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Tag: ISP

  • Rebranded ‘Spectra’ CEO aims to offer speed and service at par with developed countries

    Rebranded ‘Spectra’ CEO aims to offer speed and service at par with developed countries

    MUMBAI: It has been touted as the first Internet Service Provider (ISP) in India to benchmark 100 Mbps speed across its offerings.

    Spectranet, which is India’s fastest internet service provider according to Netflix’s latest index, has unveiled its brand name – Spectra and website – spectra.co.

    As part of a revamped customer-centric strategy, the company also launched its new product catalogue by introducing 100 Mbps only plans for its customers in Delhi, Gurgaon, Noida, Ghaziabad, Mumbai, Chennai and Bangalore.

    With the new brand approach, Spectra has chosen a typography-led expression which resonates with the brand’s new offerings and agile customer support. The company’s new website — spectra.co — takes a minimalist approach and enables a simple and fluid digital web and mobile experience for customers and visitors.

    The company roped in Ochre, a brand and experience consultancy based in London and Dubai. Ochre had been working closely with the leadership team and customers to create the overall brand expression and experience strategy.

    By providing 100 Mbps speed across all its packages at affordable price points, Spectra has set a new benchmark in the FTTH category in India.

    Spectra MD & CEO Udit Mehrotra said: “By rebranding to Spectra, we intend to bring a new level of broadband experience to consumers. We are aiming to expand our business operation to maximise our customer outreach in the cities we are operating.”

    “We are fully committed to offer higher speeds, better service, and an overall better experience to our customers; at par with services offered globally in the developed countries,” he added.

    The new brand aspires to deliver not just speed but will also follow on three principles – Speed, Service and Simplicity. The company will provide more services to its customers apart from being a high speed internet with unlimited data usage. The company recently forged a partnership with content service provider Hungama.com and is also planning to add more content solutions for its customers to enjoy wider range of services to its customers.

    “People have become more device-agnostic to video streaming, gaming, education, video conference, medical assistance or eGovernance; consumers are looking for high speed internet to access these services. They are craving for connectivity and looking for option that is reliable. We have internet bandwidth to meet the growing need in urban areas of the country. Our new offerings will help our customers connect to devices and make their life better, right from streaming movies to researching homework assignments and more,” he further adds.

    Zia Patel, Strategy Director, and Sebastian Klein, Creative Director from Ochre brings western expertise and local Indian knowhow. The dynamic pair have worked together for over 10 years at Wolff Olins. Zia used to lead Wolff Olins in India. They have created brand identity for some of India’s leading business houses as well as big international brands.

  • Spectranet ranked as fastest FTTH for June 2017

    Spectranet, India’s first 100% fibre broadband service provider today announced that it has been ranked as the fastest FTTH provider by Netflix. They have been ranked number 2 in the overall ISP rankings basis their primetime performance on Netflix, world’s leading internet television network with over 83 million members in over 190 countries.

    Spectranet is ranked number 2 for its superior service provided through its cutting-edge fibre network that delivers speeds of 100 Mbps and beyond and offers truly unlimited downloads & uploads without any speed capping.

    public://Untitled-3_18.jpg

    Courtesy: Netflix

    On this feat, Mr Udit Mehrotra, CEO, Spectranet said, “As we are trending upwards every month since the inception of this ranking in India, we are proud to be the fastest FFTH provider in the ranking and we are looking forward to attain the fastest ISP ranking in the near future. We have already been the fastest fibre based internet service provider basis our performance in the month of September to December 2016. This has been made possible by our sustained efforts to deliver innovative and disruptive services to our customers at amazingly affordable price. Being the only ISP with 100% fibre network we believe that we can advance the lives of people in urban India by creating and delivering the best internet services which has become a basic necessity for people in this era of Third Age of Connectivity’.

    About Netflix survey:

    Netflix ranks performances of prominent ISPs across the globe for their ‘Prime Time Netflix performance’ and the ratings for ISPs in India were introduced first in the month of May 16.  Netflix introduced ‘fast.com’ to provide quick and simple way for any internet user to test their current internet speed.

