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Tag: Digitization

  • India has failed to move up the GCI index, despite the Digitization push and increase in broadband base

    India has failed to move up the GCI index, despite the Digitization push and increase in broadband base

    NEW DELHI: Despite the stress on Digital India, India retains its rank at the 44th position in GCI 2016 – the same as last year. India has a huge consumer base that’s connected to the globe mainly by submarine cables..

    Huawei’s 2016 Global Connectivity Index (GCI) released today.says India can focus on speeding up its optical fiber Bharat Broadband Networks to bring high-speed Internet connectivity to rural areas. Strategies for increasing mobile broadband supply will increase demand in the nation.

    Both the public and private sectors need to invest in their networks to serve the growing subscriber base, and provide universal broadband access with digital literacy programs to close the rural-urban divide. The government plans to train an additional 10 million people in ICT from towns and villages to help digitize rural communities.

    Global improvements have been seen in overall levels of national and economic digitization.

    In its third year, the report measures the progress of 50 nations in investing in and deploying Information and Communications Technology (ICT) to achieve economic digitization.

    The greatest improvements across the globe have been seen in broadband coverage and speed, but nations are also making headway with cloud, big data, and Internet of Things (IoT) technologies.

    GCI 2016, Connect where it counts, measures how nations are progressing with digital transformation based on 40 indicators that cover the supply, demand, experience, and potential of five technology enablers: broadband, data centers, cloud, big data, and IoT. Investing in these five technologies enables nations to digitize their economies.

    Average national connectivity levels are 5 percent higher than they were in 2015.

    Twelve countries improved their positions, while four experienced a drop. The top three developed economies are the United States, Singapore, and Sweden. The leading developing economies are the United Arab Emirates in 19th place, Qatar in 21st, and China in 23rd.

    Examples of countries that moved up the index include the UK in 5th, up one place from last year; Malaysia, which jumped four places to 25th; and Indonesia, which moved up two places to 41st. Malaysia and Indonesia’s gains are attributable to broadband rollout, which in turn influences data center development. These two basic technologies lay the foundation for the three advanced technology enablers: cloud, big data, and IoT.

    GCI scores continue to show a positive correlation with GDP, similar to last year’s findings. However, the extent to which GCI influences GDP varies with the stage of digital transformation in each country.

    GCI 2016 identifies three groups of nations: Starters are beginning their digital journey and score between 20 and 34. At the moment, their digital infrastructure is not developed enough to strongly influence GDP. Adopters in the middle range have a stronger digital infrastructure and score between 35 and 55. They experience the greatest GDP gains per GCI point increase. Frontrunners show the greatest digital development with scores above 55, although GDP gains per GCI point are slightly less than Adopters.  However, Frontrunners show more mature cloud, big data, and IoT in readiness for more extensive economic digitization.

    GCI 2016 finds that investing in digital infrastructure correlates to GDP gains because it increases economic dynamism, efficiency, and productivity. To drive further GDP gains, countries need to move up the technology stack by investing in new technologies and ensuring they are adopted by governments, industry, and people.

    According to the report, nations with high GCI scores are also more competitive and innovative, with a close correlation found between GCI scores and ratings in the WEF Global Competitiveness Index and the Global Innovation Index, jointly published by Cornell University, INSEAD, and the UN’s World Intellectual Property Organization.

    “A revolutionary shift is occurring in the way the world works, with economies across the planet going digital fast. Nations that are in the early stages of economic digitization should develop long-term technology plans that include broadband and data centers to reap the benefits of enhanced growth,” said Kevin Zhang, president of Huawei Corporate Marketing. “Developed economies wanting to capitalize on their frontrunner ICT status should invest more in cloud, big data, and IoT technologies and solutions to experience the full benefits of a digital economy.”

    The 50 countries assessed by GCI 2016 account for 90 percent of global GDP and 78 percent of the world’s population.
    For information about Huawei Connectivity Index, visit: www.huawei.com/gci

     

  • India has failed to move up the GCI index, despite the Digitization push and increase in broadband base

    India has failed to move up the GCI index, despite the Digitization push and increase in broadband base

    NEW DELHI: Despite the stress on Digital India, India retains its rank at the 44th position in GCI 2016 – the same as last year. India has a huge consumer base that’s connected to the globe mainly by submarine cables..

    Huawei’s 2016 Global Connectivity Index (GCI) released today.says India can focus on speeding up its optical fiber Bharat Broadband Networks to bring high-speed Internet connectivity to rural areas. Strategies for increasing mobile broadband supply will increase demand in the nation.

