ITV

Category: TRAI

  • TRAI extends deadline for telecom ops to respond on MWA and MWB spectrum allocation

    TRAI extends deadline for telecom ops to respond on MWA and MWB spectrum allocation

    NEW DELHI: The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI), which has asked stakeholders in the telecom sector to give their views on various issues relating to spectrum for microwave access and backbone access (MWA/BWM), today extended the date for reply to 5 May.

     

    It said, “Keeping in view the request of the stakeholders for extension of time for sending their comments and also the importance of the issue, all the stakeholders may now submit their written comments by 5 May and counter comments by 12 May.’

     

    TRAI had asked various questions in its paper last month, one of them being whether excess spectrum should be withdrawn from existing telecom service providers and what should be the criteria for determining this excess usage.

     

    Following a reference from the Department of Telecom, the regulator issued a consultation paper on the issue of Microwave Access and Backbone (MWA/MWB), and had sought the views by 21 April with counter-comments by 28 April.

     

    TRAI has sought to know the number of Microwave Access and Backbone (MWA/MWB) carriers that should be assigned to a TSP deploying 2G technology only, 3G technology only, BWA technology only, both 2G and 3G technologies, 2G and BWA technologies, and 2G, 3G and BWA technologies.

     

    The charging of MWA and MWB carriers is regulated by the AGR based annual spectrum usage charges notified in the DoT’s orders of 3 November 2006, its amendments dated 10 November 2008 and 19 February 2009.

     

    However, these orders were set aside by a judgment of the Telecom Disputes Settlement Appellate Tribunal of 22 April 2012 and are now sub-judice in view of an appeal by the Government before the Supreme Court. As an interim arrangement, the DoT has issued guidelines in respect of allotment of MWA carriers for BWA services through its order of 16 March 2012. TRAI had been asked to give its recommendations on certain issues in a letter sent by the DoT on 26 November 2012.

     

    According to TRAI, Microwave transmission refers to the technology of transmitting information using radio waves. Microwave technology is widely deployed in mobile communications to provide point-to-point (PTP) Radio Frequency (R.F.) links in mobile backhaul as well as in the backbone network. Mobile backhaul is that portion of the network infrastructure that provides interconnectivity between the access and core networks. The backbone network is used to interconnect different nodes situated at different geographical locations.

     

    For PTP links, microwave frequencies are generally assigned in blocks of 2×28 MHz, known as microwave carriers. There are two types of microwave carriers viz. Microwave Access (MWA) Carriers and Microwave Backbone (MWB) Carriers.

     

    TRAI wants to know from stakeholders the number of MWA/MWB carriers that should be assigned to TSPs in case of 2G, 3G and BWA at the start of their services (at beginning of rolling of services).

  • TRAI likely to come out with discussion paper on OTT services

    TRAI likely to come out with discussion paper on OTT services

    NEW DELHI: A discussion paper is likely to be issued by the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) relating to Over The Top (OTT) services such as such as WhatsApp and Viber.

     

    However, a TRAI official said that this would not be in the form of a consultation paper since TRAI at present cannot regulate OTT.

     

    The official told indiantelevision.com that the major issue related to security threats and the direction these companies will take in the future. “We would also understand the concerns of telecom operators and consumers,” said the official.

     

    One effect of the TRAI study could be the introduction of payment for the OTT services to save the telecom companies, but this will have to be balanced with the capacity of the customer to pay. If the OTTs do not pay the telcos, the messages will be delivered slower and videos will take longer to download.

     

    The regulator will look into issues faced by telcos regarding usage of their bandwidth by OTT players and other internet companies without any share in revenue earned. Operators also have to spend periodically to upgrade the infrastructure to meet the growing data needs to consumers.

     

    While security agencies can access telecom data such as messages and call records provided there is a court order, there are more problems in accessing internet services.

     

    It is learnt that the government may ask its US counterpart to share the technology it uses to decrypt conversations happening over chat services like WhatsApp and Skype, if the companies do not cooperate.

     

    Value Added Services (VAS) are being affected with certain mobile internet services including ringback tones, voice SMS, job alerts etc. The role of telecom player gets minimised as consumers shift to more web services.

