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Tag: Telecom Regulatory Authority of India

  • Trai extends deadline for implementation of new regulatory framework to 30 November

    Trai extends deadline for implementation of new regulatory framework to 30 November

    Mumbai: The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai) has extended the deadline for implementation of the new regulatory framework 2020 to 30 November. Earlier, it was decided to be implemented from 1 June.

    In a letter issued by Trai said, “All the broadcasters shall report to the authority, any change in name, nature, language, MRP per month of channels, and composition and MRP of bouquets of channels as per the new regulatory framework 2020, by 31 August 2022, and simultaneously publish such information on their websites. The broadcasters who have already submitted their RIOs in compliance with the new regulatory framework 2020 may also revise their RIOs by 31 August 2022.”

    All distributed platform operators (DPOs) have to report the distributed retail price (DRP) of channels and DRP of the bouquet of channels as per New Regulatory Framework 2020 by 31 September.

    “All the distributors of television channels shall ensure that services to the subscribers, with effect from 30 November 2022, are provided as per the bouquets or channels opted by them,” the letter added.

    TRAI is awaiting stakeholders’ comments and counter comments on its consultation paper regarding issues related to the new regulatory framework for broadcasting & cable services. It recently extended the deadline for comments to 13 June.

    The authority had received several representations from DPOs, local cable operators (LCO) and consumer organisations highlighting the difficulties in implementing the new regulatory framework 2020.

    Subsequently, the regulator formed a committee consisting of members from the Indian Broadcasting and Digital Foundation (IBDF), All India Digital Cable Federation (AIDCF) and DTH Association to look into the process of smooth implementation of the provisions of the new regulatory framework 2020.

  • Need to revisit licensing framework for broadband, broadcasting & IT sector: Trai’s chairman P D Vaghela

    Need to revisit licensing framework for broadband, broadcasting & IT sector: Trai’s chairman P D Vaghela

    Mumbai: Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai) chairman P D Vaghela recently in a conclave said that there is a need to revisit the licensing framework and governance structure of broadband, broadcasting and IT sector,

    Vaghela was addressing a conclave organised by the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Kanpur and Telecommunications Standards Development Society, India (TSDSI).

    He remarked that the boundaries between broadcasting and telecom industries have blurred due to the advent of digital media. The revised licensing framework should be light-touch, formulated and the government should intervene only if required.

    The chairman highlighted that multiple authorities are involved for permission in the broadcast and telecommunications sector leading to the overlapping of functions. For example, internet protocol television (IPTV) permissions are granted by the department of telecommunications (DoT) as well as the ministry of information and broadcasting (MIB). For policy decisions, there are multiple authorities such as DoT, MIB, the ministry of electronics and IT and the department of space.

    Vaghela stated that there was a need for redefining the role of market players such as service providers, infrastructure providers and cable operators in the new market structure.

    He said, “In addition to telecom and broadcasting, the over-the-top (OTT) world may also have to be factored in while carrying out required reforms. A robust and holistic technology-neutral regulatory and policy framework is required to regulate the newly converged environment of broadcasting and broadband services. The policy should also align the corresponding business processes with regard to the issuance of all broadcasting and cable service licences for better synergy and ease of doing business.”

    With technological advancement, it is now possible for broadband networks to offer broadcasting services and vice versa. “With content consumption in India shifting to smartphones and video consumption becoming a key driver of mobile data growth, it becomes imperative to bring direct broadcasting capabilities to mobile phones. It is anticipated that broadcast capable smartphones and mobile phones will be able to stream multiple high-quality video and audio services optimally utilising valuable spectrum and easing the burden on our cellular networks,” he concluded.

  • Trai extends deadline for comments on consultation paper related to new regulatory framework

    Trai extends deadline for comments on consultation paper related to new regulatory framework

    Mumbai: The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai) has decided to extend the deadline for receiving comments and counter comments on the consultation paper regarding the issues related to the new regulatory framework for broadcasting and cable services.

    The deadline has been extended until 6 June for comments and until 13 June for counter comments.

    Trai decided to extend the deadline after it received requests from stakeholders for an extension of time for the submission of comments on the consultation paper.

    Trai released the consultation paper on 7 May and the last day for receiving comments on the issues raised in the consultation paper was set as 30 May for comments and 6 June for counter comments.

