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Category: TRAI

  • TRAI commences exercise at inter-operaability of STBs, isses pre-Consultation Paper

    TRAI commences exercise at inter-operaability of STBs, isses pre-Consultation Paper

    New Delhi: Noting the need for inter-operability of set top boxes as the country races towards completion of the final phase of digital addressable systems, the Telecom Regulatory Authority asked stakeholders for their opinion on the best methods for such inter-operability.

    In a scenario where the government itself admits that Indian-made STBs are a mere ten per cent, it is even more imperative to find ways of smoother inter-operability since most of the STBs will be of foreign make.

    In a pre-consultation paper on set top box interoperability issued today, TRAI has related the methods of inter-operability followed in Europe, Asia and the United States and asked the stakeholders to give their views by 29 April. Views have been invited from various organizations, industry bodies, standardization bodies,
    STB manufacturers, chip vendors, conditional access system providers, software providers, stakeholders, experts, individuals etc

    Answers have been sought to just three questions: what are the concerns that should be takencare of at the time of development of framework of interoperable of STBs; what are the techno-commercial reasons for non-interoperability of STBs; and the plausible solutions for technical interoperability of STBs and their impact on the sector’s growth.

    After giving examples from around the world, the paper said there can be various possible solutions. But the views of stakeholders are necessary before starting any discussion on the possible solutions and to arrive at a common minimum agreement ofadoption of any specific standards and the way forward.

    The paper also says stakeholders are free to give any relevant feedback for thedevelopment of technical inter-operability both within specific segment (cable TV and DTH) and across the segments (among cable TV and DTH operators).

    The paper also lists the steps already taken by TRAI.

    Based on the recommendations of TRAI for technical interoperability of STBs, theGovernment has mandated the provision of CI slot in the STBs deployed by DTH serviceproviders. The CI slot exists in the already deployed DTH STBs.

    However TRAI said this effort has not been fruitful in meeting the objective of interoperabilityin India due to various reasons. These are: the availability of CI slot alone is not sufficient toachieve effective technical interoperability as other modules of STB like tuner, middleware, operating system; EPG etc. also require updation on change of service provider; DTHoperators are following different versions of standards for compression, and transmission; most of the DTH operators have not offered to customers the option of CAM card in place ofSTB; and the cost of CAM card is more or less equal to the new STB. It may be due to non-availability of economies of scale.

    TRAI said it has notified tariff order prescribing standard tariff package for STBs, which provide an easy exit option to the consumers, who want to change their service providers due to one reason or the other. But the tariff order applicable for DTH is sub-judice as it is pending adjudication.

    The paper says broadcasting of TV signals over distribution networks involves various steps like compression, encryption, transmission etc. For each purpose, different technologies andtheir versions have evolved over a period of time. The rules and regulations prescribed bythe government and the regulator provide freedom of choosing technology to serviceproviders. Accordingly, according to their business plans, individual service provider havechosen and implemented different technologies and their versions. The adoption of different versions of technical standards by service providers is one of the reasons for non–interoperability of STBs.

    The issue relating to technical interoperability mainly hover around the question ofinteroperability of STBs, between two platforms viz DTH and cable; and question of inter-operability of STBs within the same platform i.e. with in cable or DTH systems. Further, withina platform, there could be a question of inter-operability of STBs across the different serviceproviders using the same make of CAS. Presently, STB inter-operability is not functional atany level.

    The main technical reasons of STB non inter-operability are: different methods of EMM andECM encryption: ECM and EMM messages are carried in an encrypted form. Whereas DVBhas standardized the scrambling algorithm for scrambling of a channel (DVB-CSA), algorithms used for ECM/ EMM encryption are not standardized.

    Different Modulation standards: using DVB-C standard whereas the signal is modulatedusing DVB-S standard in DTH. For a STB to be able to receive signal both from DTH andcable, there will be a requirement of switchable demodulator unit. Further, efficient versions namely DVB-C2 and DVB-S2 have been deployed by the operators. While the later versionsare backward compatible, earlier versions are not forward compatible. Therefore, it restrictsthe STB interoperability across the platforms as well as within the same platform using differentversions of standards.

    In digital TV transmission, compression plays a very important role. There are two prominent compression standards in use today. In India, most of the operators have used, either MPEG2or MPEG4 standard for compression. In cable TV sector, due to cost advantage andavailability of sufficient bandwidth in the network, most of the STBs deployed till now are ofMPEG2 standard. While the MPEG4 standard is backward compatible, MPEG2 standard is not forward compatible. Therefore, MPEG2 compliant STBs cannot work in the MPEG4 networks.