  • TRAI asks telemarketers to pay reconnection charge of up to Rs 5 lakh

    TRAI asks telemarketers to pay reconnection charge of up to Rs 5 lakh

    NEW DELHI: The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) today decided to charge a reconnection fee of Rs 500 per telecom resource up to a maximum of Rs five lakh for those entities who satisfy the regulator that they have followed the regulations in this regard.

     

    TRAI, which disconnected a total of 1.4 million telephones of unregistered telemarketers till 31 January, said this would serve as a further deterrent on misuse of telecom resources for soliciting business after meeting administration costs.

     

    The regulator said the action had been taken following representations by some of these entities who said they and their agents had followed the regulations in this regard.

     

    Under the fifteenth amendment to the rules, TRAI said such entities have to apply within 30 days for reconnection and satisfy the regulator in this regard.

     

    Earlier this year, while noting that TRAI had received Rs1.52 crore as penalty from registered telemarketers, the government admitted that Unsolicited Commercial Communications (SMSs or calls) from persons not registered as telemarketers had not ceased.

     

    Minister of State for Communications and Information Technology Milind Deora told Parliament that such individuals deliberately masquerade themselves as “normal subscribers” even though their primary purpose for obtaining telecom resources is for telemarketing activities. However, he felt TRAI’s regulatory interventions have largely tempered the menace of Unsolicited Commercial Communications (UCC).  

     

    A total of 1,80,000 unregistered telemarketers were blacklisted for two years till 31 January. 

    With the implementation of these measures, the number of complaints regarding receipt of UCC from unregistered telemarketers has come down from around 45,000 per month in the month of August 2012 to around 12,000 per month in January 2014. 

     

    The Telecom Commercial Communications Customer Preference Regulation 2010 has laid down a revised framework for UCC. These regulations came into force with effect from 27 September 2011. The National Do Not Call Registry (NDNC) has been renamed National Customer Preference Register (NCPR). The Telemarketers after registration from TRAI get permission to access the National Customer Preference Register (NCPR). 

  • TRAI to help NGOs/Organisations in women empowerment through ICT

    TRAI to help NGOs/Organisations in women empowerment through ICT

    NEW DELHI: Aiming to draw up comprehensive projects for empowerment of women though information and communication technology, the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) today invited concept papers from Registered Consumer Advocacy Groups, NGOs and other organisations working in the field of women empowerment.

     

    A TRAI release said that approved projects for promoting women empowerment using ICT as a platform during 2014-15 will be funded from Telecommunication Consumer Education and Protection Fund (TCEPF).

     

    The concept papers in brief, along with details of similar projects undertaken by the organisations during the last three years have to be sent in by 25 April.

     

    The shortlisted organisations will be required to give a detailed presentation in TRAI, New Delhi on the concept, its development and implementation along with cost involved in each phase for a period of one year.

     

    The selected organisation will be fully responsible for development and implementation of the project to be monitored by TRAI.

  • TRAI defreezes tariff ceiling in analogue cable TV areas

    TRAI defreezes tariff ceiling in analogue cable TV areas

    MUMBAI: The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) has revised the tariff ceilings for the non-addressable cable TV areas. The authority has allowed an overall 27.5 per cent inflation linked hike in the tariff ceilings. The announcement was made through a notification of the Tariff Order namely the ‘Telecommunication (Broadcasting and Cable) Services (Second) Tariff (Eleventh Amendment) Order, 2014’.

     

    The rise is based on the hike in the wholesale price index (WPI) over the past five years. “The Authority has come to a conclusion that an overall 27.5 per cent inflation hike is allowed. However, it is also of the view that a hike to the tune of 27.5 per cent in a single go would not be appropriate for the market and the consumer to adjust to. Therefore the Authority has prescribed this hike to be implemented in two installments,” says the TRAI release.

     

    While the first installment is of 15 per cent will be effective from 1 April 2014, the second installment for the remaining inflation linked increase will be effective from 1 January 2015. “This will give enough and reasonable time to all the stakeholders to adjust to these hikes,” says the release.

     

    Click here for the full notification

  • Broadband usage sees 3.09% increase for the period Dec-Jan

    Broadband usage sees 3.09% increase for the period Dec-Jan

    NEW DELHI: There were 56.9 million broadband subscribers in the country at the end of January 2014, showing an increase of 3.09 per cent as compared to the previous month.

