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Tag: Convergence Bill

  • Convergence is the way forward: Baijal

    Convergence is the way forward: Baijal

    MUMBAI: In the new converged paradigm, the boundaries of telecommunications, media and entertainment and information technology (IT) are blurring and the need to have a common regulator to ensure a smooth transition is of vital importance.

    The second day of Ficci Frames saw Cable and Satellite Broadcasting Association of Asia (CASBAA) CEO Simon Twiston Davies, Media Partners Asia Ltd executive director Vivek Couto, Amarchand Mangaldas Suresh A Shroff & Co. managing partner Shardul Shroff, Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) chairman Pradip Baijal, WIPO deputy director general Rita Hayes, National Telecommunications Commission (Philippines) commissioner Ronald Olivar Solis and MCMC (Malaysia) legal advisor Pushpa Nair.

    Shroff pointed out that the Indian Convergence Bill of 2000 has still not become legal after being there for five years now. The paper was now dated and needed to be looked at afresh. “This is because our legislature is more politically active but not legally savvy or technologically advanced. The Convergence Bill should not only be able to regulate carriage but also content,” Shroff said.

    He also pointed out that the policy papers that emancipated from TRAI were by far the best researched papers in the whole world. “Globally the history of regulation is in the telecom and broadcast sector. This is a progression from a state enforced monopoly framework to increasingly competitive ‘market driven’ framework. The advancement of technology has blurred the line between the telecom and broadcast industries,” Shroff pointed out.

    He said that the governing principles of regulation were the following:
    1. Competition friendly
    2. Consumer/Society friendly
    3. Investment friendly
    4. Technology friendly

    The way forward for enabling regulatory framework for the digital age was that integrated carriage regulations should be combined with the flexibility of separate regulation. “The industry should be encouraged to generate codes and rating guidelines for content and also to establish internal checks. Apart from this, media literacy among masses should also be encouraged,” Shroff concluded.

    The inimitable Baijal started by saying that he was totally confused after hearing what the others had to say as all the issues discussed were very complex. “Today we live in the most exciting environment in India and if the regulator and the government don’t encash on it then it would be criminal on their behalf,” said Baijal.

    “This dynamic environment has been created by the technology and if the regulator and the government fall behind in technology or the benefits of it, it will not reach the consumer,” he added.

    Citing an example of the telecom industry, Baijal said that in 1948 the tele-density in India was 0.02 per cent. In 1998, it went up to 1.94 per cent, which means that it witnessed a growth of 1.92 per cent in 50 years! Last year, Baijal said, the tele-density increased by 2.11 per cent and one player that made it possible to equal the 50 years’ growth in one year was Reliance with its 40 paise mein kar lo duniya mutthi mein’ attitude!

    Baijal also pushed the case of unified licensing policy and said that it was the only way to grow. “If we have unified licensing, the there would be a growth in the telecom and broadcasting industries. It is convergence that has allowed us to deliver to different mediums today. Convergence has arrived and if we don’t recognize it then we will not be able to move forward,” he stressed.

  • Maran backs Trai’s plan to cut DSL entry costs

    Maran backs Trai’s plan to cut DSL entry costs

    NEW DELHI: The telecommunication ministry is working on a plan that would attempt to bring down the entry prices of digital subscriber lines (DSL), used for a host of services like cable TV, Internet, etc. The plan is part of a larger initiative to give a push to broadband in the country.

    According to sources in the department of telecommunication, the new minister for telecom and IT, Dayanidhi Maran, has asked department officials to look into this aspect so that a formal announcement in this regard could take place.

    Telecom and broadcast regulator, Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai), which came out with a paper on broadband recently, is of the opinion that Indian DSL costs 60 times as much per bit as Korea, (Japan and Korea in the $20 to $30 range, and China around $15) resulting in minimal take-up.

    Amongst other suggestions, Trai has proposed cutting duties and taxes, unbundling for competitors, and direct pressure on the national telecom companies to cut prices. Trai is also working actively to lower the cost of connecting to the international Net.

    What is DSL? When you connect to the Internet, you might connect through a regular modem, through a local-area network connection in your office, through a cable modem or through a digital subscriber line (DSL) connection. DSL is a very high-speed connection that uses the same wires as a regular telephone line.

