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Category: TRAI

  • Net subs grow significantly but public Wi-Fi idea flayed

    Net subs grow significantly but public Wi-Fi idea flayed

    MUMBAI: Even as internet subscribers are growing significantly across Indian states, TRAI’s idea of public Wi-Fi has been flayed by stakeholders.

    Maharashtra has recorded the highest number of internet subscribers in India at 29.47 million, followed by Tamil Nadu, Andhra and Karnataka in that order, according to government data. At the end of March 2016, India had a total of 342.65 million subscribers. BharatNet project meantime plans to connect all 2.5 lakh gram panchayats in the country through broadband.

    Delhi had registered 20.59 million internet users, while Kolkata and Mumbai recorded 9.26 million and 15.65 million, respectively.

    Tamil Nadu recorded 28.01 million subscribers, while the neighbouring states of Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka respectively registered 24.87 million and 22.63 million. Himachal Pradesh saw the lowest number of subscribers at 3.02 million.

    Of the over 342 million subscribers, over 67 per cent are from urban India. At the end of FY16, the rural internet subscriber base stood at 111.94 million. Tamil Nadu recorder the highest number of urban subscribers at 21.16 million, while UP (East) telecom circle is ahead in terms of rural internet customer base at 11.21 million.

    Public Wi-Fi condemned

    Telecom stakeholders recommending an open and cheap internet have raised concerns over privacy and regulatory hurdles following the release of TRAI’s consultation paper on public Wi-Fi.

    The Internet Freedom Foundation co-founder Aravind Ravi Sulekha was apprehensive that the proposed regulations could lead to invasion of privacy and interfere with the freedom of hotspot providers to operate freely. The proposals may turn out to be regressive, Sulekha said.

    TRAI proposed hotspot providers would have to register with the government and users could access hotspots only after paying using a service tied to their Aadhaar number.

    Centre for Internet and Society policy director Pranesh Prakash said that TRAI solution was a classic example of over-regulation and centralism. It turns out that TARI was unclear about the problem to be solved, he added.

  • Net subs grow significantly but public Wi-Fi idea flayed

    Net subs grow significantly but public Wi-Fi idea flayed

    MUMBAI: Even as internet subscribers are growing significantly across Indian states, TRAI’s idea of public Wi-Fi has been flayed by stakeholders.

    Maharashtra has recorded the highest number of internet subscribers in India at 29.47 million, followed by Tamil Nadu, Andhra and Karnataka in that order, according to government data. At the end of March 2016, India had a total of 342.65 million subscribers. BharatNet project meantime plans to connect all 2.5 lakh gram panchayats in the country through broadband.

    Delhi had registered 20.59 million internet users, while Kolkata and Mumbai recorded 9.26 million and 15.65 million, respectively.

    Tamil Nadu recorded 28.01 million subscribers, while the neighbouring states of Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka respectively registered 24.87 million and 22.63 million. Himachal Pradesh saw the lowest number of subscribers at 3.02 million.

    Of the over 342 million subscribers, over 67 per cent are from urban India. At the end of FY16, the rural internet subscriber base stood at 111.94 million. Tamil Nadu recorder the highest number of urban subscribers at 21.16 million, while UP (East) telecom circle is ahead in terms of rural internet customer base at 11.21 million.

    Public Wi-Fi condemned

    Telecom stakeholders recommending an open and cheap internet have raised concerns over privacy and regulatory hurdles following the release of TRAI’s consultation paper on public Wi-Fi.

    The Internet Freedom Foundation co-founder Aravind Ravi Sulekha was apprehensive that the proposed regulations could lead to invasion of privacy and interfere with the freedom of hotspot providers to operate freely. The proposals may turn out to be regressive, Sulekha said.

    TRAI proposed hotspot providers would have to register with the government and users could access hotspots only after paying using a service tied to their Aadhaar number.

    Centre for Internet and Society policy director Pranesh Prakash said that TRAI solution was a classic example of over-regulation and centralism. It turns out that TARI was unclear about the problem to be solved, he added.

