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Tag: Telecom Regulatory Authority of India

  • TRAI’s final recommendations on net neutrality likely by September

    NEW DELHI: India’s telecoms and broadcast regulator Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) is expected to come out with its final recommendations on net neutrality next month.

    TRAI chairman R S Sharma told indiantelevision.com  that after detailed discussions were held in Bengaluru last month on the consultation paper on Net Neutrality (NN) issued mid-2016, a similar round has been fixed for 30 August 2017 in Delhi after which TRAI will begin work on its final recommendations to ensure national security and customer privacy.

    However, the issue of NN has different meanings in different parts of the globe and depends on how regulators view the issue in terms of their own markets. For example, the present FCC chairman Ajit Pai is in favour of repealing of a regulatory framework that allowed his predecessor to establish robust rules of the road for the internet and is in the process of dismantling the previous regime’s regulatory framework for NN. In Asia too, NN is defined and regulated differently and there is no uniform approach to the issue.

    One of the chief arguments for Net Neutrality, senior tech journalists have argued, is that without rules in place, the internet could well grow into a system of tiers, akin to cable television, in which large content companies would dominate because of their ability to pay for better access to consumers.

    Asked whether the tariff order — which has been in suspended animation for few months now owing to some stakeholders moving Indian courts against its implementation — will come into effect on 2 September 2017, Sharma refused to commit anything as the matter would be subject to the outcome of court decisions.

    Referring to a paper on data protection, he said the present aim was only to start a discussion on the subject. He denied that the consultation paper had anything to do with the controversy around Apple refusing to cooperate on certain demands of the Indian regulator or had been prompted by it. “In fact, the controversy had been kicked off just over a week earlier whereas the paper had been under preparation earlier,” Sharma said.

    Elaborating on TRAI’s guiding principles, the chairman said that the organisation issues a paper or initiates a public debate or comes out with recommendations  for “transparency, (to) ensure non-discrimination, consumer protection, industry’s growth and encourage positive competition.”

    At a time when online piracy and theft of online data is gaining momentum in India, as also criticism of the country’s lack of a comprehensive legislation to protect data, including those mentioned in Adhaar, Sharma said TRAI has taken all the necessary steps to protect consumer data that it collects via its various apps.

    Though Sharma refused to be drawn into the online piracy issue (largely that falls under the domain of Commerce Ministry), he did say that inter-operable set top boxes, being tested by some government organisations in collaboration with TRAI, had provisions for dealing with pirated software.

    When questioned about the permission granted to Tamil Nadu government owned Arasu to distribute digital TV signals and consequent leanings towards similar set-up in the states of Telangana and Punjab, Sharma said the Authority had thrice given recommendations advising that state governments and political or religious groups should not be permitted to enter the broadcasting sector. “We still stand by those recommendations. But the ministry (MIB) has said the recommendations were under consideration,” he added.  

    He agreed that technologies were converging and said that regulations, attitude and outlook will “soon have to move in that direction.”

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  • TRAI begins work on data protection and government’s role

    NEW DELHI: Noting that there is a global trend in the creation of new services on the basis of data which provide significant value to customers, and businesses, the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India today issued a consultation paper on ‘Privacy, Security and Ownership of the Data in the Telecom Sector’.

    The paper describes data protection as the legal control over access to and use of data stored in the digital format, and the ability of individuals to understand and control the manner in which information pertaining to them can be accessed and used by others. It may also be considered as a process of safeguarding digital information from corruption and or loss.

    While posing twelve questions, the Authority has asked stakeholders to respond by 8 September with counter-comments if any by 22 September 2017.

    (indiantelevision.com had reported that TRAI chairman R S Sharma had indicated this paper would be issued in a day or two.)

    TRAI says it is important to establish the ownership of the data. For instance, if the data is recognized as belonging to the user to whom it pertains, then this data becomes available for use by them to better their own lives. This brings in the dimension of empowerment to the user.

    It says the government should enable the industry to grow by way of creation of newer services. The country may be at risk of falling behind, if action is not taken to encourage the creation of such businesses. This could be done through enabling newer players to bring in innovative services, while also ensuring a level playing field. There are two equally critical steps to do so. The first is Data Portability – the ability to extract all user data from a service, and share it with another- and the second is to create anonymized, public data sets, which can be used as a test bed by newer service providers.