    A common configuration of DSL allows downloads at speeds of up to 1.544 megabits (not megabytes) per second, and uploads at speeds of 128 kilobits per second. This arrangement is called ADSL or asymmetric digital subscriber line.

    Telecom department sources added that because Maran is young and comes from a media business background, he is keen to push ahead with technology that would not only help the telecom sector, but also other sectors like cable and broadcasting.

    The government sources said that Maran is taken up by Trai’s suggestion that India could have 20 million DSL subscribers over a period of few years if the price goes down to $9 from a comparative high of over $ 40.

    Big telecom companies like the Tatas-controlled VSNL and Reliance have evinced keen interest in broadband networks and DSL and have been ordering equipment in hundreds of thousands to tap this virgin market. Both VSNL and Reliance have fiber backbones, barely utilized, to the major cities, and international alliances for bandwidth.

    Some of the advantages of DSL are the following:
    · You can leave your Internet connection open and still use the phone line for voice calls.
    · The speed is much higher than a regular modem (1.5 Mbps vs. 56 Kbps)
    · DSL doesn’t necessarily require new wiring; it can use the phone line you already have.
    The company that offers DSL will usually provide the modem as part of the installation.

    The sources indicated that though Maran would like to push ahead with the Convergence Communication Bill, but various political compulsions would have to be taken into account before the Bill, which has lapsed with the demise of the previous Parliament and government, could be revived.

    “The minister would like to confer with the Prime Minister before he takes any formal step regarding the Communications Bill,” a government source said. The Communications Convergence Bill, amongst other things, envisages an over-arching law for the convergence era with a common regulator for telecom, IT and broadcast sectors.

    However, where Maran may face some difficulty in reviving the Bill is the fact that one of the important allies of the present United Progressive Alliance Government is the Left parties and it was a parliamentary panel headed by Somnath Chatterjee, the now-speaker of Parliament and a Communist Party Marxist Member of Parliament, that had suggested over 70 amendments in the Convergence Bill.

  • Convergence Bill consigned to Budget session – or even later?

    Convergence Bill consigned to Budget session – or even later?

    Doesn’t it seem a lot like deja vu? The Convergence Bill may finally not make its way to Parliament in the Winter session which is on currently. The group of ministers which is studying the Fali Nariman Committee recommendations and draft has not been able to decide on several issues. For starters, even on a meeting which needs attendance from all its members. Law minister Arun Jaitley, who has had a major say in a lot of policy making and is likely to continue to have a say, played truant earlier this week when he failed to turn up at one of the meetings. 

    The draft is additionally being reviewed by the Federation of Chambers of Commerce and Industry (Ficci). Further the GOM’s members are also supposed to give their consent to the various clauses. Following which it will be presented to Parliament and then to a select committee for a further review.

    But there are many unresolved issuess like who will blow the convergence bugle – the ministries of information technology, broadcasting or telecom? Which ministry will be the guide for convergence? Which body will be the regulator, the ombudsman or watchdog? What time frame will be set aside for setting up the Watch dog? 

    Three-four years ago, similar issues had stalled the Broadcasting Bill. Wonder whether the current government is seeeking a repeat act for Convergence. 

  • Convergence bill still a while away: Mahajan

    Convergence bill still a while away: Mahajan

    NEW DELHI: India will have to wait for at least six months before having a legislation to regulate and govern the convergence space encompassing the sectors of telecom, information technology and broadcasting.

    “I foresee the convergence bill taking a final shape (after the suggestion of the parliamentary Standing Committee on Telecom & IT) sometime in May,” telecom, IT and parliamentary affairs minister Pramod Mahajan said to a query put to him by indiantelevision.com on the sidelines of the ongoing India Economic Summit organized by the World Economic Forum and the CII.

    Asked about the status of the Convergence Communication Bill, which had been referred to the Standing Committee last year, Mahajan said, “The parliamentary panel has just submitted its report and in the beginning only some people have said whether the time is ripe for a Convergence legislation. I have not yet gone into the suggestion but will take a holistic approach once the report is studied.”