  • Public Wi-Fi: TRAI plans to evolve model, releases paper

    Public Wi-Fi: TRAI plans to evolve model, releases paper

    NEW DELHI: Realising the importance of public Wi-Fi networks as complementary to existing landline and cellular mobile infrastructure in improving broadband penetration and adoption of Digital India, the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India has released a second consultation paper Wi-fi this year.

    TRAI wants reactions on the paper on model for nation-wide interoperable and scalable wi-fi networks by 25 November.

    The objective of the new paper is two-fold:

    a) To explore whether the model proposed in this Note can be incorporated in Public Wi-Fi networks to promote appropriate monetization and business models for sustainable and scalable infrastructure deployment.

    b) 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.

    Earlier on 13 July 2016, TRAI had issued a paper on “Proliferation of Broadband through Public Wi-Fi Networks” which was followed by reactions and then a workshop in Bengaluru.

    A few of the important issues pointed out in the consultation paper for a successful, scalable and sustainable public Wi-Fi infrastructure in the country include (i) technical interoperability and seamless connectivity of Wi-Fi networks (ii) innovative payment, commercialization, and monetization models; and (iii) collaborative partnerships between various entities of the ecosystem.

    Public Wi-Fi networks can be effective complement to the wired and wireless mobile broadband infrastructure in the country to achieve the vision of Digital India as stated above.

    In view of the discussions held, the questions posed by TRAI are:

    Q1. Is the architecture suggested in the consultation note for creating unified authentication and payment infrastructure will enable nationwide standard for authentication and payment interoperability?

    Q2. Would you like to suggest any alternate model?

    Q3. Can Public Wi-Fi access providers resell capacity and bandwidth to retail users? Is “light touch regulation” using methods such as “registration” instead of “licensing” preferred for them?

    Q4. What should be the regulatory guidelines on “unbundling” Wi-Fi at access and backhaul level?

    Q5. Whether reselling of bandwidth should be allowed to venue owners such as shop keepers through Wi-Fi at premise? In such a scenario please suggest the mechanism for security compliance

    Q6. What should be the guidelines regarding sharing of costs and revenue across all entities in the public Wi-Fi value chain? Is regulatory intervention required or it should be left to forbearance and individual contracting?

  • Public Wi-Fi: TRAI plans to evolve model, releases paper

    Public Wi-Fi: TRAI plans to evolve model, releases paper

    NEW DELHI: Realising the importance of public Wi-Fi networks as complementary to existing landline and cellular mobile infrastructure in improving broadband penetration and adoption of Digital India, the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India has released a second consultation paper Wi-fi this year.

    TRAI wants reactions on the paper on model for nation-wide interoperable and scalable wi-fi networks by 25 November.

    The objective of the new paper is two-fold:

    a) To explore whether the model proposed in this Note can be incorporated in Public Wi-Fi networks to promote appropriate monetization and business models for sustainable and scalable infrastructure deployment.

    b) 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.

    Earlier on 13 July 2016, TRAI had issued a paper on “Proliferation of Broadband through Public Wi-Fi Networks” which was followed by reactions and then a workshop in Bengaluru.

    A few of the important issues pointed out in the consultation paper for a successful, scalable and sustainable public Wi-Fi infrastructure in the country include (i) technical interoperability and seamless connectivity of Wi-Fi networks (ii) innovative payment, commercialization, and monetization models; and (iii) collaborative partnerships between various entities of the ecosystem.

    Public Wi-Fi networks can be effective complement to the wired and wireless mobile broadband infrastructure in the country to achieve the vision of Digital India as stated above.

    In view of the discussions held, the questions posed by TRAI are:

    Q1. Is the architecture suggested in the consultation note for creating unified authentication and payment infrastructure will enable nationwide standard for authentication and payment interoperability?

    Q2. Would you like to suggest any alternate model?

