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Tag: Trai

  • TRAI seeks views on penalties for non-compliant MSOs and LCOs in DAS areas

    TRAI seeks views on penalties for non-compliant MSOs and LCOs in DAS areas

    MUMBAI: Days after the news of new deadlines being set for phase III and IV of digital addressable system (DAS) was known, the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) has decided to straighten up the multi system operators (MSO) and local cable operators (LCOs) who are turning up their noses regarding billing in the first two phases.

     

    TRAI has come out with a notice inviting stakeholders to give their inputs regarding penalties to be imposed on non-compliant MSOs and LCOs. It says that it has received several complaints from DAS subscribers that they weren’t getting either the bill or the receipt of payment for their TV subscription services.

     

    Therefore, in order to protect the interest of consumers, ensure transparent business practices and promote efficiency, it is proposing to amend the regulation to incorporate provisions of levying financial disincentives on such MSOs and LCOs. TRAI is also seeking to amend the Standards of Quality and Service (digital addressable cable TV systems) Regulations 2012 (12 of  2012) dated 14 May 2012.

     

    The regulation lays down quality of service norms to be adhered to by the service providers, providing cable TV services through DAS.

     

    TRAI seeks comments from stakeholders on the draft regulation by 8 September to sksinghal@trai.gov.in.

  • Appreciable increase in broadband subscribers between May and June this year

    Appreciable increase in broadband subscribers between May and June this year

    NEW DELHI: As compared to marginal increases in the previous months, broadband subscribers grew by 5.35 per cent between May and June this year, according to the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI).

     

    The total number of subscribers went up from 65.33 million to 68.83 million in all segments: wired subscribers, mobile device users (phones + dongles) and fixed wireless (wi-fi, wi-max, point-to-point radio and VSAT).

     

    Unlike previous months, the largest change of 6.93 per cent was seen in the mobile segment, while there was a change of 2.51 per cent in the fixed wireless category and only 0.13 per cent in the wired subscribers.

     

    The top five broadband service providers constitute 84.98 per cent market share of total broadband subscribers at the end of June. They are BSNL (18.53 million), Bharti (14.76 million), Vodafone (10.30 million), Idea Cellular (8.78 million) and Reliance Communications Group (6.11 million). TRAI said that the wireless subscribers with less than 1MB data usage in a month are not considered as internet/broadband subscribers by Reliance and Idea.

     

    The top five wired broadband service providers are BSNL (9.98 million), Bharti (1.39 million), MTNL (1.13 million), Beam Telecom (0.40 million) and YOU Broadband (0.39 million).

     

    The top five wireless broadband service providers are Bharti (13.38 million), Vodafone (10.30 million), Idea Cellular (8.78 million), BSNL (8.55 million) and Reliance Communications Group (6.00 Million).

     

    In telecom, private operators hold 89.85 per cent of the wireless subscriber market share whereas the public-sector operators BSNL and MTNL hold only 10.15 per cent market share.

  • TRAI paper on broadband next month

    TRAI paper on broadband next month

    MUMBAI: The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) will come out with a comprehensive consultation paper on broadband next month. It will invite views of public on issues related to roll out of broadband in the country.

     

    Inaugurating the “Eighth Mobile India Summit: Broadband Highway-Driving India’s Growth” organised by Assocham, TRAI chairman Rahul Khullar said, “The authority has been working on broadband issues, and hopefully, we will come out with a paper on broadband, may be by the end of next month.” He also admitted that India’s progress in terms of broadband has been very limited and disappointing.

     

    “Of 1.8 lakh kilometres (kms) cable that has been ordered 15,000 has been delivered which is just about eight per cent, of six lakh kms for ducting actual achievement is about 2,000 kms which is about 0.3 per cent, the optical fibre cable pulled is about 250 kms which is less than 0.05 per cent of the target and all this has been achieved in past two years,” he added.

     

    He further stressed the need for targeted approach to achieve broadband policy objectives. He also focused on the scope to use available private infrastructure in conjunction with already existing public infrastructure

     

    TRAI is also planning to issue a consultation paper soon to discuss regulatory framework around Over-the-top (OTT) players like WhatsApp, Skype, Viber, WeChat etc.

