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Category: TRAI

  • TRAI reducing TSP/ISPs & VSAT service-providers’ burden: Broadband Forum

    NEW DELHI: Expressing satisfaction that many of its demands had been met in the latest recommendations by the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India, Broadband India Forum has said it is a small but significant step in the right direction to help reduce the burden of the TSP/ISPs as well as that of the VSAT service-providers thereby  paving the way for a more active engagement of the ISPs and TSPs offering Internet Access Services to increase broadband penetration in the country

    BIF president T V Ramachandran hoped that this would be the first of many such recommendations from the Regulator to expedite broadband penetration and the vision of the prime minister to fully realise the dream of ‘Digital India’.

    He said the recommendations for streamlining the procedure/process of allocation of satellite capacity and the frequency allocation subsequently by WPC for VSAT service providers and capping it to be provided in a time bound manner –within a span of  three months was indeed praiseworthy.

    He said further went on to mention that the idea of a single window clearance for all clearances/approvals/payments through a transparent online mechanism was a “wonderful and welcome idea in this age of digital payments and single point responsibility”.

    Ramachandran said BIF’s position stand vindicated on many of the points made by the Regulator stand vindicated. These include the given spectrum bands be charged administratively and on a link-by-link basis; P-AGR should not be prescribed either for ISP licenses or for Commercial VSAT Licenses; SUC calculation/determination should continue to be based on the existing formula instead of as a percentage of the AGR; and delayed payment in case of SUC should be charged on the basis of SBI PLR +2%.

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

  • 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.

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

  • 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.

  • 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

  • TRAI tariff order’s impact on the industry

    MUMBAI: How will Trai’s Telecommunication (Broadcasting and Cable) Services (Eight) (Addressable systems) Tariff Order, 2017, impact the industry and listed television eco-system companies?

    Leading institutional broker Kotak Institutional Equities (KIE) believes that the implementation of would enhance the bargaining power of distributors versus broadcasters, at the margin. KIE contends that while it is difficult to factor in all permutations and combinations and quantify the impact, Dish TV would most likely benefit. The impact on Zee would be negligible, if any, given the strength of its bouquet. Sun could potentially gain, but its upside is contingent on digitization in TN.

    KIE believes that flexibility to consumers will not reduce industry’s subscription revenue pool because there is a provision of access fee of up to Rs 130/month (excluding taxes). It says that even if a household subscribes for 10 popular pay channels on a-la-carte basis, it may result in subscription fee of more than Rs 100 (excluding taxes). It is unlikely that value subscribers (base pack/ low-ARPU subscribers) would be able to optimize subscription spends. If at all, they may receive less content for the same price going forward. However, there is room for premium subscribers (HD, multiple TVs) paying more than Rs 500/month per STB to optimize its subscription spends especially in case of nuclear families in urban markets..

    “We expect distributors to price and package channels such that consumers continue to find bouquet appealing. We also believe industry will not encourage or promote a-la-carte buying: (1) LCOs would likely discourage a-la-carte buying, (2) difficulty/hassle in opting for a-la-carte (through SMSes or call centres) will act as a deterrent,” says a KIE report.

    The regulation could possibly reduce scale led advantages of distributors. The permissible discounts would likely be on penetration milestones (percentage penetration as against absolute scale). Thus, the scale-led advantage of larger distributors can moderate. However, it will be difficult to track and monitor placement and marketing deals which may be used as an avenue to pass on scale-related benefits.

    KIE believes that it is likely that strong players will become stronger and weak players will become weaker. There is a high possibility that low-ARPU subscribers may get less content for the same price whereas premium subscribers may be able to optimize their subscription spends because of uniform pricing across urban markets and rural markets notwithstanding difference in purchasing power.

    Also, standalone channels and small broadcasters may be forced to pay higher carriage to maintain reach (at present DTH garners negligible carriage; post implementation DTH may demand higher carriage). Some channels may not be able to absorb the increase in costs. Small distributors, who do not have wherewithal for technological changes, may find it difficult.

    On upselling and HD push, the KIE paper says, “Access fee under the new regulation would contribute meaningfully to distributors’ revenue stream. Additionally, DTH should also see a sharp increase in carriage revenues. Given this, it has to be seen if the distributor ecosystem remains as focused on upselling and pushing HD. We believe the incentive for them to upsell is lower under the new regulation.”