    Q3. Can Public Wi-Fi access providers resell capacity and bandwidth to retail users? Is “light touch regulation” using methods such as “registration” instead of “licensing” preferred for them?

    Q4. What should be the regulatory guidelines on “unbundling” Wi-Fi at access and backhaul level?

    Q5. Whether reselling of bandwidth should be allowed to venue owners such as shop keepers through Wi-Fi at premise? In such a scenario please suggest the mechanism for security compliance

    Q6. What should be the guidelines regarding sharing of costs and revenue across all entities in the public Wi-Fi value chain? Is regulatory intervention required or it should be left to forbearance and individual contracting?

  • TRAI’s CDR idea rejected; Govt to look into Rs 3050 cr penalty

    TRAI’s CDR idea rejected; Govt to look into Rs 3050 cr penalty

    MUMBAI: The telecom ministry has formed a committee to look into TRAI’s penalty suggestion on Vodafone, Airtel and Idea as they allegedly failed to provide sufficient inter-connect points (PoI) to Reliance Jio, leading to severe call drops.

    Telecom operators across GSM and CDMA platforms meantime turned down TRAI’s recommendation of computing call drop rates through a meta data analysis of CDRs (call detail records). This, TRAI asserted, has been designed for billing purpose only, and not for checking quality of service. Such an analysis, the operators said, would project a flawed picture as abnormal call disconnects/terminations could be triggered by handsets getting turned off due to other errors, or due to battery draining out or a subscriber moving to an underground building or a station.

    Cellular Operators Association of India (COAI) represented the operators, the Economic Times reported.

    On the the hand, the union telecom minister Manoj Sinha said the ministry has formed the committee to look into the regulator’s recommendation on the proposed Rs 3,050 crore penalty, Business Standard reported. Last month, the regulator had proposed the penalty on the three telcos.

    Lately however Reliance Jio has been allegedly limiting all voice calls to 30 minutes. As a part of Jio’s free Welcome Offer, users were allowed unlimited voice calls. However, lately, the calls were being abruptly disconnected after a duration of 30 minutes, which is not an isolated case.

    The regulator had earlier sent a letter to the Department of Telecommunications recommending a charge of Rs 50 crore per circle for 21 service areas, except for Jammu & Kashmir, for Airtel and Vodafone. For Idea Cellular, TRAI suggested penalty for 19 circles.

    At the meeting of BRICS Ministers of Communications, Sinha said that the committee would give its considerations on the TRAI suggestion.

    The regulator’s suggestion came after Reliance Jio complained that more than 75 per cent of the calls on its network were dropping since the incumbent operators were not giving sufficient PoIs. The regulator stated that the incumbents went “against public interest.”

  • TRAI’s CDR idea rejected; Govt to look into Rs 3050 cr penalty

    TRAI’s CDR idea rejected; Govt to look into Rs 3050 cr penalty

    MUMBAI: The telecom ministry has formed a committee to look into TRAI’s penalty suggestion on Vodafone, Airtel and Idea as they allegedly failed to provide sufficient inter-connect points (PoI) to Reliance Jio, leading to severe call drops.

    Telecom operators across GSM and CDMA platforms meantime turned down TRAI’s recommendation of computing call drop rates through a meta data analysis of CDRs (call detail records). This, TRAI asserted, has been designed for billing purpose only, and not for checking quality of service. Such an analysis, the operators said, would project a flawed picture as abnormal call disconnects/terminations could be triggered by handsets getting turned off due to other errors, or due to battery draining out or a subscriber moving to an underground building or a station.

    Cellular Operators Association of India (COAI) represented the operators, the Economic Times reported.

    On the the hand, the union telecom minister Manoj Sinha said the ministry has formed the committee to look into the regulator’s recommendation on the proposed Rs 3,050 crore penalty, Business Standard reported. Last month, the regulator had proposed the penalty on the three telcos.

    Lately however Reliance Jio has been allegedly limiting all voice calls to 30 minutes. As a part of Jio’s free Welcome Offer, users were allowed unlimited voice calls. However, lately, the calls were being abruptly disconnected after a duration of 30 minutes, which is not an isolated case.