    The rapid evolution of telecommunications services in India has aided the overall economic and social development of the country and enabled better connectivity among users, increasing use of information and communication technology (ICT) services and emergence of a variety of new business models. There is also a quantum leap in the quantity and value of data that is being generated through the use of modern communication services. Each step of a user’s interaction with ICT services, whether through traditional telecom services, Internet services, devices, applications or other forms of content, results in the generation of large amounts of data.

    Reports indicate that 90 percent of the data in the world today has been created in the last two years alone with new data being added to this pool at the rate of approximately 2.5 quintillion bytes of data every day. Data collection, storage and analytics have therefore become widely used tools that allow businesses to monetise their products and services and gain a competitive advantage over other providers. Data is collected by various businesses and agencies as a by-product of the user’s interactions with them. This data is then retained by the business, and used to its advantage.

    At the same time, various Government agencies also benefit greatly from the generation of vast amount of data, which acts as an enabler for more efficient delivery of services and prevention and handling of crimes.

    The focus is on the issue of informational privacy, which forms a subset of the broader concept of ‘privacy’ that encompasses many other philosophical, psychological, sociological, economic and political perspectives.

    The rationale for government intervention in this sphere arises on account of three key reasons to prevent harm to consumers. First, there is often an information asymmetry between the consumer and the data user on account of the under-estimation by consumers about the value of their personal data and ignorance about the scale and use of the data being collected and its use. The ability of data collectors to unilaterally change their privacy policies also contributes to this asymmetry.

    Second is the problem of bounded rationality, which often leads consumers to underestimate the long term consequences of their actions while consenting to share their personal information in the course of availing specific products or services.

    Third is the problem of a data monopoly. Since the service providers, through the provision of service generate and hold the data, it gives them an advantage, which they can use to get into adjacencies (and thus extending their monopoly). This results in harm to the market. The government or its authorized agency may take steps to make this data portable, under the control of the user, thus enabling the creation of newer services. The technical standards for this purpose may have to be defined in this case.

    The questions posed are:

    Q.1 Are the data protection requirements currently applicable to all the players in the eco-system in India sufficient to protect the interests of telecom subscribers? What are the additional measures, if any, that need to be considered in this regard?

    Q. 2 In light of recent advances in technology, what changes, if any, are recommended to the definition of personal data? Should the User’s consent be taken before sharing his/her personal data for commercial purposes? What are the measures that should be considered in order to empower users to own and take control of his/her personal data? In particular, what are the new capabilities that must be granted to consumers over the use of their personal data?

    Q.3 What should be the rights and responsibilities of the Data Controllers? Can the rights of Data Controller supersede the rights of an Individual over his/her Personal Data? Suggest a mechanism for regulating and governing the Data Controllers.

    Q. 4 Given the fears related to abuse of this data, is it advisable to create a technology enabled architecture to audit the use of personal data, and associated consent? Will an audit-based mechanism provide sufficient visibility for the government or its authorized authority to prevent harm? Can the industry create a sufficiently capable workforce of auditors who can take on these responsibilities?

    Q. 5 What, if any, are the measures that must be taken to encourage the creation of new data based businesses consistent with the overall framework of data protection?

    Q.6 Should government or its authorized authority setup a data sandbox, which allows the regulated companies to create anonymized data sets which can be used for the development of newer services?

    Q. 7 How can the government or its authorized authority setup a technology solution that can assist it in monitoring the ecosystem for compliance? What are the attributes of such a solution that allow the regulations to keep pace with a changing technology ecosystem?

    Q. 8 What are the measures that should be considered in order to strengthen and preserve the safety and security of telecommunications infrastructure and the digital ecosystem as a whole?

    Q. 9 What are the key issues of data protection pertaining to the collection and use of data by various other stakeholders in the digital ecosystem, including content and application service providers, device manufacturers, operating systems, browsers, etc? What mechanisms need to be put in place in order to address these issues?