    About Spectranet

    Spectranet is an innovative and disruptive technology company dedicatedly working to deliver joy, advantage and success for people through and by, the continuous pursuit of excellence in Internet services. It is India’s only end to end pure optical fibre network enabled Internet service provider, capable of delivering speeds of 1 Gbps for home & 10 Gbps for business customers.  With headquarters in Gurgaon, its fibre network presence is currently spread across eight major cities.  For further information, please visit http://www.spectranet.in/

     

  • Cheaper content demand, piracy & OTT popularity dog A-Pac pay-TV, avers innovation forum

    MUMBAI: NAGRA, a Kudelski Group company, in partnership with MTM, has revealed the latest findings from the Pay-TV Innovation Forum 2017 that looks into the Asia-Pacific pay-TV market.

    The global research programme examines the state of pay-TV innovations and strategies that will drive the next phase of growth for the industry.

    Service providers and content-owners from the region participating in the forum in May 2017, agreed that the Asia-Pacific pay-TV industry is entering a transitional period during which operators will need to adapt their business models and technology platforms in order to thrive in the changing environment. New offerings will have to reflect changing consumer demand for cheaper and more personalised content packages, including OTT services, to effectively expand the range of services at different price points. Delivery infrastructure and technology platforms across APAC will also become much more IP-based, with content being increasingly delivered via both fixed-line and mobile broadband networks. This need for change is being driven both by the persistent threat of content piracy and the increasing popularity of OTT services that are using aggressive pricing strategies to acquire customers.

    Despite these challenges, pay-TV providers in Asia Pacific are investing in the future – continuing the steady roll-out of IP-connected set-top boxes (provided by 72 per cent of providers in 2017, up from 66 per cent in 2016), PVRs (63 per cent, up from 56 per cent), standalone OTT services (28 per cent, up from 23 per cent), and new adjacent services such as advanced advertising and Smart Home solutions (offered by 27 per cent, up from 16 per cent).

    Industry experts highlight two urgent investment priorities that will help service providers to navigate the transforming video and TV services market:

    Concerted approach to tackling content piracy: to limit illegal access to content, operators are calling for content owners to take their own independent actions to monitor, track and stop the distribution of illegal content, and for industry strategies that would bring together pay-TV operators, ISPs, content owners and industry associations to work with regulators and governments to take further legal action.

    Development of more consumer-focused and diversified product portfolios by embracing new business models, operators can develop new packages and offerings that appeal to changing consumer tastes at a wider range of price points, including skinny bundles, personalised offerings, seamless multi-screen TV everywhere services and smart home solutions. Operators also cited potential opportunities for growth through new business-to-business services, including harnessing data with new analytics tools to offer enriched data services and support targeted advertising.

    “The pay-TV industry in Asia Pacific is going through a challenging, transitional period. Traditional pay-TV revenues in many advanced Asian markets are under pressure, while emerging markets are growing, but delivering low ARPUs. The industry is being increasingly disrupted by content piracy, especially around live sports, and impacted by low-cost OTT offerings, making it harder for pay-TV companies to invest with confidence,” said MTM managing partner Jon Watts . “Pay-TV service providers in Asia-Pacific need to take stronger action against piracy to secure their future, while maintaining investment in new services and innovation.”

    “There is a strong call to action across the pay-TV industry in Asia-Pacific to respond to these growing challenges. Operators and content owners need to be innovative in how they transform their technology and business models to respond to these pressures,” said NAGRA senior director product marketing Simon Trudelle. “The Forum’s research highlights that service providers not only recognise the problems they face from content pirates, but want to see actions taken limiting illegal access to premium content to maintain revenue and ensure quality content continues to be created. By working in partnership with vendors, operators can be more agile and better adapt to the fast changing landscape.”

  • Viacom18, Star India & B4U win case against pirated streaming in US

    MUMBAI: A US court has ordered closure of unauthorised digital streaming and distribution by the providers of the Cres TV and Shava STBs in further success for US pay-TV operator Dish. The US District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia recently awarded more than US$25 million in damages in another blow to peddlers of illegal video piracy services soon after forcing the closure of an illegal IPTV operation.

    The court awarded the huge sum in damages to plaintiffs for unauthorised distribution of copyrighted works. Plaintiffs include Dish Network L.L.C., Al Jazeera Media Network, Asia TV USA Ltd., B4U U.S., Inc., GEO USA LLC, Impress Telefilm, Inc., MBC FZ LLC, MSM Asia Ltd., Soundview Broadcasting LLC, Soundview ATN LLC, Star India Private Ltd. and Viacom18 Media Private Limited.