    Both the public and private sectors need to invest in their networks to serve the growing subscriber base, and provide universal broadband access with digital literacy programs to close the rural-urban divide. The government plans to train an additional 10 million people in ICT from towns and villages to help digitize rural communities.

    Global improvements have been seen in overall levels of national and economic digitization.

    In its third year, the report measures the progress of 50 nations in investing in and deploying Information and Communications Technology (ICT) to achieve economic digitization.

    The greatest improvements across the globe have been seen in broadband coverage and speed, but nations are also making headway with cloud, big data, and Internet of Things (IoT) technologies.

    GCI 2016, Connect where it counts, measures how nations are progressing with digital transformation based on 40 indicators that cover the supply, demand, experience, and potential of five technology enablers: broadband, data centers, cloud, big data, and IoT. Investing in these five technologies enables nations to digitize their economies.

    Average national connectivity levels are 5 percent higher than they were in 2015.

    Twelve countries improved their positions, while four experienced a drop. The top three developed economies are the United States, Singapore, and Sweden. The leading developing economies are the United Arab Emirates in 19th place, Qatar in 21st, and China in 23rd.

    Examples of countries that moved up the index include the UK in 5th, up one place from last year; Malaysia, which jumped four places to 25th; and Indonesia, which moved up two places to 41st. Malaysia and Indonesia’s gains are attributable to broadband rollout, which in turn influences data center development. These two basic technologies lay the foundation for the three advanced technology enablers: cloud, big data, and IoT.

    GCI scores continue to show a positive correlation with GDP, similar to last year’s findings. However, the extent to which GCI influences GDP varies with the stage of digital transformation in each country.

    GCI 2016 identifies three groups of nations: Starters are beginning their digital journey and score between 20 and 34. At the moment, their digital infrastructure is not developed enough to strongly influence GDP. Adopters in the middle range have a stronger digital infrastructure and score between 35 and 55. They experience the greatest GDP gains per GCI point increase. Frontrunners show the greatest digital development with scores above 55, although GDP gains per GCI point are slightly less than Adopters.  However, Frontrunners show more mature cloud, big data, and IoT in readiness for more extensive economic digitization.

    GCI 2016 finds that investing in digital infrastructure correlates to GDP gains because it increases economic dynamism, efficiency, and productivity. To drive further GDP gains, countries need to move up the technology stack by investing in new technologies and ensuring they are adopted by governments, industry, and people.

    According to the report, nations with high GCI scores are also more competitive and innovative, with a close correlation found between GCI scores and ratings in the WEF Global Competitiveness Index and the Global Innovation Index, jointly published by Cornell University, INSEAD, and the UN’s World Intellectual Property Organization.

    “A revolutionary shift is occurring in the way the world works, with economies across the planet going digital fast. Nations that are in the early stages of economic digitization should develop long-term technology plans that include broadband and data centers to reap the benefits of enhanced growth,” said Kevin Zhang, president of Huawei Corporate Marketing. “Developed economies wanting to capitalize on their frontrunner ICT status should invest more in cloud, big data, and IoT technologies and solutions to experience the full benefits of a digital economy.”

    The 50 countries assessed by GCI 2016 account for 90 percent of global GDP and 78 percent of the world’s population.
    For information about Huawei Connectivity Index, visit: www.huawei.com/gci

     

  • FICCI Frames 2016: Digitization is a boon, but subject to how it is utilized by all stakeholders

    FICCI Frames 2016: Digitization is a boon, but subject to how it is utilized by all stakeholders

    MUMBAI: Even as a general consensus emerged on digitization being a boon, questions were raised at the ongoing FICCI FRAMES meet on whether the concept and advantages of the concept have been fully understood.

    Even as the TV industry has leapfrogged to more than 800 channels, and Indian Pay TV made the leap from analogue to digital and travelled from single to multi-platforms, the session on ‘Future Proofing Broadcast Distribution’ showed there are still some apprehensions on how the new technology can be used.

    The panelist included Times Network MD& CEO MK Anand, Ortel Communication CEO Bibhu Prasad Rath, Indusind Media and Communication MD & CEO Tony D Silva and Microsoft Corporation India Microsoft Azure and server business country head Srikanth Karnakota. The session was moderated by Zee Network president (Legal & Regulatory) Avnindra Mohan.

    Mohan set the ball rolling with a perplexing question on whether the industry had fully understood the implications of ditigization and convergence and whether stakeholders realized that they can use the same network for delivering different content through different modes of mediums. Thus, he said it shows a paradigm shift in the entire gambit of the distribution system.