     

    The OTT players facilitate free calls and messaging services, making it affordable for consumers to use them. Telecom subscribers are required to pay only internet charges to their operators for using OTT services.

     

    The authority had recently organised a seminar on ‘Regulatory Framework for OTT Services’ with the aim to provide a platform for exchanging views on key issues related to OTT and also rejected the proposal put forward by telcos to charge popular apps.

  • Commercial TV subscriber tariffs: Broadcasters, Star take battle to courts

    Commercial TV subscriber tariffs: Broadcasters, Star take battle to courts

    MUMBAI: It’s the battle of the bill – the commercial cable TV bill, that is. The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) on 16 July 2014 issued an amendment to its earlier 2004 broadcasting and cable TV tariff order. The amendment brought in new customer categories such as commercial establishments and commercial subscribers. And it also stated that as far as cable TV rates are concerned, there shouldn’t be any differentiation on an ordinary and commercial subscriber and charges for both should be on a per TV set basis.

     

    That amendment has not gone down well with the Indian broadcast community as they have been lobbying for differential rates for commercial subscribers for a long time and the global practice is that commercial establishment and subscribers pay more than common subscribers.

     

    Its representative body, the Indian Broadcasting Federation (IBF) decided to challenge the tariff order for non-digital addressable areas (DAS) in the Telecom Disputes Settlement Appellate Tribunal (TDSAT). And industry leader Star India decided to file a writ petition against the TRAI challenging the order for both non DAS and DAS and other addressable systems in the Delhi High Court.

     

    Coincidentally both the cases came up for hearing on the same day. While the HC declined to give a stay order on the 16 July 2014 tariff order amendment, it has served notices to both the TRAI and the Federation of Hotels and Restaurants Association of India (FHRAI).

     

    The matter has been posted for a full-fledged hearing on 26 September. Till then, the order is maintainable. Meanwhile, the TDSAT has said that it will wait till the HC decides on the case to take any further action.

     

    What Star India has challenged in the HC is that the 16 July 2014 amendment order denies broadcasters the right to directly deal with the hotels. Star India has also appealed that it will have to unnecessarily depend on distribution platform operators DPOs to strike content deals as for commercial establishments, which might be treated as ordinary subscribers unless they specifically charge customers for cable TV subscribers. The broadcaster can only give a differentiated rate to those hotels that categorically mention TV as one of the services, thereby being deeming it fit to be called a commercial subscriber.

     

    The TRAI and FHRAI have been asked to respond to notices by the next hearing.

     

    Click here for the High Court order

  • TRAI rejects telcos’ proposal to charge popular apps

    TRAI rejects telcos’ proposal to charge popular apps

    MUMBAI: In a victory for the users of WhatsApp, Viber, Skype and other apps, Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) has decided against a proposal of carriers to impose extra fees on these popular services.

     

    The cellular service providers placed a proposal last month for these apps to share a part of their revenue with them or the government which allow users to route calls and messages via the internet.

     

    As reported by the Economic Times, TRAI has now rejected the idea and also cancelled plans to hold a consultation on the matter. According to the report, TRAI feels that revenue losses can be offset by growth in the usage of data services and that there is no need to intervene at this time. 

     

    The proposal was given on the basis that the mobile service providers were suffering a loss of revenue due to declining use of cellular voice and SMS services.

     

    With the rise over the-top players (OTTPs), many subscribers use these apps rather than their telecom operator’s normal voice call and SMS services, affecting the carrier’s revenue. Hence telcos, having invested billions of dollars in creating their network, want OTTPs to be regulated so that both parties operate on a level playing field.

     

    Operators want the OTTPs—which use their telecom networks— to pay the same fees that they pay to the government, which if implemented will force the app makers to charge for their services, currently available for free.

     

    The proposal by the telecom companies sparked widespread criticism from the consumers, raising objection to the very idea of imposing fees on specific apps, pointing out that the carriers already charge for internet connectivity.

     

    According to OTT players, seeking payment and the move to regulate them is against the concept of free internet or ‘net neutrality’.