  • DTH players seek removal of eight per cent licence fee to stay competitive

    DTH players seek removal of eight per cent licence fee to stay competitive

    Mumbai: Direct-to-home (DTH) players have approached the government to waive the eight per cent license fee imposed on them that is in line with a similar proposal for broadband services so that they remain competitive in the market.

    According to a PTI report, the industry body DTH association has approached the ministry of information and broadcasting (MIB) following a proposal under consideration of Department of Telecommunications (DoT) to waive the licence fee for broadband services.

    In a letter dated 11 May sent to the I&B ministry, the industry body said the DTH volumes have been declining quarter on quarter for a while now and has put thousands of crores of investments and employment of over a lakh direct and indirect employees of the sector at risk.

    The number of active subscribers with pay DTH operators decreased from 69.86 million at the end of June to 68.89 million by the end of September, according to latest Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai) data.

    It added that broadband is expanding very fast and is being used for content distribution as well.

    The industry body welcomed the proposal to remove licence fees to help the consumers but requested that “the same policy may be applicable to DTH, and therefore seek a waiver of licence fees in line with DoT proposed decision.”

    The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai) has recommended the DoT to waive license fees on broadband services for five years.

    “Now with the licence fee being waived for broadband, hence IPTV, OTT will become an even more formidable force and DTH will remain the only distribution platform paying an eight per cent content license fee while distributing just as cable, HITS, FreeDish, and IPTV do, making DTH the most uncompetitive in comparison to every other content distribution platform,” the association said.

  • Vodafone Idea loses 2.81 million wireless subscribers in March: Trai

    Vodafone Idea loses 2.81 million wireless subscribers in March: Trai

    Mumbai: Bharti Airtel added 2.25 million wireless subscribers in the month of March, as per data by Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai). Reliance Jio added 1.26 million wireless subscribers and Vodafone Idea lost 2.81 million wireless subscribers during the same period, the data revealed.

    The total number of wireless subscribers increased from 1141.53 million to 1142.09 million in March. The wireless subscription in urban areas decreased from 625.19 million to 624.23 million, however, wireless subscription in rural areas increased from 516.34 million to 517.86 million during the same period.

    As per Trai data, there were 1021.29 million active wireless subscribers during the month of March accounting for 89.42 per cent of the total wireless subscriber base. Reliance Jio had 378.95 million active wireless subscribers followed by Bharti Airtel at 355.78 million and Vodafone Idea at 226.08 million. BSNL had 59.82 million active wireless subscribers.

    As per information from 653 operators, Trai reported an increase in total broadband subscribers from 783.37 million to 788.30 million in March. Out of these, 759.87 million were mobile device users, 27.25 million were wired subscribers and 1.18 million were fixed wireless subscribers i.e. Wi-Fi, Wi-Fi Max, Point-to-Point and VSAT (very small aperture terminal).

    The top five broadband service providers were Reliance Jio at 409.28 million, Bharti Airtel at 215.27 million, Vodafone Idea at 122.48 million, BSNL at 27.19 million and Atria Convergence at 2.08 million and accounted for 98.48 per cent of the market.

    The top five wired broadband service providers were Reliance Jio at 5.28 million, Bharti Airtel at 4.53 million, BSNL at 3.85 million, Atria Convergence Technologies at 2.08 million and Hathway Cable and Datacom at 1.11 million.

    The top five wireless broadband service providers were Reliance Jio at 403.99 million, Bharti Airtel at 210.75 million, Vodafone Idea at 122.48 million, BSNL at 23.34 million and Intech Online at 0.21 million.

    The number of telephone subscribers increased from 1166.05 million to 1166.93 million. Urban telephone subscriptions decreased from 647.76 million to 647.11 million and rural subscriptions increased from 518.29 million to 519.82 million in March.

    Wireline subscribers increased from 24.52 million to 24.84 million in March.

  • Trai seeks views of stakeholders on new tariff order

    Trai seeks views of stakeholders on new tariff order

    Mumbai: The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai) has issued a consultation paper on issues related to the new regulatory framework for broadcasting and cable services. The regulatory body has invited stakeholders to express their written comments on the issues in the consultation paper by 30 May and counter comments by 6 June.

    In December 2021, Trai formed a committee consisting of members from the Indian Broadcasting and Digital Foundation (IBDF), All India Digital Cable Federation (AIDCF) and DTH Association to deliberate on the various issues related to the implementation of the New Regulatory Framework 2020.