    KIE is unsure if the regulations would weigh on long-term ARPU growth. Intuitively, more flexibility to choose content can make optimization of subscription budget easier at household level. It contends that barring top channels, price of most pay channels would be negligible and many channels would convert to FTA. Monetisation of niche channels may be difficult at the margin.

    The broking house feels that implementation of regulation would force cable to push package tiering and raise cable tariffs in line with DTH provided that LCOs align with it and broadcasters do not make any payments to cable other than prescribed by the regulation. The time lag between technical implementation of digitization and monetization is 1-2 years. In fact even after 3-4 years, Cable tariffs and MSOs ARPU in phase I-II markets lag expectations.

  • Discounts by broadcasters to be part of RIO to ensure transparency: TRAI

    NEW DELHI: In an effort to address the concerns of stakeholders, all broadcasters have been given the freedom to publish their reference interconnect orders (RIOs) encompassing terms and conditions that are clearly known to the distributors / multi-system operators.

    The Telecommunication (Broadcasting and Cable Services) Interconnection (Addressable Systems) Regulations 2017 notified by the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India has also mandated a time-bound framework for interconnect orders.

    A cap has been put on discounts offered by broadcasters to DPOs to ensure that the subscriber gets realistic maximum retail price. Furthermore, these discounts have to be objectively defined in the RIO.

    TRAI said this is expected to bring in level playing field and effective competition in the sector. While doing this, adequate flexibility and freedom has been   provided to service providers for innovation and business ingenuity in offering their services.

    Transparent and non-discriminatory access to all types of distribution networks have been brought under the   regulatory framework. Besides mandating a framework of  RIO  for  charging of  carriage fee  on   transparent basis, a cap on  the  rate at which a DPO  can  charge carriage fee has been  prescribed. Further, it has also been provided that the carriage fee shall change with the change in subscription level of channels. In this way, entry for new channels in the market has been made predictable.

    Other features include a common regulatory framework for all types of TV distribution platforms providing services through Addressable Systems; availability of signals to   service  providers on  non-exclusive  and non­discriminatory basis;  and ensuring  access  to   the    distribution  networks  for   re-transmission  of  TV channels on  all   types of  distribution  platforms on   non-exclusive and non- discriminatory basis.

    The broadcasters and distributors will devise and design their RIOs for providing signals of TV channels and access to the distribution networks respectively, in conformance with the regulations and the tariff orders notified by the Authority, and declare the same.

    There will be a time bound provisioning of signals of TV channels & access to the network on the basis of transparent RIO framework.

    All Interconnection agreements will be signed between broadcasters and distributors on the basis of RIO.

    A framework has been prescribed for reports & audits.

    Complete details are available on

    The initial interconnect regulations were brought out in October last year but had been stayed by the Madras High Court but that order was set aside in an appeal by TRAI in the Supreme Court.

  • Distributors cannot charge more than Rs 130 per month for 100 SD channels: TRAI order

    MUMBAI: Consumers will now be able to receive 100 standard definition channels at Rs 130 a month plus taxes, according to the new TRAI tariff order issued last Friday. This will ensure reasonable rate of return to the DPOs on investments in the existing distribution networks as well as incentivise them for additional investment to ensure better network quality for providing value added services and broadband to subscribers. It is hoped that new framework will bring transparency, level playing field, encourage consumer choice and growth of the sector.

    The regulator stated that no separate charges other than this Network Capacity Fee (NCF) would be paid by the subscribers for opting Free-to-Air channels or bouquet of Free-to-Air channels.

    In order to provide choice to the subscribers and to curb skewed prices of a-la-carte channels as compared to bouquets, the Authority has mandated that a broadcaster can offer a maximum discount of 15 per cent while offering its bouquet of pay channels over the sum of MRPs of all the of pay channels in that bouquet. The restriction of maximum discount of 15 per cent on formation of bouquet is to ensure that a subscriber is not forced to take a channel which he doesn’t want. Forcing of non-driver channels to subscribers not only reduces choice of subscribers but also eats away bandwidth of distributors of television channels restricting entry of new and more competitive channels.