     

    TRAI recently held a seminar titled ‘Regulatory Framework for OTT Services’ bringing several OTT players face-to-face with operators as a precursor to regulating the app space in India. This would have been the first step in a consultation process, which has now reportedly been called off.

  • TDSAT to hear Hathway and Taj TV on their ‘aggressive’ dispute later this month

    TDSAT to hear Hathway and Taj TV on their ‘aggressive’ dispute later this month

    NEW DELHI: The Telecom Disputes Settlement and Appellate Tribunal (TDSAT) today fixed for final disposal on 25 August the ‘deep-rooted’ dispute between Hathway and Taj TV in public interest, noting that this would require interpretation of certain clauses of some of the statutory regulations.

     

    TDSAT chairman Aftab Alam and member Kuldip Singh said: ‘Unfortunately, the dispute between the two sides is playing out in a highly aggressive way and one may add in a rather unpleasant manner. It seems to be affecting a large number of people in viewing their favourite TV channels. The disputants themselves are approaching the Tribunal on a weekly basis complaining against the actions of each other and seeking some interim directions of the Tribunal consuming a lot of time on arguments on miscellaneous applications.”

     

    The Tribunal noted that both sides have assured the Tribunal that they would avoid issuing the offensive advertisements against each other.

     

    In the order today, the Tribunal directed Taj TV to file their respective replies in petitions nos 319(C) of 2014 and 47(C) of 2014 by 20 August 2014. In case Hathway wishes to file any rejoinder, it should serve a copy of the rejoinder on the other side by 23 August subject to which it may file the rejoinder on 25 August.

     

    The Tribunal noted that the dispute has arisen at a stage when the earlier fixed fee agreement between the parties has come to end and they were unable to come to agreed terms for a fresh agreement and under the circumstances the MSO has no option but to take the broadcasters’ channels on their RIO terms.

     

    Earlier this month, TDSAT had directed Taj Television to restore with immediate effect the signals of Zee TV channels to Hathway Cable and Datacom pending the final hearing a petition by the latter. The broadcaster had switched off signals to the MSO stating that the two hadn’t reached a solution to their problems.

     

    It had also directed Hathway, as an interim measure to make payment of the monthly subscription fees from 1 April 2014 (in case of in case of Kolkata and Digital Addressable System – II areas) and from 1 May 2014 (in case of Delhi and Mumbai) up to 31 July at the of Rs.21.60 cost per subscriber basis.

     

    Zee channels were earlier being distributed to Hathway by Media Pro but the latter was not in a position to renew the agreements. In view of the Regulations issued by the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India around the same time the earlier agreements came to end.

               

    Thus, the Zee group of channels came to be handled by Taj Television. But when discussions between Hathway and Taj Television for Zee TV channels failed to yield any results, Taj TV on 26 June sent the RIO based agreement executed from its side. There was delay on the part of Hathway in executing the RIO based agreement and in the meanwhile Taj Television issued the disconnection notice under regulation 6.1 on 8 July 2014 and the public notice under regulation 6.5 on 11 July 2014. However, Hathway later counter-signed the RIO based agreement and sent it back to Taj Television which refused to accept a cheque sent by Hathway. This led to the petition by Hathway. 

  • Application of Grant Investrade for HITS licence ‘under process’: Javadekar

    Application of Grant Investrade for HITS licence ‘under process’: Javadekar

    NEW DELHI: The application by Grant Investrade for permission to provide headend-in-the-sky services is ‘under process’, Lok Sabha was told today.

    Information and Broadcasting Minister Prakash Javadekar said in reply to a question that so far only the Noida Software Technology Park Ltd (NSTPL) has the licence to operate HITS services.

    Based on the recommendations of the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI), the Government had in 2009 permitted HITS services, under which only companies registered in the country are eligible to launch the services.

    Grant Investrade, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Hinduja Ventures, had applied for a licence for HITS in November 2012.

     

    Under the guidelines, it has to pay a licence fee of Rs 10 crore before it gets the HITS licence. As reported earlier by indiantelevision.com, the company has made the payment.