    Q. 10 Is there a need for bringing about greater parity in the data protection norms applicable to TSPs and other communication service providers offering comparable services (such as Internet based voice and messaging services). What are the various options that may be considered in this regard?

    Q. 11 What should be the legitimate exceptions to the data protection requirements imposed on TSPs and other providers in the digital ecosystem and how should these be designed? In particular, what are the checks and balances that need to be considered in the context of lawful surveillance and law enforcement requirements?

    Q.12 What are the measures that can be considered in order to address the potential issues arising from cross border flow of information and jurisdictional challenges in the digital ecosystem?

    Also Read: TRAI to discuss IPR of data generated on apps

  • TRAI to discuss IPR of data generated on apps

    NEW DELHI: The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India is expected to issue a consultation paper on the right of ownership of data generated on smartphones in the next two or three days.

    This was indicated by TRAI Chairman R S Sharma at a meet on Create4India organized by Digital India Foundation.

    He told mediapersons that a lage amount of data is generated every minute on various apps.

    The paper is expected to raise questions on whether the data generated on smartphones belongs to the person who generates, or the person who receives the data.

    The matter gains urgency in view of complaints about messages sent by people though apps on their phones.

    The issue also relates to intellectual property rights (IPR).

  • Wireless b’band data speed ideas date extended

    NEW DELHI: With stakeholders saying that various technical and network issues are involved, the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India has once again extended the last date for views on ensuring transparency and customer awareness regarding data speeds under wireless broadband plans.

    Stakeholders can now give their comments by 10 August and counter-comments by 24 August 2017.

    In a Consultation Paper on ‘Data Speed under Wireless Broadband Plans’ early last month, TRAI had also suggested various tools that may be deployed for measuring data speeds.

    At the outset, it had said the National Telecom Policy of 2012 (NTP-2012) has the vision of Broadband on Demand and envisages leveraging telecom infrastructure to enable all citizens and businesses, both in rural and urban areas, to participate in the Internet and web economy thereby ensuring equitable and inclusive development across the nation. It provides the enabling framework for enhancing India’s competitiveness in all spheres of the economy.

    The questions raised in the paper, which discusses the various initiatives that have been taken by the Authority in relation to broadband speeds in India and their current status and provides a summary of the international experience on similar issues, are:

    Q1: Is the information on wireless broadband speeds currently being made available to consumers is transparent enough for making informed choices?

    Q2: If it is difficult to commit a minimum download speed, then could average speed be specified by the service providers? What should be the parameters for calculating average speed?

    Q3: What changes can be brought about to the existing framework on wireless broadband tariff plans to encourage better transparency and comparison between plans offered by different service providers?

    Q4: Is there a need to include/delete any of the QoS parameters and/or revise any of the  benchmarks currently stipulated in the Regulations?

    Q5: Should disclosure of average network performance over a period of time or at peak times including through broadband facts/labels be made mandatory?

    Q6: Should standard application/ websites be identified for mandating comparable disclosures about network speeds?

    Q7: What are the products/technologies that can be used to measure actual end-user experience on mobile broadband networks? At what level should the measurements take place (e.g., on the 26 device, network node)?

    Q8: Are there any legal, security, privacy or data sensitivity issues with collecting device level data?

    a) If so, how can these issues be addressed? b) Do these issues create a challenge for the adoption of any measurement tools?

    Q9: What measures can be taken to increase awareness among consumers about wireless broadband speeds, availability of various technological tools to monitor them and any potential concerns that may arise in the process?

    Also read:

    Wireless b’band speed: TRAI invites transparency & customer awareness ideas

  • Broadband subs growth slows further, wireline broadband loses subs

    BENGALURU: The growth of broadband subscribers has been slowing over the past few months. Telecom Regulatory Authority of India data for the month of May 2017 (as on 31 May 2017) indicates that wireless internet subscribers increased by just 0.22 percent in May-17 to 272.85 million from 265.43 million in April 2017. Top five broadband internet service providers constituted 88.23 percent market share of the total broadband subscribers at the end of May-17. These service providers were Reliance JioInfocom Ltd (117.34 million), Bharti Airtel (53.30 million), Vodafone (40.43 million), Idea Cellular (24.63 million) and BSNL (21.59 million).