    “Digitization has been a boon for the broadcast industry. From the broadcaster point of view, digitization started when the Direct to Home (DTH) system launched in 2003 in India. English news and other English general entertainment channels were being treated as the outsiders for the broadcast business. We had 65 million viewers in English from 2000 to 2005 whereas the total number of television viewers was 400 million. The number of English viewers has grown to 200 million now and that happened because of digitization,” says Anand.

    Anand added that in the next five to ten years, the English entertainment viewership should cross 300 million which is almost close to Hindi general entertainment channels viewership due to digitization.  “Times Now has a very strong and loyal audience in a month we cross the viewership of two and half crores but people don’t know that we have 13 crores of viewers on New Media platform,” informs Anand.

    Being a multi-system operator sharing views on the kind of business opportunities Ortel Communication can have in such a scenario, Rath felt India has grown in a unique fashion for the last two decades but the quality of the networks has been compromised. “The Set Top Box is not a solution to a network and we need to handle Phase III and IV in a different manner and not as Phase I and II”, he added.

    Noting that “we in India do not have one definition for Digitisation.It has been portrayed differently by others”, D’silva asked what the country wanted to achieve through digitization. “I believe there should a national objective about what they want to achieve from digitization. In most the industry today including DTH, 50 per cent of revenue goes in tax”. He felt progress was difficult unless the tax was supportive, but this was not going to happen. “It is the MSOs who are putting up the money and buying the STBs. So there has to be a logical regime of taxation. The STB is the only starting point of digitization. There should be an environment where technology and digitization should go hand in hand,” he felt.

  • FICCI Frames 2016: Digitization is a boon, but subject to how it is utilized by all stakeholders

    FICCI Frames 2016: Digitization is a boon, but subject to how it is utilized by all stakeholders

    MUMBAI: Even as a general consensus emerged on digitization being a boon, questions were raised at the ongoing FICCI FRAMES meet on whether the concept and advantages of the concept have been fully understood.

    Even as the TV industry has leapfrogged to more than 800 channels, and Indian Pay TV made the leap from analogue to digital and travelled from single to multi-platforms, the session on ‘Future Proofing Broadcast Distribution’ showed there are still some apprehensions on how the new technology can be used.

    The panelist included Times Network MD& CEO MK Anand, Ortel Communication CEO Bibhu Prasad Rath, Indusind Media and Communication MD & CEO Tony D Silva and Microsoft Corporation India Microsoft Azure and server business country head Srikanth Karnakota. The session was moderated by Zee Network president (Legal & Regulatory) Avnindra Mohan.

    Mohan set the ball rolling with a perplexing question on whether the industry had fully understood the implications of ditigization and convergence and whether stakeholders realized that they can use the same network for delivering different content through different modes of mediums. Thus, he said it shows a paradigm shift in the entire gambit of the distribution system.

    “Digitization has been a boon for the broadcast industry. From the broadcaster point of view, digitization started when the Direct to Home (DTH) system launched in 2003 in India. English news and other English general entertainment channels were being treated as the outsiders for the broadcast business. We had 65 million viewers in English from 2000 to 2005 whereas the total number of television viewers was 400 million. The number of English viewers has grown to 200 million now and that happened because of digitization,” says Anand.

    Anand added that in the next five to ten years, the English entertainment viewership should cross 300 million which is almost close to Hindi general entertainment channels viewership due to digitization.  “Times Now has a very strong and loyal audience in a month we cross the viewership of two and half crores but people don’t know that we have 13 crores of viewers on New Media platform,” informs Anand.

    Being a multi-system operator sharing views on the kind of business opportunities Ortel Communication can have in such a scenario, Rath felt India has grown in a unique fashion for the last two decades but the quality of the networks has been compromised. “The Set Top Box is not a solution to a network and we need to handle Phase III and IV in a different manner and not as Phase I and II”, he added.

    Noting that “we in India do not have one definition for Digitisation.It has been portrayed differently by others”, D’silva asked what the country wanted to achieve through digitization. “I believe there should a national objective about what they want to achieve from digitization. In most the industry today including DTH, 50 per cent of revenue goes in tax”. He felt progress was difficult unless the tax was supportive, but this was not going to happen. “It is the MSOs who are putting up the money and buying the STBs. So there has to be a logical regime of taxation. The STB is the only starting point of digitization. There should be an environment where technology and digitization should go hand in hand,” he felt.

  • Strong regulatory ecosystem vital for safeguarding IPR if M and E industry has to grow in the international market

    Strong regulatory ecosystem vital for safeguarding IPR if M and E industry has to grow in the international market

    MUMBAI: The subject of intellectual property rights and piracy keep coming up at the FICCI FRAMES year after year and appeals are made by creative artistes for stringent measures to check this.