    The regulator had earlier sent a letter to the Department of Telecommunications recommending a charge of Rs 50 crore per circle for 21 service areas, except for Jammu & Kashmir, for Airtel and Vodafone. For Idea Cellular, TRAI suggested penalty for 19 circles.

    At the meeting of BRICS Ministers of Communications, Sinha said that the committee would give its considerations on the TRAI suggestion.

    The regulator’s suggestion came after Reliance Jio complained that more than 75 per cent of the calls on its network were dropping since the incumbent operators were not giving sufficient PoIs. The regulator stated that the incumbents went “against public interest.”

  • 137 GEC and news pay channels violated ad cap rule in second quarter

    137 GEC and news pay channels violated ad cap rule in second quarter

    NEW DELHI: Even as the ad cap case drags on with the government failing to take a firm stand either way, a total of 137 pay channels including 25 news and current affairs channels continued to violate the regulations for telecasting a maximum of 12 minutes of commercials per hour in the second quarter of the year.

    The report released today by the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India for the period from 28 March to 2 June 2016 shows that the number of violators has remained almost the same as in the first quarter when the total was 133 between 28 December and 27 March.

    While there has been a very miniscule fall in the violators among news channels from 30 to 25, there is an increase in non-news channels from 103 as on 27 March to 112 as on 26 June.

    The average duration per hour of advertisements (commercial and self promotional) during peak hours (7pm‐10 PM) in pay news channels for the period 28 March to 26 June shows that the highest of these was by 21.95 minutes by ETV Rajasthan and the lowest was 12.01 minutes by Zee Telugu. Interestingly, the highest in the first quarter was also by ETV Rajasthan with 24.83 minutes. Times Now which had been at the bottom with 12.15 minutes in the first quarter does not even figure in the list of violators in the second quarter.

    Among pay non-news channels (general entertainment channels) for the same period, the highest was 24.54 minutes by B4U Movies (which had topped the list in the first quarter with 23.41 minutes and was also at the top in December last year) and the lowest was 12.03 minutes by Raj Digital Plus. Odisha TV’s Tarang which had been at the bottom in the first quarter increased its ad time to 12.22 minutes.

    There are at least 16 news and 30 non-news channels clocking more than 15 minutes per hour. While the number of news channels was the same in the first quarter, the number of GECs has risen from 24.

    TRAI has made it clear that “the information is based on the data submitted by the broadcasters and TRAI bears no responsibility for correctness. As per information available with TRAI, the rest of the pay news and non-news channels are carrying less than 12 minutes of average duration per hour of advertisements (commercial & self promotional) during peak hours (7PM – 10 pm).”

    Asking TRAI not to take any coercive action against any channel pending hearing of the case in the first hearing over two years earlier, the Delhi High Court had asked all channels and TRAI to keep a record of the advertising time consumed including commercials.

    The petition had been filed by the News Broadcasters Association and some channels challenging the TRAI decision to implement the directive of 12 minutes contained in the Cable Television Networks (Regulation) Act 1995. The Information and Broadcasting Ministry and TRAI are the respondents in the petition.

    After the Information and Broadcasting Ministry told the Court on 27 November 2015 that it was discussing the issue with broadcasters, the matter was put off several times. In the 11 February hearing, Discovery Communications moved for intervention while Home Cable sought early hearing.

    In its intervention, MSO Home Cable Network (P) Ltd said it wanted to intervene as it was directly affected by the outcome of the present petition. It wanted the NBA petition to be dismissed and added: “The Pay channel broadcasters are profiteering at the expense of subscribers and the DPOs. There is no justification for changing monthly subscription when commercial advertisements are inserted. The Standards of Quality of Service (Digital Addressable Cable TV Systems) Regulations 2012 (with Amendments thereafter) is justified to the extent they are applicable to pay channels. The pay channel broadcasters cannot charge the subscription fee while inserting commercials into the content or in the alternative, the subscribers have to be compensated for the revenue earned on the basis of their being subscribers of the channels.”