    Grant Investrade will also have to seek two more clearances – one from the Network Operation Coordination Centre for the satellite to be used for the HITS services and second from the Wireless Planning and Coordination wing of the Ministry of Communications.

     

    Click here to read the previous story

  • TRAI releases recommendations on media ownership

    TRAI releases recommendations on media ownership

    MUMBAI: The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) has released the much awaited recommendations on media ownership.

     

    Here are the highlights of the recommendation paper:

    – The news and current affairs genre will be most important and relevant genre in the product market for formulating cross media ownership rules.

    – The relevant geographic market should be defined in terms of the language and the state in which the language is spoken majorly.

    – A combination of  reach and volume of  consumption  metrics should  be used for  computing market shares for  the  television segment. For calculating market shares, the GRP of a channel should be compared with the sum of the GRP ratings of all channels in the market and the market share of an entity would be the sum of the market shares of all channels controlled by it.

    – The    Herfindahl   Hirschman   Index   (HHI)    be    adopted   to    measure concentration in  a media segment in a relevant market.

    – The   cross-media  ownership  rules  be   reviewed three  years  after  the announcement of  the   rules by  the   licensor and  once every   three years thereafter. The  existing entities in  the  media sector which are  in  breach of  the  rules, should be  given  a maximum period of  one  year to  comply with  the  rules.

    – Mergers and  Acquisitions (M&A) in the   media sector will  be  permitted only  to the  extent that the  rule based on  HHI is not  breached.

    As far as vertical integration is concerned, the TRAI sticks to the ones given in the ‘Recommendations on Issues related to  New DTH Licenses’

    The regulator states that six years have passed without any concrete action on its recommendations of 2008 and 2012. It suggests that these be looked at as well.

    – The     entities   (political  bodies,   religious   bodies,   urban,    local, panchayati raj,  and other publicly funded bodies, and Central and state government ministries, departments, companies, undertakings, joint ventures and government-funded entities and affiliates to be barred from entry into broadcasting and TV channel distribution sectors.

     

    – That in  case permission to  any such  organisations have already been granted an appropriate exit  route is to be provided;

    – That the arm’s length relationship between Prasar Bharati and the government  be   further  strengthened and  that  such measures should ensure  functional independence and  autonomy of  Prasar Bharati

    – That  pending enactment of  any new   legislation  on   broadcasting, specified disqualifications for  the  entities in  (a) above from  entering into broadcasting and/ or TV channel distribution activities should be  implemented  through  executive decision  by  incorporating the disqualifications    into     rules,  regulations and  guidelines as necessary.

    – Even  surrogates of the entities listed above should be  barred from  entry into  broadcasting and TV channel distribution sectors.

     

    “Advertorials”, or  for  that matter any  content which is paid   for,  a clear disclaimer should be mandated, to  be printed in  bold  letters, stating that the  succeeding content has been   paid   for.  Placing such a disclaimer in fine print will not suffice. Action on advertorials and other material which is paid  for may  be taken immediately.

     

    On grounds of the inherent conflict of interest, ownership restrictions on corporates entering the media should be seriously considered by the Government and the  regulator. This may entail restricting the  amount  of equity holding/ loans by a corporate in  a media company, viz.,  to comply with  provisions relating to control.

    Editorial   independence   must    be     ensured   through   a   regulatory framework.

    With respect to a ‘media regulator’ it recommends the following:

     

    – Government should not  regulate the  media

     

    – There should be single regulatory authority for TV and print mediums

     

    – The regulatory  body  should  consist  of   eminent  persons  from different walks of life, including the  media. It should be manned predominantly by eminent non-media persons;

     

    – The  appointments to  the  regulatory body  should be done through a just, fair,  transparent and impartial process;

     

    – The “media regulator” shall inter alia entertain complaints on “paid news”; “private treaties”; issues related to editorial independence; etc,  investigate the complaints and shall have the power to impose and enforce an appropriate regime of penalties.

    The  Authority also recommends that a commission, perhaps headed by  a retired Supreme Court Judge,  be  set up to  comprehensively examine the various issues relating  to   the  media, including the  role   and  performance of  various existing institutions,  and  the   way   forward.  

