly environment. The efforts have yielded some results with India ranked at 130 according to the World Banks’ Doing Business report. But, there is still huge scope for further improvements.

    TRAI notes that the IMF has branded India as the brightest spot in the Global Economy. Several Global Institutions have projected India as the leading destination for FDI in the World and a number of recent global reports and assessments, show that India has considerably improved its policies, practices and economic profile. It is expected that enabling policies and determination to continue with economic reforms, various initiatives taken by the Government such as Make in India, Smart City Mission, Skill India Mission, Digital India, etc. would further spur the growth of the economy.

    The pre-consultation paper on the ease of doing business in broadcasting which covered all media came just a few months after a similar paper on telecom. In the new era of convergence, the two sectors are expected to complement each other.

    The aim is also to remove entry barriers by laying down well defined and transparent procedures and processes thereby creating level playing field and competition in the sector and to facilitate innovation and technology adoption for providing better quality of services to the consumers to steer further growth of the sector by attracting investment through investor friendly policies

    Subjects to be covered are related to processes and procedures for obtaining permission/license/registration for the following broadcasting services and subsequent compliance connected with these
    permissions.

    The fields include:

    (a)Uplinking of TV channels
    (b) Downlinking of TV channels
    (c) Teleport services
    (d) Direct-to-home services
    (e) Private FM services
    (f) Headend-in-the sky services
    (g) Local Cable Operators
    (h) Multi System Operators
    (i) Community Radio Stations

    The questions raised are:

    1. Is there a need for simplification of policy framework to boost growth of satellite TV industry? If yes, what changes do you suggest in present policy framework relating to satellite TV channels and why?
    2.  Is there a need in present policy framework relating to seeking permission for making changes in the name, logo, language, format, etc. related to an operational satellite TV channel? If so, what changes do you suggest and why?  Is there a need for simplification of policy framework to boost growth of satellite TV industry? If yes, what changes do you suggest in present policy framework relating to satellite TV channels and why?
    3. Do you agree witb some of the stakeholders comments at the pre-consultation stage that Annual Renewal Process of TV channels needs simplification?
    4. Do you agree with stakeholders’ comments that coordination with multiple agencies/ Government departments related to starting and operating of a TV channel can be simplified? If so, what should be the mechanism and framework for such single window system?
    5. Is present framework of seeking permission for temporary uplinking of live coverage of events of national importance including sports events is complicated and restrictive? If yes, what changes do you suggest and why?
    6. Do you feel the need to simplify policy framework for seeking permission/license for starting and running of following services:  
    (iii) Teleport services
    (iv) DTH service
    7. As per your understanding, why open sky policy for Ku band has not been adopted when it is permitted for ‘C’ band? What changes do you suggest to simplify hiring of Ku band transponders for provision of DTH/HITS services?
    8. What are the operational issues and bottlenecks in the current policy framework related to:
    (iii) Teleport services
    (iv) DTH service
    How these issues can be simplified and expedited?  
    9. What are the specific issues affecting ease of doing business in cable TV sector? What modifications are required to be made in the extant framework to address these issues?
    10. Is there a need to increase validity of LCO registration from one year? In your view, what should be the validity of LCO registration?  
    11. What are the issues in the extant policy guidelines that are affecting the ease of doing business in FM sector? What changes and modifications are required to address these issues?
    12. Is there a need to streamline the process of assignment of frequency by WPC and clearances from NOCC to enhance ease of doing business? What changes do you suggest and why?
    13. What are the reasons for delay for allocation of frequencies by WPC? What changes do you suggest to streamline the process?
    14. What are the key issues affecting the indigenous manufacturing of various broadcasting equipment and systems. How these issues can be addressed?
    15. Is there any other issue which will be relevant to ease of doing business in broadcasting sector? .
    16. Are there any issues in conducting trial projects to assess suitability of a new technology in broadcasting sector?  
    17. What should the policy framework and process for consideration and approval of such trial projects?

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  • TRAI issues directions to prevent TSPs from blocking spectrum

    NEW DELHI: Taking note of the huge wastage due to blocked spectrum causing inconvenience to consumers, the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India has directed that a Unified Access Service (UAS) licensee must surrender such spectrum immediately upon closure of wireless access services if he decides to close down its wireless access services which were being provided through the administratively assigned spectrum.

    In its directions issued today related to closure of access services, TRAI says a UAS licensee should be permitted to discontinue any of the services, permitted under the scope of licence without the need to surrender the licence.

    In case of closure of access services through any technology in the entire service area or a part of it, the TSP should be mandated to give a 60 days notice to the licensor and TRAI and 30 days notice to its effected subscribers, clearly stating the options available to the subscribers, including that of Mobile Number Portability (MNP) facility.