    As on 31 May, 2017, the top five Wireless Broadband Service providers were Reliance JioInfocomm Ltd or Jio (117.34 million), Bharti Airtel (51.21 million), Vodafone (40.42 million), Idea Cellular (24.63 million) and Reliance Communications (14.46 million). Month-on-Month (MoM) growth in May-17 as compared to April-17 was:

    Please refer to the figures below:

    public://111111111111111_0.jpg

    Overall growth of mobile broadband subscribers in May-17 with respect to April-17 was: 3.12 percent; Jiogrew by 4.2 percent; Airtel grew by 2.07 percent; Vodafone by 1.69 percent; Idea Cellular by 2.24 percent and Reliance Communications grew by 3.29 percent. The upside of the growth numbers was that both Idea Cellular and Reliance Communications witnessed positive subscriber growth in May-17 as opposed to de-growth in the previous month (April-17) as compared to March-17.

    public://22222222222222_1.jpg

    In the meantime, wired broadband internet subscribers declined 0.11 percent in May-17 to 18.23 million from 18.25 million in April-17. As on 31 May, 2017, the top five Wired Broadband Service providers were BSNL (9.80 million), Bharti Airtel (2.09 million), Atria Convergence Technologies (1.20 million), MTNL (0.99 million) and You Broadband (0.64 million). Among the top 5 wired broadband internet service providers the government run providers – Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL) and Mahanagar Telecom Nigam Limited (MTNL) lost subscribers, Airtel saw no change, while the minnows ACT and You Broadband both gained subscribers in May17 as compared to April 17

    public://33333333333.jpg

    In CY-17 until May-17, ACT has added the largest number of wired internet subscribers at 80,000, followed by Airtel with 50,000 additions. You BB added 40,000 subscribers, while BSNL lost 150,000 and MTNL lost 50,000 subscribers during the same period.

    Notes: (1) The Indian numbering system or the Vedic numbering system has been used at some places in this paper/charts to denote numerical values. The basic conversion to the international norm would be:
    (a) 100,00,000 = 100 lakh = 10,000,000 = 10 million = 1 crore.
    (b) 10,000 lakh = 100 crore = 1 arab = 1 billion.

    (2) TRAI reports indicate data in millions of numbers up to 2 decimal places. Hence it is assumed in this report that a figure of 0.51 million (5.1 lakh) subscribers for You BB for Dec-2015 would be granular to the nearest 10,000. While percentages have been mentioned up to two decimal places, the accuracy may vary, depending upon the exact number.
     (3) MSOs’ have a number of subsidiaries and alliances, hence broadband numbers are split as applicable. The consolidated subscription numbers of these entities could be larger. Hathway is a case in point.

     

  • ACT still leads in wired sub addition, Idea & BSNL lose wireless subs

    BENGALURU: Atria Convergence Technologies Pvt. Ltd (ACT) continued to lead in wired broadband internet subscribers additions in calendar year 2017 (CY-17) until 30April 2017 (Apr-17) as per data released by the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI). ACT added 70,000 subscribers, of which 20,000 were added inApril 2017 followed by Indian telecom major Bharti Airtel Limited (Airtel) and You Broadband which added 10,000 subscribers each during the same period.

    The MukeshDhirubhaiAmbani led Reliance Industries Limited juggernaut Reliance JioInfocom Limited (Jio) continued as the company with the largest wireless broadband internet subscriber base in the country – all of it being wireless so far. Having overtaken the incumbent biggest wireless broad band internet player until Oct-16, Airtel, Jio had a subscriber base of 112.55 million (1125.5 lakh) in Apr-17. Its peers in the wireless internet space – Idea and BSNLbled subscribers. Idea Cellular lost 2.95 million (29.5 lakh) subscribers in the month of April 2017, while BSNL lost 1.22 million (12.2 lakh) subscribers during the same period.