    Operating system/ middleware and EPG (Electronic Program Guide) boot loaders are specificto chip vendors and it allows the updating of STB software by specific operators afterproper verification. There is no standard operating system for STBs. DVB hasdeveloped multimedia home platform (MHP) as a standard for middleware. However the sameis not popular. Proprietary middleware, with non-standard APIs, are in use. It ensures that, theapplication software can be updated by specific operators only. Special end user applicationslike EPG installed over middleware are also unique for each operator.

    The pay TV service providers are concerned about the piracy of content. They have expressedtheir apprehension about fake STBs that may be used to capture information from a validsmart card and that information may be misused to produce fake/clone smart cards. Further,the stakeholders have raised their concern about the common scrambling algorithm (DVB-CSA) which is a 48 bit scrambling mechanism, and can be broken with the help of highcapacity processors.

    Therefore, the service providers are reluctant to use DVB-CSA. Operators due to theconcerns of piracy make the STB tightly coupled by integrating the Conditional Access Sub System into the chip.

    All these become an impediment when a subscriber wishes to migrate to a different serviceprovider while attempting to use the same STB, and leads to concerns relating to technical inter operability.

  • TRAI commences exercise at inter-operaability of STBs, isses pre-Consultation Paper

    TRAI commences exercise at inter-operaability of STBs, isses pre-Consultation Paper

    New Delhi: Noting the need for inter-operability of set top boxes as the country races towards completion of the final phase of digital addressable systems, the Telecom Regulatory Authority asked stakeholders for their opinion on the best methods for such inter-operability.

    In a scenario where the government itself admits that Indian-made STBs are a mere ten per cent, it is even more imperative to find ways of smoother inter-operability since most of the STBs will be of foreign make.

    In a pre-consultation paper on set top box interoperability issued today, TRAI has related the methods of inter-operability followed in Europe, Asia and the United States and asked the stakeholders to give their views by 29 April. Views have been invited from various organizations, industry bodies, standardization bodies,
    STB manufacturers, chip vendors, conditional access system providers, software providers, stakeholders, experts, individuals etc

    Answers have been sought to just three questions: what are the concerns that should be takencare of at the time of development of framework of interoperable of STBs; what are the techno-commercial reasons for non-interoperability of STBs; and the plausible solutions for technical interoperability of STBs and their impact on the sector’s growth.

    After giving examples from around the world, the paper said there can be various possible solutions. But the views of stakeholders are necessary before starting any discussion on the possible solutions and to arrive at a common minimum agreement ofadoption of any specific standards and the way forward.

    The paper also says stakeholders are free to give any relevant feedback for thedevelopment of technical inter-operability both within specific segment (cable TV and DTH) and across the segments (among cable TV and DTH operators).

    The paper also lists the steps already taken by TRAI.

    Based on the recommendations of TRAI for technical interoperability of STBs, theGovernment has mandated the provision of CI slot in the STBs deployed by DTH serviceproviders. The CI slot exists in the already deployed DTH STBs.

    However TRAI said this effort has not been fruitful in meeting the objective of interoperabilityin India due to various reasons. These are: the availability of CI slot alone is not sufficient toachieve effective technical interoperability as other modules of STB like tuner, middleware, operating system; EPG etc. also require updation on change of service provider; DTHoperators are following different versions of standards for compression, and transmission; most of the DTH operators have not offered to customers the option of CAM card in place ofSTB; and the cost of CAM card is more or less equal to the new STB. It may be due to non-availability of economies of scale.

    TRAI said it has notified tariff order prescribing standard tariff package for STBs, which provide an easy exit option to the consumers, who want to change their service providers due to one reason or the other. But the tariff order applicable for DTH is sub-judice as it is pending adjudication.

    The paper says broadcasting of TV signals over distribution networks involves various steps like compression, encryption, transmission etc. For each purpose, different technologies andtheir versions have evolved over a period of time. The rules and regulations prescribed bythe government and the regulator provide freedom of choosing technology to serviceproviders. Accordingly, according to their business plans, individual service provider havechosen and implemented different technologies and their versions. The adoption of different versions of technical standards by service providers is one of the reasons for non–interoperability of STBs.

    The issue relating to technical interoperability mainly hover around the question ofinteroperability of STBs, between two platforms viz DTH and cable; and question of inter-operability of STBs within the same platform i.e. with in cable or DTH systems. Further, withina platform, there could be a question of inter-operability of STBs across the different serviceproviders using the same make of CAS. Presently, STB inter-operability is not functional atany level.

    The main technical reasons of STB non inter-operability are: different methods of EMM andECM encryption: ECM and EMM messages are carried in an encrypted form. Whereas DVBhas standardized the scrambling algorithm for scrambling of a channel (DVB-CSA), algorithms used for ECM/ EMM encryption are not standardized.