    In the petition, the news channels made the plea that most of them are free to air and therefore do not get any subscription fee from the viewers as the GEC channels do.

  • 137 GEC and news pay channels violated ad cap rule in second quarter

    137 GEC and news pay channels violated ad cap rule in second quarter

    NEW DELHI: Even as the ad cap case drags on with the government failing to take a firm stand either way, a total of 137 pay channels including 25 news and current affairs channels continued to violate the regulations for telecasting a maximum of 12 minutes of commercials per hour in the second quarter of the year.

    The report released today by the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India for the period from 28 March to 2 June 2016 shows that the number of violators has remained almost the same as in the first quarter when the total was 133 between 28 December and 27 March.

    While there has been a very miniscule fall in the violators among news channels from 30 to 25, there is an increase in non-news channels from 103 as on 27 March to 112 as on 26 June.

    The average duration per hour of advertisements (commercial and self promotional) during peak hours (7pm‐10 PM) in pay news channels for the period 28 March to 26 June shows that the highest of these was by 21.95 minutes by ETV Rajasthan and the lowest was 12.01 minutes by Zee Telugu. Interestingly, the highest in the first quarter was also by ETV Rajasthan with 24.83 minutes. Times Now which had been at the bottom with 12.15 minutes in the first quarter does not even figure in the list of violators in the second quarter.

    Among pay non-news channels (general entertainment channels) for the same period, the highest was 24.54 minutes by B4U Movies (which had topped the list in the first quarter with 23.41 minutes and was also at the top in December last year) and the lowest was 12.03 minutes by Raj Digital Plus. Odisha TV’s Tarang which had been at the bottom in the first quarter increased its ad time to 12.22 minutes.

    There are at least 16 news and 30 non-news channels clocking more than 15 minutes per hour. While the number of news channels was the same in the first quarter, the number of GECs has risen from 24.

    TRAI has made it clear that “the information is based on the data submitted by the broadcasters and TRAI bears no responsibility for correctness. As per information available with TRAI, the rest of the pay news and non-news channels are carrying less than 12 minutes of average duration per hour of advertisements (commercial & self promotional) during peak hours (7PM – 10 pm).”

    Asking TRAI not to take any coercive action against any channel pending hearing of the case in the first hearing over two years earlier, the Delhi High Court had asked all channels and TRAI to keep a record of the advertising time consumed including commercials.

    The petition had been filed by the News Broadcasters Association and some channels challenging the TRAI decision to implement the directive of 12 minutes contained in the Cable Television Networks (Regulation) Act 1995. The Information and Broadcasting Ministry and TRAI are the respondents in the petition.

    After the Information and Broadcasting Ministry told the Court on 27 November 2015 that it was discussing the issue with broadcasters, the matter was put off several times. In the 11 February hearing, Discovery Communications moved for intervention while Home Cable sought early hearing.

    In its intervention, MSO Home Cable Network (P) Ltd said it wanted to intervene as it was directly affected by the outcome of the present petition. It wanted the NBA petition to be dismissed and added: “The Pay channel broadcasters are profiteering at the expense of subscribers and the DPOs. There is no justification for changing monthly subscription when commercial advertisements are inserted. The Standards of Quality of Service (Digital Addressable Cable TV Systems) Regulations 2012 (with Amendments thereafter) is justified to the extent they are applicable to pay channels. The pay channel broadcasters cannot charge the subscription fee while inserting commercials into the content or in the alternative, the subscribers have to be compensated for the revenue earned on the basis of their being subscribers of the channels.”

    In the petition, the news channels made the plea that most of them are free to air and therefore do not get any subscription fee from the viewers as the GEC channels do.