    Implementation of tariff order

    The stakeholders’ committee identified several issues related to New Regulatory Framework 2020 for consideration and requested Trai to immediately address the critical issues which could create impediments to the smooth implementation of the tariff order.

    To summarise the issues, Trai addressed seven questions to stakeholders concerning the ‘New Tariff Framework 2020’ in the consultation paper as follows:

    1. Should Trai continue to prescribe a ceiling price of a channel for inclusion in a bouquet?

    A. If yes, please provide the maximum retail price (MRP) of a television channel as a ceiling for inclusion in a bouquet. Please provide details of calculations and methodology followed to derive such ceiling price.

    B. If not, what strategy should be adopted to ensure the transparency of prices for a consumer and safeguard the interest of consumers from perverse pricing?

    2. What steps should be taken to ensure that popular television channels remain accessible to a large segment of viewers. Should there be a ceiling on the MRP of pay channels? Please provide your answer with full justifications/reasons.

    3. Should there be a ceiling on the discount on the sum of a-la-carte prices of channels forming part of bouquets while fixing MRP of bouquets by broadcasters? If so, what should be the appropriate methodology to work out the permissible ceiling on discounts? What should be the value of such a ceiling?

    A. Should channel prices in bouquets be homogeneous? If yes, what should be appropriate criteria for ensuring homogeneity in pricing the channels to be part of the same bouquet?

    B. If not, what measures should be taken to ensure an effective a-la-carte choice which can be made available to consumers without being susceptible to perverse pricing of bouquets?

    C. Should the maximum retail price of an a-la-carte pay channel forming bouquet be capped regarding the average prices of all pay channels forming the same bouquet? If so, what should be the relationship between the capped maximum price of an a-la-carte channel forming the bouquet and the average price of all the pay channels in that bouquet? Or else, suggest any other methodology by which the relationship between the two can be established and consumer choice is not distorted.

    5. Should any other condition be prescribed for ensuring that a bouquet contains channels with homogeneous prices? Please provide your comments with justifications.

    6. Should there be any discount, in addition to the distribution fee, on MRP of a-la-carte channels and bouquets of channels to be provided by broadcasters to DPOs? If yes, what should be the amount and terms and conditions for providing such a discount?

    7. Stakeholders may provide their comments with full details and justification on any other matter relating to the issues raised in the present consultation.

    Trai notified stakeholders of the regulations under the New Regulatory Framework 2020 on 1 January 2020. As per the regulations, Trai allowed for 200 SD channels for the maximum price of Rs 130. It also necessitated that in multi-TV homes distributed platform operators (DPOs) charge a network capacity fee (NCF) for any subsequent TV connection that cannot be more than 40 per cent of the NCF for the first TV.

    The regulations also mandated that only channels with MRP of Rs 12 could be a part of a bouquet. It also called for reasonable pricing of a-la-carte channels and bouquets by providing twin conditions

    a) the sum of the a-la-carte rates of the pay channels (MRP) forming part of a bouquet shall in no case exceed one and half times the rate of the bouquet of which such pay channels are a part and

    b) the a-la-carte rates of each pay channel (MRP), forming part of a bouquet, shall in no case exceed three times the average rate of a pay channel of the bouquet of which such pay channel is a part. In a ruling dated 30 June 2021, the Bombay high court struck down the second twin condition after a challenge issued by broadcasters.

    “The provisions related to Network Capacity Fee (NCF), multi-TV homes and long-term subscriptions of New Regulatory Framework 2020, have already been implemented and due benefits are being passed on to the consumer at large,” said Trai in its statement.

    Pricing of channels

    However, Trai noted, that reference interconnection offers (RIOs) filed by broadcasters, listing the MRP and bouquet price of their channels, reflected a common trend. The broadcasters priced their most popular channels including sports channels beyond Rs 20 per month keeping them out of the bouquet. “The revised RIOs as filed indicate a wide-scale changes in the composition of almost all the bouquets being offered,” said Trai.

    After the RIOs were filed, Trai received representations from DPOs, local cable operators (LCOs) and consumer organisations. The DPOs highlighted the difficulties faced by them in implementing the new rates in the system and migrating the consumers to the new tariff regime through the informed exercise of options impacting almost all bouquets.

    This paper primarily discusses issues related to discounts given in the formation of the bouquet, the ceiling price of channels for inclusion in the bouquet, and discounts offered by broadcasters to DPOs in addition to distribution fees.