    Different Modulation standards: using DVB-C standard whereas the signal is modulatedusing DVB-S standard in DTH. For a STB to be able to receive signal both from DTH andcable, there will be a requirement of switchable demodulator unit. Further, efficient versions namely DVB-C2 and DVB-S2 have been deployed by the operators. While the later versionsare backward compatible, earlier versions are not forward compatible. Therefore, it restrictsthe STB interoperability across the platforms as well as within the same platform using differentversions of standards.

    In digital TV transmission, compression plays a very important role. There are two prominent compression standards in use today. In India, most of the operators have used, either MPEG2or MPEG4 standard for compression. In cable TV sector, due to cost advantage andavailability of sufficient bandwidth in the network, most of the STBs deployed till now are ofMPEG2 standard. While the MPEG4 standard is backward compatible, MPEG2 standard is not forward compatible. Therefore, MPEG2 compliant STBs cannot work in the MPEG4 networks.

    Operating system/ middleware and EPG (Electronic Program Guide) boot loaders are specificto chip vendors and it allows the updating of STB software by specific operators afterproper verification. There is no standard operating system for STBs. DVB hasdeveloped multimedia home platform (MHP) as a standard for middleware. However the sameis not popular. Proprietary middleware, with non-standard APIs, are in use. It ensures that, theapplication software can be updated by specific operators only. Special end user applicationslike EPG installed over middleware are also unique for each operator.

    The pay TV service providers are concerned about the piracy of content. They have expressedtheir apprehension about fake STBs that may be used to capture information from a validsmart card and that information may be misused to produce fake/clone smart cards. Further,the stakeholders have raised their concern about the common scrambling algorithm (DVB-CSA) which is a 48 bit scrambling mechanism, and can be broken with the help of highcapacity processors.

    Therefore, the service providers are reluctant to use DVB-CSA. Operators due to theconcerns of piracy make the STB tightly coupled by integrating the Conditional Access Sub System into the chip.

    All these become an impediment when a subscriber wishes to migrate to a different serviceprovider while attempting to use the same STB, and leads to concerns relating to technical inter operability.

  • Adcap case put off to 27 April, court to hear plea challenging stay order

    Adcap case put off to 27 April, court to hear plea challenging stay order

    NEW DELHI, 29 March: In a day of swift developments, the Delhi High Court listed the adcap case for 27 April when it will hear an application by intervener Home Cable Network Pvt Ltd seeking vacation of the order staying action against violating television channels.

    Early in the morning, a plea was made in a mention before Chief Justice G Rohini and Justice Jayant Nath 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. Thereupon, the Court adjourned the matter for 21 July.

    However when the matter came up in the list, counsel Vivek Sarin of Home Cable pressed his application for vacation of stay. Thereupon, counsel for Discovery Communications said it wanted to press its application to come in as intervener.

    After hearing counsel for both sides, the judges agreed on early hearing and pre-poned the matter to 27 April.

    The Court had on 11 February adjourned the hearing to today when it had agreed to take up the application by Discovery Communications to intervene on the matter.

    Earlier on 27 November last year, the Court chaired by the Chief Justice had said the matter had been pending for some time and therefore it will hear and conclude the case in the next hearing.

    On that day, the I and B Ministry had informed the Court that it was in talks with the News Broadcasters Association and other stakeholders on the issue of the advertising cap of 12 minutes per hour.

    This was the first time that the Ministry had put in an appearance in the petition filed by the News Broadcasters and others against the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India and others.

    Home Cable Network Pvt. Ltd had been permitted to intervene on 5 January and the Court had agreed to consider contentions on whether pay channels should be permitted to carry commercials in view of subscription fee charged by them. Home Cable Counsel Vivek Sarin had told the court that the petitioners had not disclosed that broadcasters had given their consent to observe the 10+2 ad cap rule under the Cable Television Network Regulation Rules 1994 and the Act that followed a year later and also under the Uplink and Downlink Guidelines. He also said pay TV broadcasters should not be allowed to take ads as they charged subscription fee.

    The case, filed by 9x Media, News Broadcasters Association and others against the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India and the Union Government, has so far been adjourned from time to time on the plea that the government and the broadcasters are in talks on this issue.

    (It is learnt by indiantelevision.com that this comes in the wake of a statement made by Minister Arun Jaitley in January last year that there should be no ad cap in the print or electronic media, However, no instructions have been issued in this regard by the Minister so far,).

    The Court has already directed that the order that TRAI will not take any action against any channel pending the petition will 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 Glamoru, Sun TV Network, TV Vision, B4U Broadband, 9X Media, Kalaignar, Celebrities Management, Eanadu Television and Raj Television.