    With digitization and if India is to become a media and entertainment hub, this gains urgency and is even more imperative that steps are taken for a strong legal and regulatory ecosystem safeguarding intellectual properties.

    Saving intellectual Property in a world without boundaries saw panelists and legal experts referring to global practices and emphasizing on the importance of IPR for the growth of the Indian media and entertainment sector.

    In fact, World Intellectual Property Organization Director General Francis Gurry stressed the need for stringent laws in an upcoming market like India where creativity was growing at such a speed. He also referred to how WIPO was helping member countries to deal with these problems.

    The session was moderated by Saikrishna & Associates partner Ameet Dutta. The panelists were Motion Picture Association of America Asia Pacific VP regional legal counsel Michael Schlesinger, Star India senior VP legal and regulatory Pulak Bagchi and Zee Network president legal and regulatory affairs Avnindra Mohan.

    Dutta said the focus of the context in digital India has shifted from copyrights to user rights. This underlines the challenges that intellectual property faces. The question that he posed before the panelists was where India stood on the world map in terms of economics.

    Schlesinger said: “India is a mine of creativity. This is evident with the number of features films, television channels or other platforms available in India. Our existence will depend on a surge of creativity and invention. India is maximizing its potential but has to find a place on the global map. For example, India showed total box office collection of $2.5 million in 2015 while China had $6.5 million and US had $11.1 million. These figures clearly show that just making products or content in India will not help until India can acquire international content as well. India has to maximize a lot of things like job creations, movie screenings etc.”

    Mohan shared the scenario about the regulatory environment in India. “For the broadcasting sector, there is no copyright at all since 2003. It is always user rights. In India, the content producers and broadcasters are same to the extent of 90 per cent unlike US. If a distributor comes to you, you have to provide content on non-discriminatory basis with equal prices irrespective of the size. This is the only sector where a broadcaster is asked to provide its content with prices frozen in 2003. I am forced to give my content to the distributors at a frozen price.”

    Bagchi generally agreed with Mohan and said with the challenges faced by the entire sector, the impact of regulatory laws on channels and the challenges faced by broadcasters cannot be neglected. “Consumers are our kings. I agree with Mohan about the prices being frozen since 2003. Imagine what would happen if the Indian government asks Bill Gates to sell all the Microsoft versions and its tools today on the prices that were relevant in 2003,” said Bagchi. He stressed that this was one reason why international parties hesitate on investing in Indian IPs, and the archaic guidelines and regulations prevent the growth of intellectual property.

    For a session that was aimed at how one can survive the digital divide, it ended with the panelists agreeing on the importance of having sectoral regulations in sync with the copyright laws. This will also retain the India IPR regime with the best practices in the field of intellectual property rights.

  • Strong regulatory ecosystem vital for safeguarding IPR if M and E industry has to grow in the international market

    Strong regulatory ecosystem vital for safeguarding IPR if M and E industry has to grow in the international market

    MUMBAI: The subject of intellectual property rights and piracy keep coming up at the FICCI FRAMES year after year and appeals are made by creative artistes for stringent measures to check this.

    With digitization and if India is to become a media and entertainment hub, this gains urgency and is even more imperative that steps are taken for a strong legal and regulatory ecosystem safeguarding intellectual properties.

    Saving intellectual Property in a world without boundaries saw panelists and legal experts referring to global practices and emphasizing on the importance of IPR for the growth of the Indian media and entertainment sector.

    In fact, World Intellectual Property Organization Director General Francis Gurry stressed the need for stringent laws in an upcoming market like India where creativity was growing at such a speed. He also referred to how WIPO was helping member countries to deal with these problems.

    The session was moderated by Saikrishna & Associates partner Ameet Dutta. The panelists were Motion Picture Association of America Asia Pacific VP regional legal counsel Michael Schlesinger, Star India senior VP legal and regulatory Pulak Bagchi and Zee Network president legal and regulatory affairs Avnindra Mohan.

    Dutta said the focus of the context in digital India has shifted from copyrights to user rights. This underlines the challenges that intellectual property faces. The question that he posed before the panelists was where India stood on the world map in terms of economics.

    Schlesinger said: “India is a mine of creativity. This is evident with the number of features films, television channels or other platforms available in India. Our existence will depend on a surge of creativity and invention. India is maximizing its potential but has to find a place on the global map. For example, India showed total box office collection of $2.5 million in 2015 while China had $6.5 million and US had $11.1 million. These figures clearly show that just making products or content in India will not help until India can acquire international content as well. India has to maximize a lot of things like job creations, movie screenings etc.”