     

    The total broadband (>512 Kbps) usage is based on the information provided to the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) by 144 broadband service providers.

     

    The top five broadband service providers constitute 82.57 per cent market share of total broadband subscribers. They are BSNL (16.54 million), Bharti (11.49 million), Reliance (7.07 million), Idea (6.26 million) and Vodafone (5.63 million).

     

     The top five Wired Broadband Service providers are BSNL (9.98 million), Bharti (1.39 million), MTNL (1.11 million), Hathway Cable (0.36 million) and Beam Telecom (0.36 million). The top five Wireless Broadband Service providers are Bharti (10.10 million), Reliance (6.96 million), BSNL (6.56 million), Idea (6.26 Million) and Vodafone (5.63 million).

     

     There has been a 0.08 per cent increase between December and January in the wired broadband segment to 14.55 million, while the wireless segment (mobiles and dongles) have shown a rise of 4.2 per cent in the same period with 41.05 million subscribers. There has been an increase of 1.66 per cent in this period to 0.4 million subscribers for Wi-Fi, Wi-Max, Point-to-Point Radio and VSAT

     

  • “Broadcasters still haven’t got the benefit of digitisation”

    “Broadcasters still haven’t got the benefit of digitisation”

    MUMBAI: It’s been a chaotic couple of years for the media and entertainment industry marked by a lack of clarity – be it digitisation, ad cap or other regulations.

     

    Not surprisingly, this was the subject of a panel discussion on day one of FICCI FRAMES 2014, the 15th chapter of the annual convention.

     

    The panel – comprising Star India CEO Uday Shankar; Viacom18 Group CEO Sudhanshu Vats; FCC commissioner Ajit Pai; MIB secretary Bimal Julka; and Discovery Networks Asia-Pacific senior VP and general manager South Asia and head of revenue, pan-regional ad sales and South East Asia Rahul Johri and moderated by NDTV Group CEO Vikram Chandra – discussed ways and means by which the industry can overcome regulatory hurdles.

     

    The panel felt there should be clarity as to why regulations are needed in the first place and stressed on long-term solutions vis-a-vis short-term remedies. “The regulators need to know that there are certain ailments but immediate fixing is not a solution without knowing what the consequences will be,” said Shankar.

     

    Adding to this, Vats spoke about finding the purpose of regulations. “Media is in the consumer business and needs to run by what the consumer wants. Apart from this, there has to be transparency of data, accountability as well,” he said.

     

    Julka expressed the view that the media has come a long way from ‘license raj’ and is now moving towards partnerships and collaborations. “We must not forget that for us, our core target group is our viewers and listeners and we have to keep them in mind. So, whatever regulations we come up with, they have to benefit them. We don’t want to get into the revenue model or the business model. That’s TRAI’s jurisdiction and I think it is doing a fair job,” he said.

     

    Completing phases I and II of digitisation was a huge challenge considering the country’s demographics, he informed. “Thirty million set top boxes (STBs) have been installed and 110 million are yet to be seeded. It is a huge challenge for the industry as a whole. The government is just a facilitator.”

     

    However, Shankar countered Julka and said, “What is the objective of digitisation? When we started with the process, we all thought that it will increase the bandwidth, giving more space for channels and increase transparency as well. The only thing that has happened is that MSOs have placed boxes in certain households. The broadcasters still haven’t got the benefit of it.”

     

    Pointing out that the carriage fee is too high and the subscription rate too low, Shankar recalled the time he was heading Aaj Tak, “When I was heading AajTak, the carriage fee was zero but today, to run a channel, especially a news channel, one has to pay a huge carriage fee, which in turn harms the content on television.”

     

    Vats seconded Shankar and said, “The fundamental reason is addressability and that is far from over.”

     

    Johri drew attention to the fact that several developments were taking place, all at the same time, which should not be the case. “Digitisation needs to be completed first before other things are looked into,” he said. Readers may recall that indiantelevision.com had earlier reported how several people from the industry had said that matters like ad cap needed to be looked into after completion of the digitisation process by December 2014.

     

    While complimenting the government for pushing hard on finishing phases I and II of digitisation, moderator Chandra asked the panel for suggestions on how the industry can better overcome regulatory hurdles.