    Back in India, Viacom18 has secured a John Doe interim order from Madras High Court restricting more than 1250 identified and all other unidentified websites from making the infringing copies of Viacom18’s latest release i.e ‘Force2’ available for public viewing over internet.

    In the said order, the Court has further directed 40 major Internet Service Providers (ISPs) and also other unidentified ISPs to block all such pirate websites which are illegally making the said film available over internet, Advanced Television reported.

    Back in India in Novermber 2016, Viacom18 had blocked Force 2 movie telecast across 1250 websites after getting an interim order from the Madras High Court  Viacom18 secured the John Doe interim order restricting identified and other unidentified websites from making the infringing copies of Viacom18’s release i.e ‘Force2’ available for public viewing over internet.

    In the said order, the Court has further directed 40 major Internet Service Providers (ISPs) and also other unidentified ISPs to block all such pirate websites which are illegally making the said film available over internet.

    Viacom18 group general counsel Sujeet Jain said, “I welcome this order. It is estimated that India loses $2.5 billion to online movie piracy every year. This order is a significant development for the film industry in its fight against online piracy. As immediate next steps, we’ve also launched an investigation into identifying the source of piracy at the threshold level and we will be soon taking strict action on that front.” Viacom18 had earlier successfully secured John Doe orders against infringement of its films Drishyam and ‘Manjhi – The Mountain Man’ as well.

    Also Read :

    Viacom18 blocks Force 2 across 1250 websites; gets interim order from Madras HC

    IPL 2017: The Piracy Conundrum

    FICCI FRAMES: Legitimate screens, stricter laws, best practices for IPR

    ‘Make piracy an economic offence, good cos ‘badvertise’ too’

  • TRAI issues fresh paper seeking views on Net Neutrality definition

    TRAI issues fresh paper seeking views on Net Neutrality definition

    NEW DELHI: India’s telecoms regulator Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) yesterday floated another consultation paper on Net Neutrality (NN) seeking to establish a framework that allows Internet users the `freedom of expression’ and non discriminatory access to the Net.

    In the discussion paper, TRAI stated having identified the India-specific context, the next challenge is to examine what should be the country’s policy response on issues relating to any form of discriminatory treatment in the provision of access to the Internet and seeks views on framing a regulatory framework that would ensure that access to content on the internet is neither ‘blocked’, ‘throttled’ nor ‘preferentially treated’ by ISPs and telecom service providers (TSPs).

    “The idea of equal or nondiscriminatory treatment of traffic that flows on the Internet resonates in the NN principles adopted by various jurisdictions, although the term itself does not necessary feature in their regulatory instruments. The EU regulations, for instance, create ‘common rules to safeguard equal and nondiscriminatory treatment of traffic’ without expressly using the term NN. Given that key terms such as `equal treatment’ are still contested, many have urged against a rigid definition of NN. This was also the view expressed by the DoT (Department of Telecoms) committee in its report where it stated that ‘the crux of the matter is that we need not hard code the definition of Net Neutrality but assimilate the core principles of Net Neutrality and shape the actions around them’,” TRAI said in the consultation paper.

    The issue of Net Neutrality has been occupying Indian mind space for the last 13 months with pro and anti neutrality views floating around without actually addressing the issue that is also a topic of debate in developed markets like the US, Europe and in Asia. TRAI, which has dealt with the issue in a piecemeal fashion (zero rating plans), for example, earlier in 2016, refers to US regulator FCC stand on the issue in its present paper. However, with a new government led by President-elect Trump to take over later this month, even FCC stand may change on the issue of Net Neutrality.

    Some of the questions raised by TRAI in its present 60+ pages paper on Net Neutrality include the following:

    # How should “Internet traffic” and providers of “Internet services” be un-derstood in the NN context?

    # Should certain types of specialised services, enterprise solutions, Inter¬net of Things, etc be excluded from its scope?

    How should such terms be defined?

    # How should services provided by content delivery networks and direct interconnection arrangements be treated?

    # In the Indian context, which of the following regulatory approaches would
    be preferable?

    # Whether and how should different categories of traffic be objectively defined from a technical point of view for this purpose?

    # Should application-specific discrimination within a category of traffic be viewed more strictly than discrimination between categories?

    # How should preferential treatment of particular content, activated by a users choice and without any arrangement between a telecom service provider and content provider be treated?