    Meanwhille, complaints against fifteen broadcasters by TRAI on the adcap issue are also pending with the Chief Metropolitan Magistrate in Delhi.

     

  • Adcap case put off to 27 April, court to hear plea challenging stay order

    Adcap case put off to 27 April, court to hear plea challenging stay order

    NEW DELHI, 29 March: In a day of swift developments, the Delhi High Court listed the adcap case for 27 April when it will hear an application by intervener Home Cable Network Pvt Ltd seeking vacation of the order staying action against violating television channels.

    Early in the morning, a plea was made in a mention before Chief Justice G Rohini and Justice Jayant Nath 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. Thereupon, the Court adjourned the matter for 21 July.

    However when the matter came up in the list, counsel Vivek Sarin of Home Cable pressed his application for vacation of stay. Thereupon, counsel for Discovery Communications said it wanted to press its application to come in as intervener.

    After hearing counsel for both sides, the judges agreed on early hearing and pre-poned the matter to 27 April.

    The Court had on 11 February adjourned the hearing to today when it had agreed to take up the application by Discovery Communications to intervene on the matter.

    Earlier on 27 November last year, the Court chaired by the Chief Justice had said the matter had been pending for some time and therefore it will hear and conclude the case in the next hearing.

    On that day, the I and B Ministry had informed the Court that it was in talks with the News Broadcasters Association and other stakeholders on the issue of the advertising cap of 12 minutes per hour.

    This was the first time that the Ministry had put in an appearance in the petition filed by the News Broadcasters and others against the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India and others.

    Home Cable Network Pvt. Ltd had been permitted to intervene on 5 January and the Court had agreed to consider contentions on whether pay channels should be permitted to carry commercials in view of subscription fee charged by them. Home Cable Counsel Vivek Sarin had told the court that the petitioners had not disclosed that broadcasters had given their consent to observe the 10+2 ad cap rule under the Cable Television Network Regulation Rules 1994 and the Act that followed a year later and also under the Uplink and Downlink Guidelines. He also said pay TV broadcasters should not be allowed to take ads as they charged subscription fee.

    The case, filed by 9x Media, News Broadcasters Association and others against the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India and the Union Government, has so far been adjourned from time to time on the plea that the government and the broadcasters are in talks on this issue.

    (It is learnt by indiantelevision.com that this comes in the wake of a statement made by Minister Arun Jaitley in January last year that there should be no ad cap in the print or electronic media, However, no instructions have been issued in this regard by the Minister so far,).

    The Court has already directed that the order that TRAI will not take any action against any channel pending the petition will 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 Glamoru, Sun TV Network, TV Vision, B4U Broadband, 9X Media, Kalaignar, Celebrities Management, Eanadu Television and Raj Television.

    Meanwhille, complaints against fifteen broadcasters by TRAI on the adcap issue are also pending with the Chief Metropolitan Magistrate in Delhi.

     

  • TRAI issues draft regulations on register of interconnect agreements, wants comments by 25 April

    TRAI issues draft regulations on register of interconnect agreements, wants comments by 25 April

    New Delhi: The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India today asked stakeholders to give their views on the periodicity and authenticity of the proposed register of interconnect agreements, apart from the format for such a register.

    Stakeholders have been asked to post their comments by 25 April with counter-comments, if any, by 5 May to a consultation paper and a draft of the Register of Interconnect Agreements (Broadcasting and Cable Services) Regulations 2016.

    The primary objective of register of interconnection regulations is to prescribe the contours of a reporting system to service providers to report interconnection agreement details to the Authority so as to enable it to maintain a register of interconnect agreements as per the provisions of TRAI Act. It is also useful for monitoring and analyzing market practices prevailing for interconnection agreements. Presently, the regulations mandate service providers to report the prescribed information annually.

    One clause of the draft register is for ‘Reporting of information, relating to interconnect agreements, by broadcaster of pay channel and the distributor of TV channel’. It says every broadcaster of pay channel and distributor of TV Channel shall report the information relating to all interconnect agreements entered into by them or modifications or amendments or addendums thereto which have been signed before and after coming into effect of the regulations that are valid as on the date of commencement of the regulations and shall be reported within one month for the previous ones and by tenth of the month for the new ones.

    A para on format of reports says: “Subject to the provisions contained in regulation 5 of the regulations, the broadcaster of pay channel and the distributor of TV Channel , as the case may be, shall furnish to the Authority, the information relating to the interconnect agreements in the formats specified in Schedule-I ( Format for broadcasters of pay channels), Schedule-II (Format for MSO and HITS Operator) or Schedule-III (Format DTH and IPTV Service provider) of the regulations as applicable.”