     

    To this, Vats suggested looking into the licensing issue first that would help get newer and better content players into the market. Secondly, he said digitisation needs to be completed at the earliest to settle the issue of addressability. Thirdly, he said the industry needs to give a second look to carriage fee. “There has to be transparency regarding the carriage fee and the amount needs to be open,” he said.

     

    Johri highlighted the need for an ecosystem that will nurture innovation. “Once digitisation is over, everything will fall in place,” he assured.

  • Former TRAI Chairman J.S. Sarma passes away

    Former TRAI Chairman J.S. Sarma passes away

    NEW DELHI: Senior Indian Administrative Service officer J S Sarma, who was a strong supporter of reforms in the telecom sector, has passed away.  

     

    Sarma also served as chairman of the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) from 14 May 2009 to 13 May 2012.

     

    Aged 65, Sarma passed away in Hyderabad on 28 February after a brief ailment.

     

    During his regime, mobile number portability was introduced, allowing customers to switch telecom operators without changing their mobile numbers. The per-second billing plan was also mandated during his tenure.

     

    During Sarma’s time at the helm of TRAI, the Supreme Court cancelled 122 2G licences and directed the regulator to recommend steps to auction the spectrum in the same manner as 3G airwaves were sold in 2010.

     

    A 1971 batch IAS officer from the Andhra Pradesh cadre, Sarma initiated the process to stop telecom operators from activating value-added services such as mobile internet and caller tunes without permission from the consumer.

     

    Although the direction was challenged by operators in court, Sarma’s successor and present Chairman Rahul Khullar implemented the regulation in July 2013 with a provision that entitles customers to refund of money deducted for value-added services provided without their permission.

     

    TRAI’s recommendations on ‘Spectrum Management and Licensing Framework’ in 2010 during Sarma’s tenure formed the basis of the new unified telecom licence regime under which spectrum was separated from permits. They also laid the ground for other telecom liberalisation measures such as spectrum auctions, sharing of airwaves and mergers and acquisitions.

     

    The TRAI’s recommendations for the 2G auction in 2012 drew criticism from the industry as the minimum price recommended by the regulator was a little above the rate companies paid for the 3G spectrum.

     

    But he retired before he could consider any amendments, six months before the auction was held in November 2012, attracting a poor response.

     

    Sarma was made a member of the Telecom Disputes Settlement and Appellate Tribunal in July 2008 and served as the Telecom Secretary before becoming TRAI chairman.

     

    Born in Vijayawada on 4 September 1948, Sarma graduated from Osmania University in 1966. He had an M. Tech degree in Applied Geology (1969) and a Doctorate in Public Enterprises (1982) from the University of Paris.

     

    He served at the centre first between the years 1977 and 1980 in the Defence and Chemicals & Fertilizers Ministries and returned to the centre in June 1997 when he was made Joint Secretary in the Rural Development Ministry till October 2002; Additional Secretary, Department of Personnel and later in the Department of Telecommunications between October 2002 and November 2004; Secretary, Department of Telecommunications and Chairman, Telecom Commission from June, 2005 to July 2006; and Secretary, Department of Fertilizers from July, 2006 to July, 2008.

     

    He also served in Andhra Pradesh in the Districts of Kurnool, Prakasam, Cuddapah, Guntur, and as Collector and District Magistrate, Chittoor. He held the posts of Managing Director of the Oilseeds Growers’ Federation, Commissioner of Municipal Corporation of Hyderabad, Commissioner of Land Reforms and Urban Land Ceilings, and Secretary in the Departments of Labour, Education and Planning.

  • TRAI plea in SC for raising pay channel tariff cap

    TRAI plea in SC for raising pay channel tariff cap

    MUMBAI: The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) has petitioned the Supreme Court to allow it to raise the ceiling on tariff for pay channels distributed in non-addressable areas.

     

    The tariff for pay channels in areas where cable TV is distributed through analogue technology has remained capped at the pre-2009 rates, following a direction by the Supreme Court in March 2009 for maintenance of status quo.

     

    TRAI says there is a need for reviewing the ceiling to adjust the tariff for pay channels in non-addressable areas for inflation.

     

    The court is likely to hear the TRAI plea towards the end of March.