    The Standing Committee, which submitted its report a few days back to Parliament, has highlighted the fact some people who had deposed before it and sent information on the Bill had questioned the very need for such a piece of legislation in the first place at the present juncture.

    According to Mahajan, if there is a need, after studying the Standing panels report, another round of debate can be had in Parliament. “But I see the Bill being taken up (for discussion) by the Parliament only during the Budget session and that too in the latter half of the session after the (annual) Budget (of the country) has been discussed,” he added.

    Mahajan said that he has asked his ministry to go into the Standing panels report on Convergence Communication Bill that will take into account various comments collated by the panel. “Once that has happened, only then I can make up my mind and if need be we can have another round of discussion (on the issue) in Parliament.”

    Asked whether he is in favour of an overall legislation for the convergence space, Mahajan said, “Personally I am in favour of such a piece of legislation because some time or other it has to come. The earlier the work on it begins, the better.”

  • Convergence Bill likely to be tabled in Winter session

    Convergence Bill likely to be tabled in Winter session

    NEW DELHI: The Communication Convergence Bill, envisaging a super-regulatory authority for the IT, telecom and broadcasting sectors, is likely to be tabled in the Indian Parliament during the Winter session. 

    “The Bill is with the parliamentary Standing Committee on IT and Communication and it is expected to submit its report anytime,” IT, telecommunications and parliamentary affairs minister Pramod Mahajan told indiantelevision.com.

    According to Mahajan, if the Standing Committee submits its report soon, then the Bill will be tabled in parliament during the next session. 

    However, when the minister was asked if the Communication Convergence Bill is likely to be in Parliament during the next session, what will be the fate of the proposed Ordinance on conditional access system, Mahajan refused to comment on the issue.

    The Communication Convergence Bill, apart from being a super-regulatory authority for the three aforementioned sectors, will also be a unique piece of legislation, which takes into account the era of “convergence”.

    Malaysia is the only other country that has a similar piece of legislation.

  • Parliament panel has a close look at convergence bill

    Parliament panel has a close look at convergence bill

    The parliamentary standing committee on information technology has reportedly started its final deliberations on the Communications Convergence Bill.

    The standing committee, headed by veteran parliamentarian Somnath Chatterjee, went into meetings yesterday and is expected to complete the job of going over the bill with a fine tooth comb today, reports state. 

    The Convergence Bill calls for the setting up of a common regulatory authority for information technology, communications and broadcasting. It provides for the setting up of a super-regulator – the Communication Commission of India (CCI) – converging the existing regulatory authorities like the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) into the new entity. 

    The bill also seeks to change the licensing regime and limit the number of license categories to five  network infrastructure facilities, networking services, network application services, content application services and value-added network application services. It is still not clear how the existing licencees will be accommodated in the new regime.

    Once the standing committee vets the bill, it will be forwarded for debate to the Lok Sabha (lower house of Parliament).

  • Convergence Bill likely to be tabled on Tuesday

    Convergence Bill likely to be tabled on Tuesday

    The long awaited Communications Convergence Bill 2001, which has far-reaching implications on how the media industry is to be run in India, is expected to be tabled in parliament on Tuesday, industry sources say.

    According to them, the final version of the bill, which has gone through a number of modifications, has incorporated a number of draconian clauses, putting paid to any hopes industry watchers had that the government might be willing to ease up on its obsession with controlling and regulating all things in the media domain.

    A new element that has been introduced in the final version is that within the ambit of the high-powered super regulator – the Communications Commission of India – there will be two separate bureaux – a carriage bureau and a content bureau.

    According to sources, information and broadcasting minister Sushma Swaraj had been lobbying to get all content, including that relating to the Internet, under the ambit of the content bureau. Swaraj wanted communications regulation to be delinked from the bill, the sources say. The information technology and communications ministries strongly opposed this pointing out that it negated the whole concept of convergence. It was after this that a compromise formula was adopted where there would be two bureaux.

    There is bound to be a great deal of overlap when it comes to issues of jurisdiction and it remains to be seen how the two bureaux are going to operate without constantly stepping on each other’s toes.