    Stakeholders have been asked to provide suggestions on this regulation of draft regulations and also the formats given in schedules and told that they can also suggest modified format for reporting to make it simple and easy to file.

    TRAI also wants comments on how it can be ensured that service providers report accurate details in compliance of regulations, and on digitally signed method of reporting the information.

    TRAI wants to know why all information including commercial portion of register should not be made accessible to any interested stakeholders, and if the commercial information is to be made accessible, in which way can this commercial information be made accessible to fulfill the objective of non-discrimination.

    If the commercial information is not made accessible to stakeholders, then in what form the provisions under clause (vii) and (viii) of Section 11 (1) (b) of TRAI Act be implemented in broadcasting and cable sector so that the objective of non-discrimination is also met simultaneously, the stakeholders have to state.

  • TRAI issues draft regulations on register of interconnect agreements, wants comments by 25 April

    TRAI issues draft regulations on register of interconnect agreements, wants comments by 25 April

    New Delhi: The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India today asked stakeholders to give their views on the periodicity and authenticity of the proposed register of interconnect agreements, apart from the format for such a register.

    Stakeholders have been asked to post their comments by 25 April with counter-comments, if any, by 5 May to a consultation paper and a draft of the Register of Interconnect Agreements (Broadcasting and Cable Services) Regulations 2016.

    The primary objective of register of interconnection regulations is to prescribe the contours of a reporting system to service providers to report interconnection agreement details to the Authority so as to enable it to maintain a register of interconnect agreements as per the provisions of TRAI Act. It is also useful for monitoring and analyzing market practices prevailing for interconnection agreements. Presently, the regulations mandate service providers to report the prescribed information annually.

    One clause of the draft register is for ‘Reporting of information, relating to interconnect agreements, by broadcaster of pay channel and the distributor of TV channel’. It says every broadcaster of pay channel and distributor of TV Channel shall report the information relating to all interconnect agreements entered into by them or modifications or amendments or addendums thereto which have been signed before and after coming into effect of the regulations that are valid as on the date of commencement of the regulations and shall be reported within one month for the previous ones and by tenth of the month for the new ones.

    A para on format of reports says: “Subject to the provisions contained in regulation 5 of the regulations, the broadcaster of pay channel and the distributor of TV Channel , as the case may be, shall furnish to the Authority, the information relating to the interconnect agreements in the formats specified in Schedule-I ( Format for broadcasters of pay channels), Schedule-II (Format for MSO and HITS Operator) or Schedule-III (Format DTH and IPTV Service provider) of the regulations as applicable.”

    Stakeholders have been asked to provide suggestions on this regulation of draft regulations and also the formats given in schedules and told that they can also suggest modified format for reporting to make it simple and easy to file.

    TRAI also wants comments on how it can be ensured that service providers report accurate details in compliance of regulations, and on digitally signed method of reporting the information.

    TRAI wants to know why all information including commercial portion of register should not be made accessible to any interested stakeholders, and if the commercial information is to be made accessible, in which way can this commercial information be made accessible to fulfill the objective of non-discrimination.

    If the commercial information is not made accessible to stakeholders, then in what form the provisions under clause (vii) and (viii) of Section 11 (1) (b) of TRAI Act be implemented in broadcasting and cable sector so that the objective of non-discrimination is also met simultaneously, the stakeholders have to state.

  • TRAI to give its views on net neutrality soon, govt confident of achieving total digitization by year-end

    TRAI to give its views on net neutrality soon, govt confident of achieving total digitization by year-end

    New Delhi: The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India is expected to come out with its final views on net neutrality in ‘a couple of months’, its chairman R S Sharma said today. He said that the Department of Telecom had sought a comprehensive view on net neutrality.

    Speaking at the CASBAA India Forum 2016, he said TRAI had a month earlier ruled against Facebook’s Free Basics programme, upholding net neutrality and leaving a level playing field for all players. “No service provider shall offer or charge discriminatory tariffs for data services on the basis of content,” the TRAI said in the order on discriminatory pricing of data content.

    “No service provider shall enter into any arrangement, agreement or contract, by whatever name called, with any person, natural or legal, that has the effect of discriminatory tariffs for data services being offered or charged to the consumer on the basis of content,” the order said. The matter came to a head when Airtel decided to charge separately for Internet-based calls, but withdrew its plan later after facing public protests.

    He admitted that the regulations had not addressed various other concerns related to net neutrality in India but said TRAI had issued a consultation paper on the subject and also received various responses from both broadcasters and telecom service providers.

    Sharma acknowledged the challenges and opportunities as the country witnesses the fourth phase of Digital Addressable System (DAS). He said, “TRAI is not here to promote legacy systems in cable TV where a structural monopoly exists. With the objective of providing the right of choice to the consumers, we will allow the march of technology. At the same time, for healthy growth of the sector, it is crucial to strike the right balance between all the stakeholders through a constructive dialogue.”