    Mohan shared the scenario about the regulatory environment in India. “For the broadcasting sector, there is no copyright at all since 2003. It is always user rights. In India, the content producers and broadcasters are same to the extent of 90 per cent unlike US. If a distributor comes to you, you have to provide content on non-discriminatory basis with equal prices irrespective of the size. This is the only sector where a broadcaster is asked to provide its content with prices frozen in 2003. I am forced to give my content to the distributors at a frozen price.”

    Bagchi generally agreed with Mohan and said with the challenges faced by the entire sector, the impact of regulatory laws on channels and the challenges faced by broadcasters cannot be neglected. “Consumers are our kings. I agree with Mohan about the prices being frozen since 2003. Imagine what would happen if the Indian government asks Bill Gates to sell all the Microsoft versions and its tools today on the prices that were relevant in 2003,” said Bagchi. He stressed that this was one reason why international parties hesitate on investing in Indian IPs, and the archaic guidelines and regulations prevent the growth of intellectual property.

    For a session that was aimed at how one can survive the digital divide, it ended with the panelists agreeing on the importance of having sectoral regulations in sync with the copyright laws. This will also retain the India IPR regime with the best practices in the field of intellectual property rights.

  • 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.

  • Key issues relating to broadcasting sector ignored in budget, says IBF

    Key issues relating to broadcasting sector ignored in budget, says IBF

    NEW DELHI: The Indian Broadcasting Foundation today expressed regret that the Union Budget 2016-17 had failed to look into key issues such as ‘carry forward of losses, in case of amalgamation or merger for service industry under the industrial undertaking under Section 72 A of the Income Tax Act 1961.’

    Foundation Secretary General Girish Srivastava said in a statement that it was also ‘unfortunate that c industry, which has been playing a critical role in the digital initiative of the government, is being denied this benefit whereas other service sectors like Software, Telecom etc are availing these benefits.’

    However, he thanked the Minister Arun Jaitley for addressing some of the concerns of the industry.

    Describing it as an “inclusive and well-rounded budget which will not only help the Indian economy at large but also provide an opportunity to all in becoming part of the overall growth process”, Srivastava said, “Another point that broadcasters had raised in their pre-budget memorandum was on the tax withholding of transponder hire charges in which the sector had appealed for the alignment of the definition of royalty in DTAAs in line with the amended Finance Act 2012.

    In the current Economic Survey, having acknowledged the significance of the ongoing digitization efforts and in turn Media and Entertainment Industry generating large scale revenue and employment, it seems that the budget inadvertently omitted the long- term pending demand of grant of infrastructure status to the sector, he said.

    During the budget speech, Jaitley had stated that most of the recommendations made by Justice Easwar Committee on simplification of procedures and related issues shall be accepted in due course. “IBF will take up the issues as above with the Finance Ministry in its post budget consultations,” Srivastava added in parting.

  • Key issues relating to broadcasting sector ignored in budget, says IBF

    Key issues relating to broadcasting sector ignored in budget, says IBF

    NEW DELHI: The Indian Broadcasting Foundation today expressed regret that the Union Budget 2016-17 had failed to look into key issues such as ‘carry forward of losses, in case of amalgamation or merger for service industry under the industrial undertaking under Section 72 A of the Income Tax Act 1961.’

    Foundation Secretary General Girish Srivastava said in a statement that it was also ‘unfortunate that c industry, which has been playing a critical role in the digital initiative of the government, is being denied this benefit whereas other service sectors like Software, Telecom etc are availing these benefits.’

    However, he thanked the Minister Arun Jaitley for addressing some of the concerns of the industry.

    Describing it as an “inclusive and well-rounded budget which will not only help the Indian economy at large but also provide an opportunity to all in becoming part of the overall growth process”, Srivastava said, “Another point that broadcasters had raised in their pre-budget memorandum was on the tax withholding of transponder hire charges in which the sector had appealed for the alignment of the definition of royalty in DTAAs in line with the amended Finance Act 2012.

    In the current Economic Survey, having acknowledged the significance of the ongoing digitization efforts and in turn Media and Entertainment Industry generating large scale revenue and employment, it seems that the budget inadvertently omitted the long- term pending demand of grant of infrastructure status to the sector, he said.

    During the budget speech, Jaitley had stated that most of the recommendations made by Justice Easwar Committee on simplification of procedures and related issues shall be accepted in due course. “IBF will take up the issues as above with the Finance Ministry in its post budget consultations,” Srivastava added in parting.