    1.1 lakh (0.11 million) wired broadband internet subscribers were added in CY-17 as per TRAI data. Among the wireline ISP’s,BSNL is the biggest player by far with 99.7 lakh subscribers. BSNL lost 10,000 wired broadband subscribers in CY-17.The second largest wireline ISP in India is Airtel, which closed Apr-17 with 20.9 lakh wireline subscribers, after adding just 10,000 subscribers to its wireline internet subscriber base during Apr-17 and 50,000 in CY-17. The third largest wireline broadband internet services provider was regional private player ACT Broadband with a subscriber base of 11.9 lakh at the end of Apr-18. The government run Mahanagar Sanchar Nigam Limited (MTNL) lost 40,000 subscribers in CY-17 and had a subscriber base of 10 lakh at the end of Apr-17. The fifth player in the list of top five wireline broadband internet service providers in the country is another regional player – You Broadband or You BB. The minnow’s subscriber base grew by 10,000 to 0.63 million (6.3 lakh) in Apr-17 vis-à-vis Mar-17. Please refer to the figure below:

    public://F1_11.jpg

    The wireless broadband internet subscriber basein India in CY-17 grew 22.12 percent (48.07 million) from 217.36million to 265.43million in Apr-17.  It was 251.71 million in Mar-17. During the same period, the wireless broadband subscriber base of the top five service providers grew by 52.09 million, indicating in general that though the overall wireless subscriber base grew,  a number of subscribers switched loyalties and moved to 4 of the 5 top players – (Idea  Cellular has lost subscribers, the other 4 players have gained in CY-2017).

    The top five service wireless internet service providers subscriber base grew 3.44 percent (52.9 million) between Mar-17 and Apr-17. The top five wireless service providers constituted 88.04 percent market share (87.48 percent in Mar-17) of the total broadband subscribers at the end of Apr-17. These service providers were Jio(112.55 million), Airtel (52.25 million), Vodafone (39.76 million), Idea Cellular (24.09 million) and BSNL (21.58 million).

    Please refer to the figure below for subscriber base of top 5 wireless broadband internet service providers:

    public://F2_4.jpg

    Among the top 5 wireless broadband internet services providers in the country, Jio has shown the highest growth. Please refer to the figure below for growth of top 5 wireless broadband internet service providers in the country:

    public://F3.jpg

    Notes: (1) The Indian numbering system or the Vedic numbering system has been used at some places in this paper/charts to denote numerical values. The basic conversion to the international norm would be:
    (a) 100,00,000 = 100 lakh = 10,000,000 = 10 million = 1 crore.
    (b) 10,000 lakh = 100 crore = 1 arab = 1 billion.

    (2) TRAI reports indicate data in millions of numbers up to 2 decimal places. Hence it is assumed in this report that a figure of 0.51 million (5.1 lakh) subscribers for You BB for Dec-2015 would be granular to the nearest 10,000. While percentages have been mentioned up to two decimal places, the accuracy may vary, depending upon the exact number.
     (3) MSOs’ have a number of subsidiaries and alliances, hence broadband numbers are split as applicable. The consolidated subscription numbers of these entities could be larger. Hathway is a case in point.

     

  • ACT leads in wired subs adds, Jiojuggernaut marches on

    BENGALURU: Atria Convergence Technologies Pvt. Ltd (ACT) leads in wired broadband internet subscribers additions in calendar year 2017 (CY-17) until 31 March 2017 (Mar-17) as per data released by the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI). ACT has added 50,000 subscribers, of which 30,000 were added in March 2017 followed by Indian telecom major Bharti Airtel Limited (Airtel) which added 40,000 subscribers during the same period. The MukeshDhirubhaiAmbani led Reliance Industries Limited juggernaut Reliance JioInfocom Limited (Jio) continued as the company with the largest wireless broadband internet subscriber base in the country – all of it being wireless so far. Having overtaken the incumbent biggest wireless broad band internet player until Oct-16, Airtel, Jio had a subscriber base of 108.68 million (1086.8 lakh) in Mar-17.