  • DTH sector lost 0.37 mn subs in the quarter ended 31 Dec’21: Trai

    DTH sector lost 0.37 mn subs in the quarter ended 31 Dec’21: Trai

    Mumbai: The total active subscriber base of the pay direct-to-home (DTH) sector declined from 68.89 million at the end of September 2021 to 68.52 million at the end of December 2021, as per data provided by the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai). This is in addition to the subscribers of DD Free Dish, the free DTH service offered by Doordarshan.

    Tata Play maintained its position as the leading DTH player increasing its market share from 33.34 per cent to 33.48 per cent. It was followed by Bharti Telemedia that also increased its market share from 26.11 per cent to 26.37 per cent. Dish TV India ceded market share from 22.65 per cent to 22.04 per cent. Sun TV Direct gained market share from 17.91 per cent to 18.11 per cent.

    Trai reported the subscriber base of 12 major multi-system operators (MSO) and one headend-in-the-sky (HITS) operator who have a subscriber base of more than one million. GTPL Hathway continued to be the leading MSO followed by Siti Networks, Hathway Digital, Den Networks and Thamizhaga Cable TV Communication. While most MSOs lost subscribers during the quarter, Thamizhaga, Kerala Communicators Cable, Nxt Digital (HITS), V K Digital Network and Nxt Digital (Cable TV) gained subscribers. Notably, Nxt Digital (HITS and Cable TV) gained the highest number of subscribers at 436,990.

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    There were 909 private satellite TV channels at the end of December 2021 compared to 906 channels at the end of September 2021. Additionally, there were 350 pay channels out of which 253 were SD channels and 97 were HD channels.

    The number of internet subscribers decreased from 834.29 million to 829.30 million during the quarter. There were 792.08 million broadband subscribers and 37.21 million narrowband subscribers. The number of wired internet subscribers increased from 24.47 million to 26.58 million with a quarterly growth rate of 8.62 per cent. The number of wireless internet subscribers decreased from 809.82 million to 802.72 million.

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    In the wired internet segment, Reliance Jio Infocomm held 17.18 per cent market share with 4.57 million subscribers, followed by Bharti Airtel at 4.20 million subscribers. In the wireless internet segment, Reliance Jio held 51.79 per cent market share with 415.72 million subscribers followed by Bharti Airtel with 28.21 per cent with 226.45 million subscribers at the end of the quarter.

    The total number of VSAT subscribers decreased from 289,557 to 288,848 during the quarter. Hughes Communications is the market leader with 135,374 subscribers and market share of 46.87 per cent, followed by Nelco at 76,166 subscribers and market share of 26.37 per cent at the end of the quarter.

    The average revenue per user (ARPU) per month of wireless services customers increased from Rs 108.16 to Rs 114.16 over the quarter. The average data usage per month for a wireless subscriber was 14.97 Gb.

  • Reliance Jio loses 9.3 million wireless subscribers in January: Trai

    Reliance Jio loses 9.3 million wireless subscribers in January: Trai

    Mumbai: Telecom major Reliance Jio lost 9.3 million wireless subscribers at the end of January, as per subscription data released by Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai). 

    Bharti Airtel added 714,199 wireless subscribers during the same period. Vodafone Idea and BSNL lost 389,082 and 377,520 wireless subscribers, respectively at the end of January, the data revealed.

    The total wireless subscribers decreased from 1,154.62 million to 1,145.24 million at the end of January. The wireless subscription in urban areas decreased from 633.34 million to 627.12 million. Similarly, rural subscriptions also declined from 521.28 million to 518.13 million during the same period.

    According to Trai, there were 1006.57 million active wireless subscribers in the month of January out of which Reliance Jio had 368.53 million, Bharti Airtel had 349.99 million, Vodafone Idea had 228.81 million and BSNL had 58.64 million active subscribers.

    During the month, as per information received from 616 broadband operators, Trai reported a decrease in broadband subscribers from 792.08 million to 783.43 million. Out of these, 26.65 million were wired subscribers, 755.66 million were wireless subscribers and 1.12 million were fixed wireless subscribers i.e., Wi-Fi, Wi-Fi Max, point-to-point radio, and VSAT.

    The top five broadband service providers constituted 98.46 per cent market share of the total broadband subscribers at the end of January. These service providers were Reliance Jio Infocomm Ltd at 411.23 million, Bharti Airtel at 210.75 million, Vodafone Idea at 121.08 million, BSNL at 26.25 million, and Atria Convergence at 2.04 million subscribers.