    Taking lessons from the evolution of the telecom industry, Sharma urged the stakeholders in broadcasting to actively collaborate on issues like ‘infrastructure sharing’ and ‘set-top boxes’. “Today five or six telcos are willing to share one mobile tower showing how sharing and competition can go hand in hand. This can materialise in the broadcasting space as well. While TRAI has no plans to make infrastructure sharing mandatory, it may tweak the existing licensing system to provide support to the stakeholders who are interested in the idea,” he added.

    The issue of interoperability of the set-top box was discussed at length and TRAI’s S K Gupta stressed on the importance of pushing the use of a common set-top box by different operators. He pointed out that cost of procuring and maintaining set-top boxes weighs heavily on the balance sheets of MSOs, LCOs and digital TV companies. He also said that interconnected agreements between LCOs and MSOs can give two-way cable networks to the end users.

    Information and Broadcasting Ministry Joint Secretary (Broadcasting) R Jaya said “Phase IV of cable TV digitization is one of the most prominent routes to broadband connectivity which is key for providing services to citizens. It is high time for the industry to understand the value of interconnect agreements.”  She also reassured that MIB will complete its cable TV digitization drive by the end of 2016.

    At a later session, TRAI principal adviser U K Srivastava said that the regulations were being prepared on the basis of the responses received. Addressing a session on whether OTT can make a dent in India, he said OTT was now driving telecom service providers. Regulations were therefore needed to prevent manipulation or misuse. He did not rule out the possibility of another consultation paper in view of changes in technology. Essentially, he said the process had to be open and inclusive.

    Answering a question, Srivastava said it was too early to talk about carriage fee etc., but the regulator would want to ensure that the consumer pays for the services he receives.   

    The forum examined the ripple effect of the country’s digitization initiative, bringing together all the stakeholders including multi-system operators (MSO), local cable operators (LCO), DTH players, satellite technology providers, and regulators, among others was Digital India: The Four Phases of Cable Enlightenment.

    CASBAA’S CEO Christopher Slaughter set the tone by establishing the relation between the digitization of the cable TV system in India and Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Digital India campaign.

    Later Ministry Director (B and C) Neeti Sarkar said the ministry has minimal intervention on the content side of the broadcasting industry. “We have made our procedures smoother by allowing single window clearance at the time of launching a new channel. Having said that, there has always been room for dialogue with all stakeholders,” she said.

    TRAI advisor Sunil Kumar Singhal said that it is time to bring consumer at the centre stage and then create regulations. He said, “There is a trust deficit among stakeholders. In the last few years, significant investments have been made in the digitization drive. Now it is time for us to monetize these capabilities.”

    Ministry special secretary J S Mathur talked about the recent developments in the media and broadcasting industry. “At the Ministry, the pace of permissions has scaled up. In the first three phases of digitization, we covered 70 million (7 crore) households. We also realize the need for a broadcasting policy and are willing to have more related conversations with all stakeholders,” he said.

  • TRAI to give its views on net neutrality soon, govt confident of achieving total digitization by year-end

    TRAI to give its views on net neutrality soon, govt confident of achieving total digitization by year-end

    New Delhi: The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India is expected to come out with its final views on net neutrality in ‘a couple of months’, its chairman R S Sharma said today. He said that the Department of Telecom had sought a comprehensive view on net neutrality.

    Speaking at the CASBAA India Forum 2016, he said TRAI had a month earlier ruled against Facebook’s Free Basics programme, upholding net neutrality and leaving a level playing field for all players. “No service provider shall offer or charge discriminatory tariffs for data services on the basis of content,” the TRAI said in the order on discriminatory pricing of data content.

    “No service provider shall enter into any arrangement, agreement or contract, by whatever name called, with any person, natural or legal, that has the effect of discriminatory tariffs for data services being offered or charged to the consumer on the basis of content,” the order said. The matter came to a head when Airtel decided to charge separately for Internet-based calls, but withdrew its plan later after facing public protests.

    He admitted that the regulations had not addressed various other concerns related to net neutrality in India but said TRAI had issued a consultation paper on the subject and also received various responses from both broadcasters and telecom service providers.

    Sharma acknowledged the challenges and opportunities as the country witnesses the fourth phase of Digital Addressable System (DAS). He said, “TRAI is not here to promote legacy systems in cable TV where a structural monopoly exists. With the objective of providing the right of choice to the consumers, we will allow the march of technology. At the same time, for healthy growth of the sector, it is crucial to strike the right balance between all the stakeholders through a constructive dialogue.”