     

    Click here for the recommendation paper

  • Kolkata LMOs appeal to TRAI

    Kolkata LMOs appeal to TRAI

    KOLKATA: The last mile owners (LMO) in Kolkata have appealed to the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) to allow them to air events related to the region through their local cable TV channels. 
     

    The appeal has come after the Authority released its consultation paper to regulate the local cable TV channels of cable operators in June, this year. “We have appealed to the Authority to allow us to run the local video channels as we did during the analogue times,” informs Cable Operators’ Sangram Committee secretary Apurba Bhattacharya.

     

    In the consultation paper, TRAI had said that MSOs, LMOs, DTH operators, HITS and IPTV service providers (all called as distribution platform operators – or DPOs-  henceforth) are running local channels aka platform services (PS) that don’t have the MIB’s permission. And some channels that are transmitted by the DPOs through the PS channels have content similar to regular TV channels.

     
    DAS, according to TRAI has changed the context for DPOs and their PS as far as cable TV operators are concerned. The reason: with digitisation, it is only the MSOs who can transmit encrypted signals from their headends on cable TV networks; LMOs can no longer transmit their own local ground based channels. 

     

    “Cable TV operators have no intention to violate the rules and regulations set up by the most competent authority concerning local video channel,” informs Bhattacharya, who feels that the LMOs have never in the past 25 years violated any of the rules.

     

    According to Bhattacharya, digitisation has made local cable TV channels necessary, as it gets more localised and informative. “Cable TV subscribers through these channels can get information about the upcoming events, change of channel packages and TRAI recommendations,” he adds.

     

    To make their voices heard, cable operators in West Bengal, presented their plea not only through forums, but have also written letters to the TRAI. 

     

    During the analogue regime, these local cable TV channels were available on LCN five. “The channel is used not only to telecast popular movies, but also helps people get acquainted with important announcements of local law and order, events, traffic condition of the area, weather report and educational/academic programmes,” informs a cable operator. 

  • Your WhatsApp could cost you, soon

    Your WhatsApp could cost you, soon

    MUMBAI: Telecom operators are worried with the increasing number of over the top (OTT) services that are using their bandwidth to provide share audio, video and text. Therefore, the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) decided to pacify everyone with a seminar to discuss the issue.

     

    The telecom industry claims that it is suffering huge losses due to platforms such as Skype, Whatsapp and Viber that provide similar services at no cost but the internet service charge. PTI reports Cellular Operators Association of India director general TV Ramachandran stating during the seminar, “We want some kind of regulatory help to get a level-playing field. There are so many regulations binding on us but the same don’t exist for OTT players. We can do a lot more if level-playing field is given to us.”

     

    According to data by PricewaterhouseCoopers managing consultant Neeraj Kataria, Skype usage is costing the telecom industry around $36 billion a year globally.

     

    On the other hand, when WhatsApp picked up speed in the country, several other such services such as Hike, Line, WeChat, Snapchat etc also emerged to eat a share of the pie.

     

    Ramachandran also shared his concern that OTT services can switch calls over the web outside India but telecom ops have to pay interconnect charges.

     

    Association of Unified Telecom Service Providers of India (AUSPI) president CS Rao said that OTT service providers have no rule regarding quality of service and consumer commitment. “If 20 per cent of our customers start using OTT service then burden on network will increase $55 per subscriber,’ he added.

     

    A report in Business Today states that telcos currently are losing around Rs 5000 crore per year due to these OTT services that will cross Rs 16,400 crore in next two years.

     

    On the other hand, Internet and Mobile Association of India president Subho Roy stated that TRAI should keep out of it since it is a business to business issue. But the TRAI secretary Sudhir Gupta is reported to have said that the purpose of the seminar is not to see if OTT services are cutting into telecom operators’ revenue but whether there is a need for regulating such service or not.

     

    Amid all this, Facebook India has also joined the Cellular Operators Association of India to ‘focus on mobile technology, access and its continued desire to work in collaboration with the industry to increase connectivity.’