ITV

Tag: inter-connect

  • Trai gives 30 more days for inter-connect rule compliance

    NEW DELHI: Broadcast and telecom regulator Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai) has increased the transition period to 120 days for interconnection regulation to come into effect, thus giving time to industry stakeholders to honour their existing contracts and obligations.
     

    Under an order issued on 10 December, 2004 on the Telecommunication (Broadcasting & Cable) Services Interconnection Regulations, the regulator had said the transition period would be 90 days for various stakeholders of the industry, including the consumer, before the industry migrates to a new regime.

    Under the new regime, AMONGST OTHER THINGS, it had been proposed that all content must be made available to all platforms on a non-discriminatory basis and also that various interconnect agreements amongst stakeholders, like between an MSO and a broadcaster and an MSO and a cable operator, would have to be filed with the regulator.
     
     
     

    Trai today said it has received a proposal to extend the transition period for another 60 days to enable all the existing agreements to come to an end to be compliant with the new set of regulations.

    The regulator had called for comments / objections to the proposal vide its press release issued on 11 February. After examining the comments received on the subject, Trai has decided to extend the transition period for another 30 days to enable all the agreements to be compliant with the regulations, the regulator said in a statement issued today.

    Though Trai officials were silent on who made the proposal, industry sources indicate that it was made by a broadcaster that rules the Indian airwaves in terms of revenue.

  • MSOs back Trai on inter-connect regulation

    MUMBAI: Multi system operators (MSOs) have expressed to the Telcom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai) their support to the supply of content on a ‘must-provide’ and ‘non discriminatory’ basis, despite the fear of facing competition and a drop in cable TV subscription prices.

    But the support comes with a caveat: MSOs have sought an assurance from the cable and broadcast regulator to make provisions that will ensure content is not supplied to those operators who have made commercial defaults. “Commercial precautions should be taken care of. A level playing field also should be ensured,” says a senior official in a leading Mumbai-based MSO.

    The MSO Alliance, a body of big MSOs including InCablenet, Hathway Cable & Datacom, Siticable, RPG Netcom and Sumangali Cable Vision, presented a joint view on the inter-connect draft regulation to the Trai on 5 November. Trai had recommended that content be provided on all delivery platforms, including cable, direct-to-home (DTH) and headend-in-the-sky (HITS) as ‘exclusivity’ would lead to ‘anti-competition’ practices.

    “We feel that Trai will eventually be in support of the must-provide clause. So there is no point in opposing this. You have to be competitive. These are economics that can’t be stopped,” says the source.

    According to Trai’s draft on inter-connect regulation, broadcasters can’t deny content to cable operators on a discriminatory basis. This will bring in new players into the cable TV business, leading to further competition and fragmentation. A result of this, experts say, will be a fall in subscription prices. But, at the same time, existing MSOs feel the ‘must-provide’ clause will protect them from frequent disputes with broadcasters over blackout of feed.

    Meanwhile, the last mile cable operators have written to the broadcast and cable TV regulator to ensure that their interests are protected. Says Cable Operators and Distributors Association president Anil Parab, “Whatever be the final recommendations, Trai shouldn’t harm cable operators. We have written to the regulator, stating that our businesses shouldn’t come under threat.”