    One lakh (0.1 million) wired broadband internet subscribers were added in CY-17 as per TRAI data. Among the wireline ISP’s,BSNL is the biggest player by far with 99.8 lakh subscribers. BSNL added 30,000 wired broadband subscribers in CY-17.The second largest wireline ISP in India is Airtel which closed Mar-17 with 20.8 lakh wireline subscribers, after adding just 10,000 subscribers to its wireline internet subscriber base during Mar-17 and as mentioned above, 40,000 in CY-17. The third largest wireline broadband internet services provider was regional private player ACT Broadband with a subscriber base of 11.7 lakh at the end of Mar-18. The government run Mahanagar Sanchar Nigam Limited (MTNL) lost 30,000 subscribers in CY-17and had a subscriber base of 10.1 lakh at the end of Mar-17. The fifth player in the list of top five wireline broadband internet service providers in the country is another regional player – You Broadband or You BB. There was no change in the minnow’s subscriber base of 6.2 lakh in Mar-17 vis-à-vis Feb-17. Please refer to the figure below:

    public://act1.jpg

    The wireless broadband internet subscriber base of the top 5 service providers grew by 22.09 percent (437.6lakh) in CY-17 from 1981.4 lakh to 2419 lakh in Mar-17. The top five service wireless internet service providers subscriber base grew 6.7 percent (151.9 lakh) between Feb-17 and Mar-17. 
    The top five wireless service providers constituted 87.48 percent market share of the totalbroadband subscribers at the end of Mar-17. These service providerswere Jio(108.68 million), Airtel (49.13million or 491.3 lakh), Vodafone (37.72 million or 377.2 lakh), Idea Cellular (24.70 millionor 247 lakh) and BSNL(21.67 or 216.7million).Jio added 35.52 million or 355.2 lakh (50.61 percent growth in CY-17 subscribers in CY-17 and 5.84 or 58.4 lakh (5.68 percent growth in Mar-17) subscribers in Mar-17.

    Please refer to the figure below for All India wireless subscriber base and subscriber base of top 5 wireless broadband internet service providers:

    public://act2.jpg

    Among the top 5 wireless broadband internet services providers in the country, Jio has shown the highest growth. Please refer to the figure below for growth of top 5 wireless broadband internet service providers in the country:

    public://act3.jpg

    Notes: (1) The unit of currency in this report is the Indian rupee – Rs (also conventionally represented by INR). The Indian numbering system or the Vedic numbering system has been used to denote money values. The basic conversion to the international norm would be:
    (a) 100,00,000 = 100 lakh = 10,000,000 = 10 million = 1 crore.
    (b) 10,000 lakh = 100 crore = 1 arab = 1 billion.

    (2) TRAI reports indicate data in millions of numbers up to 2 decimal places. Hence it is assumed in this report that a figure of 0.51 million (5.1 lakh) subscribers for You BB for Dec-2015 would be granular to the nearest 10,000. While percentages have been mentioned up to two decimal places, the accuracy may vary, depending upon the exact number.

     (3) MSOs’ have a number of subsidiaries and alliances, hence broadband numbers are split as applicable. The consolidated subscription numbers of these entities could be larger. Hathway is a case in point.

  • TRAI: FM Radio ad revenue moved up in third quarter

    BENGALURU: After the slump in advertisement revenues by private FM radio stations in the quarters ended 30 June 2016 (Q1-17) and 31 March 2016 (Q4-17), the trend seems have been changed, albeit marginally for Q2-17 (quarter ended 30 September 2016)  and Q3-17 (quarter ended 31 December 2017) according to the data released by The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI).

    According to TRAI data for Q3-17, radio combined ad revenues reported by 272 of the 273 private operating FM radio stations were Rs546.72 crore or an average of Rs2.01 lakh per station for Q3-17. This washigher than the average of Rs 1.94 crore per station (combined revenue Rs502.13 crore from 259 stations)for the immediate trailing quarter. Q3-17 ad revenue was however short by about Rs12 lakh per station as compared to the corresponding year ago quarter for which TRAI reported combined ad revenue of Rs533.7 crore from 240 radio stations (Average revenue per station of Rs2.22 crore per station). As a matter of fact, in Q2-16, the average revenue per station was highest at Rs 2.22 crore during the period commencing from end Q1-12 until the current quarter.