    The Authority has recommended various time-lines to be followed by Department of Telecom/WPC and the Licensee in the spectrum trading process. These timelines will bring greater clarity and certainty in the entire process of spectrum trading. If the entire spectrum in all bands is being sold by a licensee and will result in discontinuation of services, recommended timelines will remove uncertainties and facilitate the TSPs to given 60 days notice to DoT/TRAI and 30 days notice to its subscribers.

    If a subscriber wants to switch from one technology to other, within the same TSP, the same should not come under the definition MNP.  

    At the outset, TRAI has said that due to adoption of market based spectrum management, the continuance of access service is now no longer assured. Recently, there have been cases where due to reasons such as licensee failing to re-acquire its spectrum holding in a band on expiry of its license validity period; change of technology deployed by licensee; sale of entire spectrum holding through spectrum trading; roaming arrangement coming to an end; etc., there has been closure of access services being provided by the licensee. As a result subscribers had to face lot of inconveniences.

    The directions are aimed at ensuring that subscribers are not put to undue hardships due to closure of access services.

    The Authority had suo-motu issued a Consultation Paper on “Issues related to closure of Access Services” on 30 November 2016 seeking the comments of the stakeholders and an Open House Discussion was held on 28 April 2017 at New Delhi.

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  • TRAI jurisdiction case listed for 31 July to peruse compliance report

    NEW DELHI: The Madras High Court has listed for 31 July 2017 the Star India-Vijay TV’s challenge to jurisdiction of the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India after the latter said it would file its written submission only after scrutinising those of the broadcasters.

    Counsel for both the broadcasters objected to the statement by TRAI Counsel P Wilson refusing to file and serve written submissions.

    After hearing all sides, the bench directed the broadcasters to serve their submissions by 5 pm today to TRAI and the interveners All India Digital Cable Federation and Videocon d2h.

    It asked TRAI to serve its submissions on the other parties tomorrow. Thereafter, the Court will on Monday take note of the compliance of submission of the written statements from the court registry.

    Meanwhile, both interveners filed their submissions in Court today.

    Arguments had concluded in the matter on 19 July and the matter had been posted for today for filing of written submissions.

    Star India and Vijay TV’s challenge to the jurisdiction of TRAI to issue tariff orders is on the ground that content comes under the Copyright Act.

    In the hearing on 19 July 2017, the Court had refused to accept an affidavit by the Indian Broadcasting Foundation..

    Although the Supreme Court had in early May while staying the tariff order directed the Madras High Court to complete hearing within four weeks, the High Court had commenced hearing only in the last week of June.

    Meanwhile, TRAI TV reference interconnect offer (RIO) and Quality of service order (QoS) came into effect from 2 May following the order of the High Court. (However, the Tariff order comes into effect only from 2 September 2017.)

    Apart from the Tariff order which had originally 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.

    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 

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    Decks cleared for TRAI tariff order implementation as HC declines stay (updated)

    Star India case questioning TRAI jurisdiction over content postponed 

  • Telangana govt. wishes to own satellite to air TV channels

    NEW DELHI: Now, an Indian state wants to own a satellite and broadcast TV channels espousing Indian values. The Telangana government would like to have its own satellite in orbit to telecast (TV) channels with good content, state IT minister K T Rama Rao said in Hyderabad on Wednesday.

    Speaking after the launch of T-SAT network of two television channels (Vidya and Nipuna) of the state government, which telecast content on distance learning, agriculture extension, rural development, tele-medicine and e-governance, the minister, as quoted by a PTI report from Hyderabad, said, “Today, we are broadcasting two channels by using satellite technology. But, eventually the goal is…not today… we should have our own special satellite in the orbit.” 

    The state government can telecast good content by having some channels at a time when the negative impact of western culture is being seen in the society, he said as per the news agency report.

    public://Telangana-Map-Home-Page.png

    “Through that satellite, if necessary, not two, but the state government would work actively (on) some 10 to 12 channels. Today, we see the developments in society. We see the impact of western culture. We can do many types of programmes on behalf of the government,” Rao said, recalling that India’s space agency ISRO had recently launched a record 104 satellites in a single mission.

    Educational content used to be telecast under the brand name of ‘Mana TV’ in undivided Andhra Pradesh, but the state government sought to expand its programming, Rao said, adding that the newly launched channels aim to offer content in different areas, including health and agriculture, for the benefit of the masses, the minister added.

    Such assertions once again highlight why TRAI’s suggestions on media ownership and barring government and government-backed bodies from getting into business of broadcasting and cable TV distribution should be adopted at the earliest by the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting. Or else, soon every state in India may want to `own’ satellites, TV channels and then get into distribution, thus creating potential local monopolies, an industry observer opined.

    Sector regulator TRAI’s exhaustive set of recommendations on media ownership, issued and updated from time to time and last made in 2014, can be found here http://www.trai.gov.in/release-publication/recommendation.

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