    The paper, however, does seem to highlight that telecom service providers have to deploy certain traffic management practices to ensure that the wireless networks are able to maintain a certain quality of standards. Hence, it also attempts to establish the framework for what it calls “reasonable traffic management practices” to ensure the wireless networks do not get choked or congested, Economic Times reported yesterday evening on its website.

    All stakeholders will have to give in their responses by February 28, 2017after which the telecom regulator will deliberate upon the responses and make its final recommendations to the government.

    ALSO READ

    “There would be a lot on TRAI’s plate in 2017” – RS Sharma

    Free data, net neutrality: Discussion on TRAI paper to be held

    Net Neutrality: Reactions from the consumers provide deep insights

    Net Neutrality: TRAI receives a million mails, Indians awaits judgment day

  • TRAI issues fresh paper seeking views on Net Neutrality definition

    TRAI issues fresh paper seeking views on Net Neutrality definition

    NEW DELHI: India’s telecoms regulator Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) yesterday floated another consultation paper on Net Neutrality (NN) seeking to establish a framework that allows Internet users the `freedom of expression’ and non discriminatory access to the Net.

    In the discussion paper, TRAI stated having identified the India-specific context, the next challenge is to examine what should be the country’s policy response on issues relating to any form of discriminatory treatment in the provision of access to the Internet and seeks views on framing a regulatory framework that would ensure that access to content on the internet is neither ‘blocked’, ‘throttled’ nor ‘preferentially treated’ by ISPs and telecom service providers (TSPs).

    “The idea of equal or nondiscriminatory treatment of traffic that flows on the Internet resonates in the NN principles adopted by various jurisdictions, although the term itself does not necessary feature in their regulatory instruments. The EU regulations, for instance, create ‘common rules to safeguard equal and nondiscriminatory treatment of traffic’ without expressly using the term NN. Given that key terms such as `equal treatment’ are still contested, many have urged against a rigid definition of NN. This was also the view expressed by the DoT (Department of Telecoms) committee in its report where it stated that ‘the crux of the matter is that we need not hard code the definition of Net Neutrality but assimilate the core principles of Net Neutrality and shape the actions around them’,” TRAI said in the consultation paper.

    The issue of Net Neutrality has been occupying Indian mind space for the last 13 months with pro and anti neutrality views floating around without actually addressing the issue that is also a topic of debate in developed markets like the US, Europe and in Asia. TRAI, which has dealt with the issue in a piecemeal fashion (zero rating plans), for example, earlier in 2016, refers to US regulator FCC stand on the issue in its present paper. However, with a new government led by President-elect Trump to take over later this month, even FCC stand may change on the issue of Net Neutrality.

    Some of the questions raised by TRAI in its present 60+ pages paper on Net Neutrality include the following:

    # How should “Internet traffic” and providers of “Internet services” be un-derstood in the NN context?

    # Should certain types of specialised services, enterprise solutions, Inter¬net of Things, etc be excluded from its scope?

    How should such terms be defined?

    # How should services provided by content delivery networks and direct interconnection arrangements be treated?

    # In the Indian context, which of the following regulatory approaches would
    be preferable?

    # Whether and how should different categories of traffic be objectively defined from a technical point of view for this purpose?

    # Should application-specific discrimination within a category of traffic be viewed more strictly than discrimination between categories?

    # How should preferential treatment of particular content, activated by a users choice and without any arrangement between a telecom service provider and content provider be treated?

    The paper, however, does seem to highlight that telecom service providers have to deploy certain traffic management practices to ensure that the wireless networks are able to maintain a certain quality of standards. Hence, it also attempts to establish the framework for what it calls “reasonable traffic management practices” to ensure the wireless networks do not get choked or congested, Economic Times reported yesterday evening on its website.

    All stakeholders will have to give in their responses by February 28, 2017after which the telecom regulator will deliberate upon the responses and make its final recommendations to the government.

    ALSO READ

    “There would be a lot on TRAI’s plate in 2017” – RS Sharma

    Free data, net neutrality: Discussion on TRAI paper to be held

    Net Neutrality: Reactions from the consumers provide deep insights

    Net Neutrality: TRAI receives a million mails, Indians awaits judgment day

  • BIF bats for OTT regulations & level-playing field for all in Net Neutrality debate

    BIF bats for OTT regulations & level-playing field for all in Net Neutrality debate

    NEW DELHI: Broadband India Forum (BIF) has put its weight behind proposals to regulate OTT services, saying they too should be guided by same principles as ISPs and telecom service providers (TSP).