     

    TRAI in its appeal to the SC says, “The present tariff was based on the figures of 2009 and the appellant is of the view that an across the board adjustments be provided in respect of tariff to compensate for increased costs on account of inflation.”

     

    The TRAI had amended the tariff order of 2007 by providing for a 7 per cent increase on account of inflation effective from the year 2009.

     

    TRAI says, “The authority since then has not been able to revise the tariff for non-addressable systems, even though more than five years have passed.”

     

    Before 2009, the tariff orders were amended periodically, thereby providing for adjustments for inflation.  No such exercise has been undertaken after 2009.

     

    The TRAI through its appeal has informed the Supreme Court that it had in its ‘Recommendations on Issues relating to Broadcasters and Distribution of TV Channels’ provided for a provision to periodically review the ceiling on tariff to make adjustments for inflation.

     

    “According to the Ministry of Commerce and Industry, a substantial increase in the price has taken place and the ceiling thus needs to be reviewed immediately,” reads TRAI’s appeal to the SC, a copy of which is with Indiantelevision.com.

     

    According to the current tariff ceiling, the subscriber for up to 20 pay channels and minimum 30 free to air (FTA) channels in A1 and A class cities has to pay not more than Rs 160, in B1 and B class cities not exceeding Rs 140 and in other areas not more than Rs 130.

     

    Likewise for more than 20 and up to 30 pay channels and minimum 30 FTA channels, the subscriber in A1 and A class cities has to pay not more than Rs 200, in B1 and B class cities not exceeding Rs 170 and in other areas not more than Rs 160.

     

    For viewing more than 30 and up to 45 pay channels, the subscriber as per the tariff has to pay not exceeding Rs 235 in A1 and A class cities, Rs 200 in B1 and B class cities and not exceeding Rs 185 in other cities.

     

    Also for viewing more than 45 pay channels and minimum 30 FTA channels, subscribers, according to the current ceiling on tariff, has to pay not more than Rs 260 in A1 and A class cities, Rs 220 in B1 and B class cities and Rs 200 in other cities.

     

    While the broadcasters would welcome over the appeal by TRAI, but cable operators feel the subscription charges for consumers in non-addressable areas will rise by as much as 36 per cent if the ceiling is approved.

  • TRAI recommendation on Migration from Phase II to Phase III

    TRAI recommendation on Migration from Phase II to Phase III

    MUMBAI: Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) issued its recommendation for the much awaited ‘Migration of FM Radio Broadcasters from Phase II to Phase III’ on 20 January.  In Phase III, an additional 839 channels across 294 cities will be made available for auction.

     

    TRAI has recommended that minimum channel spacing of 400 KHz for FM Radio broadcast issued on 19 April 2012 will come into effect as it would help in increasing the number of FM channels in each city for auction.  Secondly, it has recommended the period of permission for the existing operators, who migrate from Phase-II to Phase-III, should be 15 years from the date of migration.

     

    The other point that will be of concern for most players is the cut-off date. As per the recommendation, the cut-off date for the existing FM Radio operators is to be fixed by the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting (MIB), after the completion of auction process for Phase-III of FM Radio. It also stated that the cut-off date for the same should not be later than 31 March 2015. TRAI recommended that an explicit provision needs to be incorporated in the Notice for Inviting Applications (NIA) to permit an existing Phase-II operator to bid for an additional channel (frequency) in existing cities, where it already has an operational FM channel. This is subject to the condition that if it is able to win another channel in the existing city, then it will have to move all existing channel(s) to Phase-III on such terms and conditions as may be prescribed by MIB.

     

    For the migration fee, cities have been categorised into three groups X, Y and Z. TRAI recommends that the migration fee for Group X cities (17 cities where no frequencies are available for auction) should be higher than – Phase-II average bid of the target Group X city multiplied by a factor of 1.5 or Phase-II highest bid of the target Group X city increased by the average increase in auction prices in Group Z cities (vis-?-vis their reserve prices) in the same category in Phase-III. 

     

    The fee for Group Y cities (26 cities where 1/3rd or less of the total frequencies are available for auction), should be higher than Phase-II average bid of the target Group Y city multiplied by a factor of 1.5; or Phase-II highest bid of the target Group Y