  • TRAI issues direction on broadband definition

    TRAI issues direction on broadband definition

    NEW DELHI: The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India has directed all telecom service providers providing broadband (wire-line or wireless) services to provide certain services in respect of all broadband tariff plans offered under Fair Usage Policy on their websites and advertisements in view of the broader definition of Broadband as directed by the Department of Telecom.

    The Department in a notification of 18 July 2013 had amended the definition of broadband, saying: “Broadband is a data connection that is able to support interactive services including Internet access and has the capability of the minimum download speed of 512 kbps to an individual subscriber from the point of presence (POP) of the service provider intending to provide Broadband service.”

    The information, which must be published in all advertisements published through any media, in respect of all broadband tariff plans offered under Fair Usage Policy will mention for Fixed broadband service:

    1. Data usage limit with specified speed;

    2. Speed of broadband connection up to specified data usage limit; and speed of broadband connection beyond data usage limit;

    For Mobile broadband service:

    1. Data usage limit with specified Primary technology (3G/4G) for providing data services;

    2. Speed offered for providing data services beyond data usage limit;

    3. provide information specified in para (a) above to both new and existing subscribers on their registered email address and through SMS on their mobile number registered with the service provider, as opted by consumer;

    4. ensure that download speed of broadband service provided to the fixed broadband subscriber is not reduced below minimum download speed for broadband as defined by the DoT from time to time in any Fair usage broadband tariff plan after expiry of assigned data quota of consumers;

    5. Provide alert to the subscriber through SMS on his registered Mobile Number or to his registered e-mail address each time when his data usage reaches fifty, ninety and hundred percent of the data usage limit under his plan. TSP should also maintain a portal/website so that user can access his usage at any point of time.

    The TRAI direction is in supersession of its earlier direction of 27 July 2012. The new direction has been issued in exercise of the powers conferred upon it under section 13, read with Section 11(1)(b). of the TRAI Act 1997 and in order to ensure transparency in delivery of internet and broadband services and to protect interests of consumers of the telecom sector and to facilitate further growth of internet and broadband services in India.

  • TRAI issues direction on broadband definition

    TRAI issues direction on broadband definition

    NEW DELHI: The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India has directed all telecom service providers providing broadband (wire-line or wireless) services to provide certain services in respect of all broadband tariff plans offered under Fair Usage Policy on their websites and advertisements in view of the broader definition of Broadband as directed by the Department of Telecom.

    The Department in a notification of 18 July 2013 had amended the definition of broadband, saying: “Broadband is a data connection that is able to support interactive services including Internet access and has the capability of the minimum download speed of 512 kbps to an individual subscriber from the point of presence (POP) of the service provider intending to provide Broadband service.”

    The information, which must be published in all advertisements published through any media, in respect of all broadband tariff plans offered under Fair Usage Policy will mention for Fixed broadband service:

    1. Data usage limit with specified speed;

    2. Speed of broadband connection up to specified data usage limit; and speed of broadband connection beyond data usage limit;

    For Mobile broadband service:

    1. Data usage limit with specified Primary technology (3G/4G) for providing data services;

    2. Speed offered for providing data services beyond data usage limit;

    3. provide information specified in para (a) above to both new and existing subscribers on their registered email address and through SMS on their mobile number registered with the service provider, as opted by consumer;

    4. ensure that download speed of broadband service provided to the fixed broadband subscriber is not reduced below minimum download speed for broadband as defined by the DoT from time to time in any Fair usage broadband tariff plan after expiry of assigned data quota of consumers;

    5. Provide alert to the subscriber through SMS on his registered Mobile Number or to his registered e-mail address each time when his data usage reaches fifty, ninety and hundred percent of the data usage limit under his plan. TSP should also maintain a portal/website so that user can access his usage at any point of time.

    The TRAI direction is in supersession of its earlier direction of 27 July 2012. The new direction has been issued in exercise of the powers conferred upon it under section 13, read with Section 11(1)(b). of the TRAI Act 1997 and in order to ensure transparency in delivery of internet and broadband services and to protect interests of consumers of the telecom sector and to facilitate further growth of internet and broadband services in India.