    “There  should be level playing field between the ISP/TSPs  and the OTT players. OTT players need to be brought under the same regulatory regime as the ISP/TSPs,” BIF has said in a submission on a pre-consultation paper on Net Neutrality to telecoms and broadcast regulator TRAI. 

    TRAI has been seeking comments since March 2015 from stakeholders on the issue of Net Neutrality and related matters like OTT, zero-rating plans and possible regulations.

    Since last year, several such papers have been issued by the regulator in an effort to finalise recommendations that could possibly go on to become industry regulations. BIF briefly alluded to this “piecemeal approach and not addressing the larger subject in one go” as this was fuelling ambiguities.

    Batting for plans like zero-rating offered by some Indian telcos earlier and Facebook’s FreeBasic — since then outlawed by TRAI — the Forum says, “At our stage of development, our highest need is internet adoption and increased data usage and whatever facilitates that, needs to be heartily supported”.

    Free Data should be permitted and it should be left to the service providers (ISP/TSPs) to decide whether they want to enter into such arrangement with the content providers or not basis their business case and requirement of technical development, BIF says.

    In India, OTT services are flowering every day, keeping in step with Asian trends.

    Some OTT services, available in India, include Star’s Hotstar, Zee’s dittotv, Viacom18’s Voot, Sony’s SonyLiv, Arre, Times group’s Box TV, Asian companies-owned Hooq and Viu and global giants like Netflix, apart from the likes of WhatsApp, Skype, YouTube and Hike. 

    No ex-ante regulation is required since there is enough competition and the market is vibrant enough, says the Forum, adding in case of violations, on ex-post basis, TRAI can examine tariff plans on a case by case basis after giving a reasonable opportunity to the operators of being heard.

    Dwelling on the economics of  broadband infrastructure, BIF highlights  efficient services would require investments up to Rs 500,000 crore over the next 3-5 years. Moreover, as per Government commitments, the Digital India initiative itself will require investments to the tune of  Rs. 113,000 crore.

    “It was the flexibility of service pricing that was permitted to the TSPs that led to mass adoption of voice services. A similar approach is warranted for ensuring adoption of data services. However, entrepreneurs are reluctant to start a new Internet based businesses when online customers are limited due to low adoption of data services,” BIF has said, adding that consumers are unwilling to invest in “expensive data plans” in the absence of adequate local content.

    Interestingly, BIF’s stand that telecoms is a capital–intensive sector where government mandates may hamper private investments, in some way, is also echoed by Hong Kong-based Asian organisation CASBAA.

    “We do not believe TRAI or the government should adopt policies that result in reducing or rationing of funds for (telecom) network investment. Advocates of `networks for all, open to all’ sometimes tend to forget that capable networks are costly, and they will not build themselves,” CASBAA had said in its submission to TRAI on Net Neutrality last year.

    Cautioning against replicating some existing regulation that may impede innovation, CASBAA had said TRAI and the government must avoid seeing the online content industry as another facet of the mature television content supply industry, ripe for extension of the same regulatory approaches governing the “traditional” TV industry. 

    “This would be a colossal mistake, especially at this new stage of development of online content supply in India. Overregulation will constrain development of newer business models which could be of great benefit to consumers and to India’s overall economic development,” the Asian industry organisation had said, hinting that a holistic view needs to be taken by regulators.

    Similarly, BIF in its recent submission has said the question of modernization of communications regulation…should be reviewed holistically and periodically to ensure same services are treated in a technologically neutral way, while protecting consumer rights and achieving the objectives of Digital India.

    The Forum has taken the initiative to define Net Neutrality in the Indian context and some key characteristics of Net Neutrality, amongst others, as:

    – No Blocking
    – No Throttling
    – Open Internet
    – No improper  prioritization (paid or otherwise)
    – Open, easy and non-discriminatory access
    – Recognition of at least four categories  of traffic and different traffic management techniques for different categories but having the same within each category
    – Equitable regulatory treatment of similar or near-similar services
    – Permission of zero rating systems.  