    Taking lessons from the evolution of the telecom industry, Sharma urged the stakeholders in broadcasting to actively collaborate on issues like ‘infrastructure sharing’ and ‘set-top boxes’. “Today five or six telcos are willing to share one mobile tower showing how sharing and competition can go hand in hand. This can materialise in the broadcasting space as well. While TRAI has no plans to make infrastructure sharing mandatory, it may tweak the existing licensing system to provide support to the stakeholders who are interested in the idea,” he added.

    The issue of interoperability of the set-top box was discussed at length and TRAI’s S K Gupta stressed on the importance of pushing the use of a common set-top box by different operators. He pointed out that cost of procuring and maintaining set-top boxes weighs heavily on the balance sheets of MSOs, LCOs and digital TV companies. He also said that interconnected agreements between LCOs and MSOs can give two-way cable networks to the end users.

    Information and Broadcasting Ministry Joint Secretary (Broadcasting) R Jaya said “Phase IV of cable TV digitization is one of the most prominent routes to broadband connectivity which is key for providing services to citizens. It is high time for the industry to understand the value of interconnect agreements.”  She also reassured that MIB will complete its cable TV digitization drive by the end of 2016.

    At a later session, TRAI principal adviser U K Srivastava said that the regulations were being prepared on the basis of the responses received. Addressing a session on whether OTT can make a dent in India, he said OTT was now driving telecom service providers. Regulations were therefore needed to prevent manipulation or misuse. He did not rule out the possibility of another consultation paper in view of changes in technology. Essentially, he said the process had to be open and inclusive.

    Answering a question, Srivastava said it was too early to talk about carriage fee etc., but the regulator would want to ensure that the consumer pays for the services he receives.   

    The forum examined the ripple effect of the country’s digitization initiative, bringing together all the stakeholders including multi-system operators (MSO), local cable operators (LCO), DTH players, satellite technology providers, and regulators, among others was Digital India: The Four Phases of Cable Enlightenment.

    CASBAA’S CEO Christopher Slaughter set the tone by establishing the relation between the digitization of the cable TV system in India and Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Digital India campaign.

    Later Ministry Director (B and C) Neeti Sarkar said the ministry has minimal intervention on the content side of the broadcasting industry. “We have made our procedures smoother by allowing single window clearance at the time of launching a new channel. Having said that, there has always been room for dialogue with all stakeholders,” she said.

    TRAI advisor Sunil Kumar Singhal said that it is time to bring consumer at the centre stage and then create regulations. He said, “There is a trust deficit among stakeholders. In the last few years, significant investments have been made in the digitization drive. Now it is time for us to monetize these capabilities.”

    Ministry special secretary J S Mathur talked about the recent developments in the media and broadcasting industry. “At the Ministry, the pace of permissions has scaled up. In the first three phases of digitization, we covered 70 million (7 crore) households. We also realize the need for a broadcasting policy and are willing to have more related conversations with all stakeholders,” he said.

  • TRAI permits flexibility in interconnect agreements without dilution of model agreement

    TRAI permits flexibility in interconnect agreements without dilution of model agreement

    New Delhi: In view of several disputes in TDSAT and various high courts on the issue, the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India has prescribed formats of the Model Interconnection Agreement (MIA) and Standard Interconnection Agreement (SIA) to be signed between the multisystem operator and the local cable operator for provisioning of cable TV services through the Digital Addressable Systems (DAS)

    The Telecommunication (Broadcasting and Cable Services) Interconnection (Digital Addressable Cable Television Systems) (Seventh Amendment) Regulations 2016 issued yesterday said MSO and LCO may enter into an interconnection agreement on lines of the MIA, or by signing the agreement strictly in terms of the SIA. Even as flexibility has been allowed on some issues, it has been mandated that the parties shall ensure that no such agreement will have the effect of diluting any of the conditions laid down in the MIA. 

    If the parties decide to enter into interconnection agreement on the terms of SIA, no addition, alteration and deletion of the clauses provided therein is allowed. They have the flexibility to modify clauses 10, 11 and 12 of the MIA through mutual agreement without altering or deleting any other clause of MIA. They also have a freedom to add additional clauses through mutual agreement to the MIA for stipulating any additional conditions.

    In a press release, the Authority said it was of the view that “the prescription of formats of MIA and SIA will pave the way for growth of the sector, result in reduction of disputes between the MSOs and LCOs, provide level playing field to the parties and increase healthy competition in the sector which ultimately will help in better quality of services to the subscribers.”

    Earlier in 2012, the Authority notified a comprehensive regulatory framework for DAS encompassing the interconnection regulation, the quality of service regulation, the tariff order and the consumer complaint redressal regulation.