    Digtal addressable television distribution platforms, TRAI stated, are envisaged to provide several benefits to consumers of broadcasting services including better quality of signals, choice of channels, availability of multimedia services etc. With the completion of first three phases of digitization to a large extent, though the addressability, capacity and quality of signal have improved, issues relatéd to consumer choice, transparency and non-discrimination.

    Broadcasters want freedom to price their channels. Their contention is that since pricing at retail level is with distributors of television channels, the flexibility to maximise the revenue through advertisement and subscription fee has been compromised. News broadcasters, who primarily provide free-to- air (FTA) channels and have advertisements as only source of revenue, claim that many a time their channels at retail level are priced in such a manner that even pay channels are cheaper than their FTA channels. In the present framework distributors of television channels feel that they are totally dependent on effective negotiations with broadcasters for monetisation of their investment and due to non-transparency in the system, they end up at a loss while bargaining with the broadcasters.

    According to TRAI, subscribers feel that the pricing of channels is skewed resulting effectively in no choice of individual channels. They feel lack of transparency. Questions are raised time and again as to why same channel is priced so differently by different distribution platform operators.

    While prescribing the new regulatory framework, the TRAI has kept in mind the discussions in the Parliament on the motion for consideration of the Cable Television Networks (Regulation) Amendment Bill, 20 11, wherein the then Minister of Information and Broadcasting stated that TRAI would establish a system wherein consumers would be free to choose a-la- carte channels of choice and they would not be required to subscribe to bouquets.

    While framing this Tariff Order, the emphasis of the Authority has been to ensure transparency, non-discrimination, consumer protection and create an enabling environment for orderly growth of the sector. The new framework attempts to address all the issues raised by broadcasters, distributors of television channels and subscribers. The broadcasters will have to declare their channels as ‘Pay’ or Tree-to-Air’ (FTA). Broadcasters have been given complete flexibility to declare maximum retail price (MRP) of their pay channels to subscribers with no restrictions as long as such channels are provided to consumers individually. However, if a pay channel is provided as part of a bouquet, MRP of such pay channel cannot be more than Rs. 19/-. This is to ensure protection of interests of consumers as bouquet deals are oblique to individual channel prices. The new framework in no way restricts or curtails the freedom of broadcasters to price their channels. Provisions have also been made to ensure that no additional charges are levied for subscribing to FTA channels.

    The salient features of the Tariff Order are:

    • Broadcasters to declare maximum retail price (MRP) (excluding taxes) ), per month, of their a-la-carte pay channels for subscribers.
    • A broadcaster can also offer bouquets of its pay channels and declare MRP (excluding taxes) of bouquets for subscribers. However, MRP of such bouquets of pay channels will not be less than 85% of the sum of maximum retail price of the a-la-carte pay channels forming part of that bouquet.
    • Separate bouquet for pay channels and free-to-air channels.
    • Charges payable by a subscriber for distribution network capacity and channels have been separated.
    • The distribution network capacity required for initial one hundred Standard Definition (SD) channels can be availed by a subscriber by paying an amount, not exceeding, Rs. 130/- (excluding taxes) per month to the distributor of TV channels.
    • Within the capacity of 100 SD channels, apart from the channels to be mandatorily provided to subscribers as notified by the Central Government, a subscriber will be free to choose any free-to-air channel, pay channel, or bouquet of pay channels offered by the broadcasters or bouquet of pay channels offered by the distributor of television channels or bouquet of free-to-air channels offered by the distributor of television channels or a combination thereof.
    • No separate charges, other than the Network Capacity Fee, to be paid by the subscribers for subscribing to free-to-air channels or bouquet of free-to-air channels.
    • The additional capacity, beyond initial one hundred channels capacity, can be availed by a subscriber in the slabs of 25 SD channels each, by  paying an amount not exceeding Rs. 20/- per such slab, excluding taxes, per month.
    • Every distributor of television channels shall offer all channels available on its network to all subscribers on a-la-carte basis.
    • Every distributor of television channels shall declare distributor retail price of each pay channel and bouquet of pay channels payable by a subscriber:
    • A subscriber can choose a-la-carte channels of its choice.
    • Distributors of television channels are permitted to. form bouquets from a-la-carte pay channels and bouquet of pay channels of broadcasters. However, distributor retail price of such bouquets of pay channels shall not be less than 85 per cent of the sum of distributor retail prices of the a-la-carte pay channels and bouquets of pay channels of broadcasters forming part of that bouquet.
    • A subscriber has to pay separate charges, other than the Network Capacity Fee, for subscribing to pay channels or bouquet of pay channels.
    • Distributors of television channels have to offer at least one bouquet, referred to as basic service tier, of 100 free-to-air channels including all the mandatorily channels to be provided to the subscribers as notified by the Central Government. This bouquet will be one of the options available for subscription to customers. It will be the subscriber Who will be free to exercise his option.
    • Any pay channel having a-la-carte MRP of more than Rs 19/- per month (Excluding Taxes) shall not form part of any bouquet.