    The top five wired broadband service providers were Reliance Jio Infocomm Ltd at 4.83 million, Bharti Airtel at 4.33 million, BSNL at 3.90 million, Atria Convergence Technologies at 2.04 million, and Hathway Cable & Datacom at 1.10 million subscribers.

    The top five wireless broadband service providers were Reliance Jio Infocomm Ltd at 406.39 million, Bharti Airtel at 206.42 million, Vodafone Idea at 121.07 million, BSNL at 22.35 million, and Intech Online at 0.21 million subscribers.  

    The total number of telephone subscribers in India decreased from 1178.41 million to 1169.46 million. Urban telephone subscriptions decreased from 655.20 million to 649.38 million and rural subscriptions decreased from 523.21 million to 520.08 million.

    Wireline subscribers increased from 23.79 million to 24.21 million at the end of January.

  • Trai asks sparring telcos, satcom players to provide submission on 5G auction by 15 Feb

    Trai asks sparring telcos, satcom players to provide submission on 5G auction by 15 Feb

    Mumbai: The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai), which is expected to submit its final recommendations on various aspects of 5G spectrum auctions in March, has asked telecom companies and stakeholders to provide their additional submissions before 15 February, especially with details around methods for valuation of the spectrum.

    The submissions were invited during an open house discussion held by Trai, where telecom operators and satellite players remained sharply divided.

    According to the PTI release, the telecom regulator had earlier recommended the base price of the proposed 5G spectrum in 3,300-3,600 MHz band at about Rs 492 crore per MHz unpaired spectrum on a pan-India basis. Telecom operators interested in buying radiowaves for 5G will have to shell out a minimum of Rs 9,840 crore on a pan-India basis to buy spectrum in the 3,300-3,600 Mhz band. If the telecom operators’ demands are met then the medium band spectrum should cost them only Rs 492 crore at the base price.

    Major telecom players suggested that Trai should fix the base price of the 5G spectrum in mid-band and high-frequency bands using international benchmarks. They recommended the regulator to map international pricing benchmarks at the telecom circle level by using a matrix of average revenue per user, GDP of the country, etc.

    Meanwhile, satellite players opposed telecom operators’ demand to auction a high-frequency range of 27.5- 28.5 GHz.

    Satcom players are of the opinion that as per global practice, 27.5-28.5 GHz have never been auctioned, and hence should be allocated administratively in India as well. Providing in-flight services and maritime connectivity to 500 vessels in the 28 GHz and allocation of this frequency will adversely impact the company’s operation, they said.

  • Vodafone loses 1.89 mn subs in Nov; Jio, Airtel post strong gains: Trai

    Vodafone loses 1.89 mn subs in Nov; Jio, Airtel post strong gains: Trai

    Mumbai: Reliance Jio added 2.01 million and Bharti Airtel added 1.31 million wireless subscribers in November 2021 according to subscription data by Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai). Vodafone Idea lost 1.89 million subscribers during the same period, the data revealed.

    The total number of wireless subscribers increased from 1166.30 million to 1167.50 million with a net addition of 1.19 million subscribers. Wireless subscription in urban areas increased from 637.44 million to 638.46 million and in rural areas it increased from 528.86 million to 529.04 million.

    Trai reported 996.38 million active wireless subscribers out of which Reliance Jio had 359.59 million followed by Bharti Airtel at 347.89, Vodafone Idea at 231.59 million and BSNL at 56.71 million.

    In November, Trai received information from 592 operators as compared to 577 operators last month, the total broadband subscribers increased from 798.95 million to 801.60 million. This comprised mobile device users at 775.93 million, wired subscribers at 24.42 million and fixed wireless subscribers at 1.26 million.

    The top five wireless broadband service providers were Reliance Jio at 428.62 million, Bharti Airtel at 206.02 million, Vodafone Idea at 122.39 million, BSNL at 19.41 million and Tikona Infinet at 0.30 million subscribers.

    The top five wired broadband service providers were Reliance Jio at 4.34 million, BSNL at 4.20 million, Bharti Airtel at 4.08 million, Atria Convergence Technologies at 1.98 million and Hathway Cable and Datacom at 1.07 million subscribers.

    The number of telephone subscribers in India increased from 1189.62 million to 1191.05 million. Urban subscription increased from 658.83 million to 660.08 million and rural subscription increased from 530.79 million to 530.96 million. The number of wireline subscribers increased from 23.32 million to 23.55 million at the end of November.