    The interconnection regulation for DAS prescribes that MSO and LCO shall enter into a written interconnection agreement before provisioning of cable TV services to the subscribers. It was mandated that the interconnection agreement between MSO and LCO shall clearly earmark the roles and responsibilities in conformance to the quality of service regulations issued by the Authority from time to time.

    However, the Authority, while notifying the comprehensive regulatory framework for DAS did not notify any format specifying the terms and conditions for interconnection agreement as there could be various ways in which MSO and LCO can share the responsibilities in the interconnection agreement.

    TRAI received a large number of complaints regarding various issues in signing of the interconnection agreement between MSO and LCO. On the one end, the LCOs represented that the terms and conditions of draft agreements offered by MSOs are one sided and do not provide a level playing field. On the other end, the MSOs indicated that the LCOs are not willing to follow the terms and conditions of interconnection agreement already executed between them.

    It was noticed that the roles and responsibilities of MSO and LCO for meeting the quality of service norms as prescribed in the Quality of Service Regulations 2012 were not clearly defined in the interconnection agreement signed by them; due to which, in the event of any dispute between them the quality of service delivered to the consumers gets adversely affected.

    A comprehensive consultation process was carried out by the Authority to address the issue and the Authority decided to prescribe the terms and conditions for interconnection agreement in such a way that it addresses the various concerns of the stakeholders as well as it provide enough flexibility for accommodating various plausible business models between MSO and LCO.

    The full text of the Regulation is available on TRAI’s website www.trai.gov.in.

  • TRAI permits flexibility in interconnect agreements without dilution of model agreement

    TRAI permits flexibility in interconnect agreements without dilution of model agreement

    New Delhi: In view of several disputes in TDSAT and various high courts on the issue, the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India has prescribed formats of the Model Interconnection Agreement (MIA) and Standard Interconnection Agreement (SIA) to be signed between the multisystem operator and the local cable operator for provisioning of cable TV services through the Digital Addressable Systems (DAS)

    The Telecommunication (Broadcasting and Cable Services) Interconnection (Digital Addressable Cable Television Systems) (Seventh Amendment) Regulations 2016 issued yesterday said MSO and LCO may enter into an interconnection agreement on lines of the MIA, or by signing the agreement strictly in terms of the SIA. Even as flexibility has been allowed on some issues, it has been mandated that the parties shall ensure that no such agreement will have the effect of diluting any of the conditions laid down in the MIA. 

    If the parties decide to enter into interconnection agreement on the terms of SIA, no addition, alteration and deletion of the clauses provided therein is allowed. They have the flexibility to modify clauses 10, 11 and 12 of the MIA through mutual agreement without altering or deleting any other clause of MIA. They also have a freedom to add additional clauses through mutual agreement to the MIA for stipulating any additional conditions.

    In a press release, the Authority said it was of the view that “the prescription of formats of MIA and SIA will pave the way for growth of the sector, result in reduction of disputes between the MSOs and LCOs, provide level playing field to the parties and increase healthy competition in the sector which ultimately will help in better quality of services to the subscribers.”

    Earlier in 2012, the Authority notified a comprehensive regulatory framework for DAS encompassing the interconnection regulation, the quality of service regulation, the tariff order and the consumer complaint redressal regulation.

    The interconnection regulation for DAS prescribes that MSO and LCO shall enter into a written interconnection agreement before provisioning of cable TV services to the subscribers. It was mandated that the interconnection agreement between MSO and LCO shall clearly earmark the roles and responsibilities in conformance to the quality of service regulations issued by the Authority from time to time.

    However, the Authority, while notifying the comprehensive regulatory framework for DAS did not notify any format specifying the terms and conditions for interconnection agreement as there could be various ways in which MSO and LCO can share the responsibilities in the interconnection agreement.

    TRAI received a large number of complaints regarding various issues in signing of the interconnection agreement between MSO and LCO. On the one end, the LCOs represented that the terms and conditions of draft agreements offered by MSOs are one sided and do not provide a level playing field. On the other end, the MSOs indicated that the LCOs are not willing to follow the terms and conditions of interconnection agreement already executed between them.

    It was noticed that the roles and responsibilities of MSO and LCO for meeting the quality of service norms as prescribed in the Quality of Service Regulations 2012 were not clearly defined in the interconnection agreement signed by them; due to which, in the event of any dispute between them the quality of service delivered to the consumers gets adversely affected.

    A comprehensive consultation process was carried out by the Authority to address the issue and the Authority decided to prescribe the terms and conditions for interconnection agreement in such a way that it addresses the various concerns of the stakeholders as well as it provide enough flexibility for accommodating various plausible business models between MSO and LCO.

    The full text of the Regulation is available on TRAI’s website www.trai.gov.in.