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    TRAI free to issue TV tariff, Star HC case disposal in 60 days

  • Cable TV price may reduce as TRAI issues tariff, QofS, interconnect regulations after SC nod

    MUMBAI: Cable TV prices are now expected to reduce after Telecom Regulatory Authority of India yesterday issued a series of orders relating to digital addressable systems.

    Broadcast carriage regulator TRAI had lined up a slew of guidelines relating to tariff, quality of service and interconnections, including proposing maximum retail price (MRP) for channels being bundled in genre-wise bouquets, freeing unbundled premium channels of  price caps and reining in the last mile cable operator (LCO) from breaching revenue-gravy trail.

    Sources in TRAI had indicated the regulator had favoured introducing MRP for TV channels that broadcasters offer in a bouquet to MSOs so the prices could be conveyed to a consumer in a transparent manner for him to make an empowered choice. Though broadcasting companies do submit annually a-la-carte rates of their respective channels to TRAI, the regulator was of the opinion that a consumer doesn’t ultimately get to choose the channel of his choice transparently.

    Following the green signal from the Supreme Court yesterday morning, TRAI issued a series of orders relating to digital addressable systems.

    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.

    In separate press releases, TRAI said the three documents issued in October last year were in draft form. Earlier, the regulator had issued consultation papers on the issues and finalized the regulations after receiving responses from stakeholders and open house discussions, the final regulations have been issued. The regulations had been issued after However, 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

    Earlier, both Star India and Vijay TV had filed a petition in Madras High Court under the Copyright Act on the ground that TRAI could not issue orders that would affect content but could only issue regulations relating to distribution and other matters.

    After the High Court stayed all orders issued by it, TRAI appealed to the Supreme Court which this morning said that TRAI was free to issue its orders. 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.

    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

  • TRAI free to issue TV tariff, Star HC case disposal in 60 days

    NEW DELHI: Even as it permitted the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India to notify the tariff order and interconnect regulations for the broadcast sector, the Supreme Court asked the Madras High Court to dispose the original petition by Star India and Vijay TV within sixty days.

    The apex court said that the High Court could continue hearing the case, which is due to come up next week.

    However, it said that Star India was free to approach the court if it was aggrieved by the tariff order or any other action by TRAI in this matter. Star India could also amend the petition if needed in the event of a tariff order being issued.

    “Any new cause of action arising from notifying the regulation can be taken up before the high court,” the court said.

    Star India Pvt. Ltd and its subsidiary, Vijay Television Pvt. Ltd, had challenged the draft regulations before the Madras high court under the provisions of the Copyright Act and said Trai has no jurisdiction to regulate content.

    Star India counsel P Chidambaram said they have challenged Trai’s assumption of jurisdiction. “Trai can only regulate carriage and not content,” Chidambaram said.

    The bench of Justices P C Ghose and Rohinton F Nariman said Trai cannot seek an adjournment.

    Additional solicitor general Tushar Mehta told the court that the regulation will not come into effect immediately, which gives time for Star India to move the high court and seek a stay. “Some provisions will come into effect after 30 days but the important ones will only take effect after 180 days,” Mehta said.
    In the draft order issued in October 2016, Trai had proposed a new tariff framework for pricing and packaging of TV channels offered to subscribers, listing channel genres and a genre-wise ceiling on the channel prices.

    Indian Broadcasting Foundation and Videocon DTH counsel were also present at the hearing.