    Please refer to the Figure below for FM Radio Ad Revenue over a five year plus period spanning a 23 quarter period starting with the quarter ended 30 June 2011 (Q1-12) until the quarter ended 31 December 2016 (Q2-17) as per TRAI data. The amounts are in Rs crore and rounded off to the nearest decimal place in the case of combined ad revenue and two decimal places in the case of Average Revenue per station.

    public://4444444444.jpg

    In absolute terms, combined Radio ad revenue in Q3-17 increased 8.9 percent and 3.4 percent year-over-year (y-o-y, as compared to the corresponding quarter of the previous year) and quarter-over-quarter (q-o-q, immediate trailing quarter) respectively. Average revenue per station in the current quarter declined 9.6 percent y-o-y, but increased 3.7 percent q-o-q. The total number of stations in Q3-17 increased 13.3 percent y-o-y and 5 percent q-o-q.

    Please refer to Figure B for y-o-y and q-o-q changes

    public://5555555555.jpg

    Thirteen new private FM stations commenced operations to take the total number of stations at close of 31 December 2017 to 273 in the third quarter of 2017 according to TRAI. At the close of Q2-17 (previous quarter), there were 260 private FM stations operating in the country.

    Here’s two of the major radio networks’ performed in Q3-17

    One of the biggest players in the private FM radio business – Entertainment Network India Limited that runs the Radio Mirchi network among others, reported 4.9 percent y-o-y increase in consolidated Total Income from Operations or revenue (TIO) for Q3-17 of Rs 150.65 crore for the current quarter as compared to Rs 143.57 crore in the corresponding quarter of the previous fiscal. Q-o-q, revenue in Q3-17 also increased 16.2 percent from Rs 129.65 crore in Q2-17.The company’s consolidated profit after tax (PAT) in Q3-17 declined by 43.1 percent year-over-year (y-o-y) to Rs16.42 crore (10.9 percent margin) as compared to Rs28.86 crore (20.1 percent margin) and more than doubled (increased 2.18 times) q-o-q from Rs 8.05 crore (6.2 percent margin).

    Commenting on the results, ENILmanaging director and chief executive officer, Prashant Pandaysaid, “We are poised on the cusp of a strong growth curve with the LoveNetwork – 8 ‘Mirchi Love’ channels of our own and 3 ‘Ishq FM’ channels of TV Today –now fully operational. This network, along with the original ‘Mirchi’ network, now comprising 42 channels, offer advertisers the widest coverage across the country. With thegovernment soon to announce the results of the second batch of auctions held recently, we willgrow even bigger. These are exciting times!”

    Another player, DB Corp’s MY FM radio network which encompassed 26 live stations with the launch of nine new stations during Q2-17 and Q3-17 reported revenue increase in Q3-17 of 12.4 percent to Rs 36.32 crore as compared to Rs 32.32 crore in the corresponding year ago quarter.  DB Corp’s earnings press release said that its radio business operating profit (EBIDTA) grew 3 percent y-o-y to Rs 14.8 crore (41 percent margin), while profit after tax (PAT) also increased 3 percent y-o-y to Rs 8.1 crore (22 percent margin).

    Unlike most of the other players in the media and entertainment, the major players of the radio industry were not as affected by the government’s demonetisation drive that commenced on November 8, 2016. With more stations to roll, the industry’s ad revenues can only grow.

     

  • TRAI’s Plan-corpus fund growth lower due to lesser govt grant in FY-16

    BENGALURU: The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India reported its financial results for the year ended 31 March 2016 (FY-16). The regulator received 50.83 percent lower Plan grant from the Central Government at Rs 14.75 crore in FY-16 as compared to Rs 30 crore in the previous year. After taking into account higher Plan Total Expenditure of Rs 12.24 crore in the current year as compared to Rs 10.07 crore in FY-15, 87 percent lower surplus amount of Rs 2.52 crore in FY-16 as compared to Rs 19.34 crore in FY-15 was carried forward to its Plan-Corpus Fund. The regulator’s Plan-Corpus Fund has capital of Rs 68.66 crore at the close of FY-16.