    There are some points to ponder upon though. The content bureau will be responsible for all issues that come under that head, including regulation and laws relating to the Internet. Industry experts also believe that if such strict regulations were put in place wherein companies are forced to obtain a licence to transact electronically, it will have an adverse affect on foreign investments in India. Their reason: why would anyone go through such complex processes and red tape when they can easily invest in countries where no such licences or permits are required.

    Even as far as the print media goes, the picture is not a happy one. Reports say an innocuous sounding clause (Chapter 14, 63) in the bill permits the central government to detain press messages and articles of all those journalists who are NOT accredited with the governments PR set-up, and the Press Information Bureau (PIB).

    The clause empowers anyone – central, state or any authorised officer – to intercept any e-mail, phone conversation or data transmission of non-accredited journalists on any communication network (internet, cellular phones).

    Service providers will have to monitor and intercept messages and failure can lead to a sentence of up to seven years.

    The final judgment on the bill will however, have to wait till its tabling. The bill will be piloted by the communications ministry. If and when the bill does get passed, India will become only the second Asian country, after Malaysia, to have a Convergence Bill.

  • New convergence bill draft envisages content, carriage bureaux

    New convergence bill draft envisages content, carriage bureaux

    There seems to be no end to the modifications that are being envisaged for the Communications Convergence Bill. The revised draft of the Communications Convergence Bill 2001 has just been re-revised. Industry sources indicate that at the latest meeting of the Group on Telecom and IT (GOT-IT) held on 21 July, it has been proposed that within the ambit of high-powered Communications Commission of India that the bill envisages, there should be two separate bureaus – a carriage bureau and a content bureau.

    Earlier talk was around content management remaining a part of the convergence bill. And the information and broadcasting ministry was to convene a forum for the media industry to discuss the nature of the “content” bureau within the CCI.

    Information and broadcast minister Sushma Swaraj’s idea was that all content, including that relating to the Internet, should be regulated by a content bureau. Swaraj wanted that communications should be delinked from the ambit of the bill, the sources say. The telecom and communications ministries strongly opposed this pointing out that the it negated the whole concept of convergence. It was after this that a compromise formula was adopted where there would be two bureaus – a carriage bureau and a content bureau.

    The revised bill prepared by the sub-group under Fali Nariman will have to be sent to Finance Minister Yashwant Sinha, who heads GOT-IT, and the prime minister. Then it will probably be referred to the Standing Committee. After which we can expect it to be put on the government website for invitations for further suggestions from the public. In this scenario how the government plans to keep to its stated aim of tabling the Bill in parliament during the upcoming monsoon session remains a mystery.

    One thing has been agreed upon though. When the bill is finally ready for introduction in parlaiment it will be piloted by the communications ministry, the sources say.

    To read the January 2001 modification of the convergence bill click on the link below.

  • Convergence bill ready for introduction in parliament

    Convergence bill ready for introduction in parliament

    The current session of parliament will finally see the introduction of the long awaited communications convergence bill 2001. It only remains for the cabinet to meet to okay the finalised draft before it is introduced in parliament.

    What will happen after the bill’s introduction remains unclear as the main opposition Congress party has been stalling proceedings ever since the controversy over the Tehelka tapes corruption expose erupted. The Congress may refuse to allow the bill’s passage or it may so happen that in the midst of all the bedlam in the house it gets cleared by default. Parliament reconvened on Monday and is in session until May 16.

    The secretarial committee, headed by jurist Fali S Nariman, and made up of secretaries of the ministry of information and broadcasting, communications and law, on Saturday fine-tuned the revised draft bill, based on suggestions and directions received by the group of ministers on telecom and IT which had met last month, according to the Economic Times.

    The group of ministers, headed by finance minister Yashwant Sinha, had apparently sifted through nearly 1,000 responses from the public and various associations on the draft Bill that had been put up on the Net.

    The convergence bill, which has nearly 100 clauses, aims to have a common law to regulate broadcasting, telecommunications as well as the Internet.

    In the normal course, the bill would be referred to a parliamentary panel on communications and then final parliamentary approval could be expected in the winter session late this year or during the budget session early next year.

    Complex legislations are usually referred to lawmakers’ committees for comments and changes before being presented to parliament for final approval.