    (1 USD = 67.4874 INR)

  • BIF bats for OTT regulations & level-playing field for all in Net Neutrality debate

    BIF bats for OTT regulations & level-playing field for all in Net Neutrality debate

    NEW DELHI: Broadband India Forum (BIF) has put its weight behind proposals to regulate OTT services, saying they too should be guided by same principles as ISPs and telecom service providers (TSP).

    “There  should be level playing field between the ISP/TSPs  and the OTT players. OTT players need to be brought under the same regulatory regime as the ISP/TSPs,” BIF has said in a submission on a pre-consultation paper on Net Neutrality to telecoms and broadcast regulator TRAI. 

    TRAI has been seeking comments since March 2015 from stakeholders on the issue of Net Neutrality and related matters like OTT, zero-rating plans and possible regulations.

    Since last year, several such papers have been issued by the regulator in an effort to finalise recommendations that could possibly go on to become industry regulations. BIF briefly alluded to this “piecemeal approach and not addressing the larger subject in one go” as this was fuelling ambiguities.

    Batting for plans like zero-rating offered by some Indian telcos earlier and Facebook’s FreeBasic — since then outlawed by TRAI — the Forum says, “At our stage of development, our highest need is internet adoption and increased data usage and whatever facilitates that, needs to be heartily supported”.

    Free Data should be permitted and it should be left to the service providers (ISP/TSPs) to decide whether they want to enter into such arrangement with the content providers or not basis their business case and requirement of technical development, BIF says.

    In India, OTT services are flowering every day, keeping in step with Asian trends.

    Some OTT services, available in India, include Star’s Hotstar, Zee’s dittotv, Viacom18’s Voot, Sony’s SonyLiv, Arre, Times group’s Box TV, Asian companies-owned Hooq and Viu and global giants like Netflix, apart from the likes of WhatsApp, Skype, YouTube and Hike. 

    No ex-ante regulation is required since there is enough competition and the market is vibrant enough, says the Forum, adding in case of violations, on ex-post basis, TRAI can examine tariff plans on a case by case basis after giving a reasonable opportunity to the operators of being heard.

    Dwelling on the economics of  broadband infrastructure, BIF highlights  efficient services would require investments up to Rs 500,000 crore over the next 3-5 years. Moreover, as per Government commitments, the Digital India initiative itself will require investments to the tune of  Rs. 113,000 crore.

    “It was the flexibility of service pricing that was permitted to the TSPs that led to mass adoption of voice services. A similar approach is warranted for ensuring adoption of data services. However, entrepreneurs are reluctant to start a new Internet based businesses when online customers are limited due to low adoption of data services,” BIF has said, adding that consumers are unwilling to invest in “expensive data plans” in the absence of adequate local content.

    Interestingly, BIF’s stand that telecoms is a capital–intensive sector where government mandates may hamper private investments, in some way, is also echoed by Hong Kong-based Asian organisation CASBAA.

    “We do not believe TRAI or the government should adopt policies that result in reducing or rationing of funds for (telecom) network investment. Advocates of `networks for all, open to all’ sometimes tend to forget that capable networks are costly, and they will not build themselves,” CASBAA had said in its submission to TRAI on Net Neutrality last year.

    Cautioning against replicating some existing regulation that may impede innovation, CASBAA had said TRAI and the government must avoid seeing the online content industry as another facet of the mature television content supply industry, ripe for extension of the same regulatory approaches governing the “traditional” TV industry. 

    “This would be a colossal mistake, especially at this new stage of development of online content supply in India. Overregulation will constrain development of newer business models which could be of great benefit to consumers and to India’s overall economic development,” the Asian industry organisation had said, hinting that a holistic view needs to be taken by regulators.

    Similarly, BIF in its recent submission has said the question of modernization of communications regulation…should be reviewed holistically and periodically to ensure same services are treated in a technologically neutral way, while protecting consumer rights and achieving the objectives of Digital India.

    The Forum has taken the initiative to define Net Neutrality in the Indian context and some key characteristics of Net Neutrality, amongst others, as:

    – No Blocking
    – No Throttling
    – Open Internet
    – No improper  prioritization (paid or otherwise)
    – Open, easy and non-discriminatory access
    – Recognition of at least four categories  of traffic and different traffic management techniques for different categories but having the same within each category
    – Equitable regulatory treatment of similar or near-similar services
    – Permission of zero rating systems.  