    Non-Plan Central Government grant however in the current year was 34.7 percent higher in FY-16 at Rs 55.89 crore as compared to Rs 41.50 crore in the previous crore. After 13.75 percent higher non-plan total expenditure of Rs 54.58 crore in FY-16 as compared to Rs 47.98 crore in FY-15, 70.2 percent higher surplus amount of Rs 16.19 crore in FY-16 as compared to Rs 9.52 crore in FY-15 was carried over to the non-plan Corpus Fund. TRAI’s non-plan Corpus Fund capital stood at Rs 38.79 crore at the end or FY-16.

    TRAI’s Establishment Expense, which consists mainly of employee and employee benefits expenses, in FY-16 was 15.3 percent higher at Rs 26.03 crore as compared to Rs 22.57 crore in FY-15. Other non-plan administrative expense in FY-16 increased 13 percent to Rs 27.91 crore as compared to Rs 24.70 crore in FY-15. A major component head of TRAI’s other non-plan expense is Rents, Rates and Taxes which increased 17.1 percent in FY-16 to Rs 21.05 crore as compared to Rs 17.98 crore in FY-15.

    TRAI’s Total Non-Plan Income in FY-16 grew 23.1 percent to Rs 70.77 crore as compared to Rs 47.98 crore in FY-15. Besides the Central Government Grant, other major income heads included Customer Education Fees from Telemarketers, Penalty from Telemarketers and Financial Disincentive.

    Also Read :

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  • MIB: No DPO request for infra sharing, DTH ops’ transponder demand up

    NEW DELHI: Though there is a committed demand from DTH service providers for 68 more satellite transponders, Ministry of Information and Broadcasting (MIB) hasn’t yet received any proposal from any players to share amongst themselves satellite capacity or other distribution infrastructure.

    MIB minister M Venkaiah Naidu yesterday informed Parliament that DTH operators were presently using 104 Ku-band transponders, while there were additional needs as, according to Department of Space, demand for transponder capacity for DTH services has gone up with increase in introduction of high definition (HD) TV channels.

    The growth of usage of satellite transponders by DTH service providers in India, as listed out by MIB, over the last five years is as follows: March 2013 — 76; March 2014 — 77; March 2015 — 78; March 2016 — 87 March 2017 — 104.

    The Minister, acknowledging that sector regulator TRAI had given a set of recommendations on sharing of broadcasting infrastructure amongst players on a voluntary basis by tweaking certain rules, added that his ministry had not received any proposal from platform operators for sharing of satellite transponders and/or earth station facilities.

    The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India issued recommendations on sharing of infrastructure in television broadcasting distribution sector on 29 March 2017. These recommendations are available on TRAI’s website www.trai.gov.in.

    The objectives of these recommendations are to enable a policy environment for facilitating sharing of infrastructure in TV broadcasting distribution sector, on a voluntary basis. The sharing of the infrastructure is expected to enhance available distribution network capacities leading to reduction in capital and operative expenditure for the service providers, thereby bringing down the price of broadcasting services to subscribers.

    In addition, it would lower the entry barriers for new service providers and provide more space on broadcasting distribution networks for niche channels.

    India’s six private-sector DTH operators uplink signals of TV channels to different Indian and foreign satellites located at different orbital slots. Majority of the channels transmitted by operators are replicated across multiple platforms. This creates capacity constraints and also is a significant cost for each operator, thus making the service expensive, TRAI had observed while pushing for infrastructure sharing amongst distribution platforms.

    Hong Kong-based media industry advocacy group CASBAA in a report, issued in March 2016, had pointed that the DTH sector in India would grow in coming years as would demand for KU-band transponders and, while ISRO has been doing a commendable job, it’s unlikely to meet the market demands on Indian satellites, which will have to be provided for on foreign satellites.

    In the report, titled `Capacity crunch continues: Assessment of satellite transponders’ capacity for the Indian broadcast and broadband market’, CASBAA, amongst other things, had observed that to keep the vibrancy in the Indian broadcast sector alive, foreign transponder contracts need to be of longer durations (10–15 years) to allow Indian companies to leverage on cost economics and provide cost protection to DTH operators and allowing direct contracting for DTH operators to secure incremental capacity with existing satellite providers already authorized (by ITU and ISRO) to provide them service.