    (1 USD = 67.4874 INR)

  • Pay channel’s a la carte rate to not exceed two times its RIO rate: TRAI

    Pay channel’s a la carte rate to not exceed two times its RIO rate: TRAI

    NEW DELHI: The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) today said that the a la carte rate of a pay channel forming part of a bouquet offered by any digital platform should not exceed two times its RIO order rate offered by the broadcaster for addressable systems.

     

    TRAI also said that the sum of a la carte rates of all channels in the bouquet should not exceed three times the bouquet rate. 

     

    This applies to all multi-system operators (MSOs), direct to home (DTH) operators, internet protocol service (ISP) providers and Headend in the Sky (HITS) operators providing broadcasting services or cable service to its subscribers using a digital addressable system (DAS) and offers pay channels or pay and free-to-air (FTA) channels as part of a bouquet.

     

    These provisions are contained in the draft Telecommunication (Broadcasting and Cable) Services (fourth) (Addressable Systems) Tariff (Amendment order), 2015 that TRAI has prepared consequent to an order of the Telecom Disputes Settlement and Arbitration Tribunal (TDSAT) of 13 July.

     

    TRAI has also given the definitions of RIO and RIO rates in the draft, to which comments can be filed by 14 October with counter-comments if any, by 21 October.

     

    TRAI defines “RIO” as Reference Interconnect Offer published by a service provider specifying terms and conditions on which other service providers may seek interconnection from the service provider making the offer. On the other hand, “RIO rate” is the rate specified by the service provider in its Reference Interconnect Offer.

     

    The a-la-carte rates of all the channels offered by the service provider should be same for all the bouquet of channels formed by the service provider.

     

    The matter had gone to TDSAT as some platforms had objected to the “twin conditions” that were prescribed at retail level pricing of TV broadcasting services in order to link the a-la carte rates of channels to the bouquet rates in the Tariff order of 20 September, 2013.

     

    TDSAT, while disposing off the appeal vide its order of 13 July, stated that the Authority will consider the concerns of the appellants and take a final decision on the matter within four months from the date of the order.

  • Smaller ISPs exempted from reporting requirement if subscribers number is less than 10,000

    Smaller ISPs exempted from reporting requirement if subscribers number is less than 10,000

     NEW DELHI: The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) today decided to exempt internet service providers from the tariff reporting requirement during a financial year if the total number of its subscribers is less than ten thousand (<10,000) on the last day of the preceding financial year.

     
    It also said the existing exemption given to access service providers in respect of tariff schemes offered to bulk customer in response to a tender process or as a result of negotiations between the access provider and such bulk customer has been extended to the ISPs also.

     
    These directives came in the 59th Amendment to the Telecommunication Tariff Order (TTO) 1999.

     
    The amendment said exemption from tariff reporting requirement granted to the small ISPs did not mean that the regulatory principles, guidelines, etc. would not apply to them.

     
    However, keeping in view the small size of operations and resultant turnover of these small ISPs, the Authority feels that it is quite unlikely that these small-sized ISPs would violate the regulatory principles sought to be achieved by way of tariff reporting, especially in the competitive environment. Further, such exemption would help the small ISPs in reducing their compliance costs and once they achieve a subscriber base of 10,000 they will come under the ambit of tariff reporting requirement.

     
    In an explanatory memorandum to the Amendment, TRAI said clause 7 of the Telecommunication Tariff Order 1999 stipulated that all service providers shall comply with the reporting requirement in respect of tariffs specified for the first time and also all subsequent changes; provided that in respect of tariff plans offered by a telecom access provider to bulk customers, such as corporates, small and medium enterprises, institutions, etc. either in response to a tender process or as a result of negotiations between the access provider and such bulk customer, the reporting requirement shall not apply.

     
    The reporting requirement has been defined in clause 2 (l) of TTO 1999 as obligation of a service provider to report to the Authority, any new tariff for telecommunication  services    and/  or  any  changes  therein  within  seven working  days  from  the  date  of  implementation  of  the  said  tariff  for information and record of the Authority after conducting a self-check to ensure that the tariff plan(s) is/are consistent with the regulatory principles in all respects which inter-alia includes IUC compliance, non-discrimination and non-predation.

     
    The amendment followed comments received from ISPs to a draft amendment released by the Regulator in September.

     

    Click here to read the full amendment

    Click here to read the press release