ITV

Tag: TSP

  • 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)

  • TRAI gives more time for responses on infrastructure sharing for TV distribution

    TRAI gives more time for responses on infrastructure sharing for TV distribution

    NEW DELHI: Even as the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India extended to 4 July the deadline for its pre-consultation paper on infrastructure sharing in broadcasting TV distribution sector, it is yet to receive a single response on its paper on ‘Net Neutrality to ensure National Security and Customer Privacy’ despite an extension of date to 5 July.

    However, a reproduction of a summary of the pre-consultation paper on Net Neutrality on mygov.in has elicited around 80,000 responses from consumers.

    The paper on infrastructure sharing assumes greater importance with the regulator having issued a paper on opening up the Digital Terrestrial Transmission – a domain so far of Doordarshan – to private television channels.

    While the pre-consultation on Infrastructure sharing was issued on 23 May and the deadline for responses was 23 June, the paper on Net Neutrality was issued on 30 May seeking conments by 21 June.

    In its paper on Infrastructure sharing, the regulator wanted to know from stakeholders what could be the operational, commercial, technical and regulatory issues which require to be addressed at the time of developing policy and regulatory framework for enabling infrastructure sharing in the broadcasting TV distribution space.

    TRAI also asked whether stakeholders envisage any requirement for change in the existing licensing/registration framework laid for DTH, DAS and HITS broadcasting services.

    The regulator wants to know what more can be shared by the distributor platform operators (MSOs, HITS, DTH) for better utilization of infrastructure.

    TRAI said the pre-consultation paper had been issued with an aim to solicit stakeholder’s views on issues related to sharing of infrastructure on voluntary basis and separation of network and service provider functions so as to reduce cost of distribution of services and enhance competition in respect of all type of TV distribution platforms.

    With mounting pressure from different quarters for and against net neutrality, TRAI in its paper on Net Neutrality wants to know what India’s policy should be and/or regulatory approach in dealing with issues relating to net neutrality

    India is one of the fastest growing information and communication technologies markets in the world, fuelled largely by the cellular mobile revolution. Starting from a few million connections in 1997, there are more than a billion connections, with 97.5% of them being wireless subscribers. With this, the overall teledensity in India at the end of 2015 stood at 81.83%.

    India has also witnessed tremendous growth in terms of the total number of Internet users. At the end of December 2015, there were over 331 million Internet subscribers in the country, of which about 94% (over 311 million) were wireless Internet users.

    The current nature of telecommunications and internet access services in India is therefore largely wireless. The number of broadband users has also been increasing steadily over the years. At present, India has approximately 136.5 million broadband subscribers, a figure that is expected to rise significantly in the coming years, particularly in light of the Government’s ‘Digital India’ initiative.

    This initiative emphasizes the electronic delivery of services to all citizens as an urgent national priority, with ‘Broadband for All’ as one of its fundamental pillars. Providing broadband to all will require a significant expansion of service providers’ networks, with substantial investments in infrastructure development.

  • TRAI gives more time for responses on infrastructure sharing for TV distribution

    TRAI gives more time for responses on infrastructure sharing for TV distribution

    NEW DELHI: Even as the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India extended to 4 July the deadline for its pre-consultation paper on infrastructure sharing in broadcasting TV distribution sector, it is yet to receive a single response on its paper on ‘Net Neutrality to ensure National Security and Customer Privacy’ despite an extension of date to 5 July.

    However, a reproduction of a summary of the pre-consultation paper on Net Neutrality on mygov.in has elicited around 80,000 responses from consumers.

    The paper on infrastructure sharing assumes greater importance with the regulator having issued a paper on opening up the Digital Terrestrial Transmission – a domain so far of Doordarshan – to private television channels.

    While the pre-consultation on Infrastructure sharing was issued on 23 May and the deadline for responses was 23 June, the paper on Net Neutrality was issued on 30 May seeking conments by 21 June.

    In its paper on Infrastructure sharing, the regulator wanted to know from stakeholders what could be the operational, commercial, technical and regulatory issues which require to be addressed at the time of developing policy and regulatory framework for enabling infrastructure sharing in the broadcasting TV distribution space.

    TRAI also asked whether stakeholders envisage any requirement for change in the existing licensing/registration framework laid for DTH, DAS and HITS broadcasting services.

    The regulator wants to know what more can be shared by the distributor platform operators (MSOs, HITS, DTH) for better utilization of infrastructure.

    TRAI said the pre-consultation paper had been issued with an aim to solicit stakeholder’s views on issues related to sharing of infrastructure on voluntary basis and separation of network and service provider functions so as to reduce cost of distribution of services and enhance competition in respect of all type of TV distribution platforms.

    With mounting pressure from different quarters for and against net neutrality, TRAI in its paper on Net Neutrality wants to know what India’s policy should be and/or regulatory approach in dealing with issues relating to net neutrality

    India is one of the fastest growing information and communication technologies markets in the world, fuelled largely by the cellular mobile revolution. Starting from a few million connections in 1997, there are more than a billion connections, with 97.5% of them being wireless subscribers. With this, the overall teledensity in India at the end of 2015 stood at 81.83%.

    India has also witnessed tremendous growth in terms of the total number of Internet users. At the end of December 2015, there were over 331 million Internet subscribers in the country, of which about 94% (over 311 million) were wireless Internet users.

    The current nature of telecommunications and internet access services in India is therefore largely wireless. The number of broadband users has also been increasing steadily over the years. At present, India has approximately 136.5 million broadband subscribers, a figure that is expected to rise significantly in the coming years, particularly in light of the Government’s ‘Digital India’ initiative.

    This initiative emphasizes the electronic delivery of services to all citizens as an urgent national priority, with ‘Broadband for All’ as one of its fundamental pillars. Providing broadband to all will require a significant expansion of service providers’ networks, with substantial investments in infrastructure development.

  • TRAI asks telcos to compensate users for call drops from 1 January

    TRAI asks telcos to compensate users for call drops from 1 January

    NEW DELHI: Telecom service providers (TSPs) will henceforth have to compensate consumers for up to three dropped calls a day from 1 January, 2016.

     

    According to the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI), the calling consumer will be reimbursed by one rupee a call from midnight to midnight.

     

    A message will have to be sent within four hours to the consumer about the call drop and the amount credited, and this will be done in the bill for the post-paid customers.

     

    The mandatory provisions have been announced in the ninth amendment to the Telecom Consumers Protection Regulations 2012 issued today.

     

    TRAI’s move will bring relief to the consumer and also encourage the TSP to improve their quality of service.

     

    TRAI will keep a close watch on the steps being taken by TSPs to reduce dropped calls following this mandatory provision and review the situation after six months.

     

    Call drop represents “the service provider’s inability to maintain a call once it has been correctly established, that is, calls dropped or interrupted prior to their normal completion by the user, the cause of the early termination being within the service provider’s network.”

     

    TRAI had issued a consultation paper on this issue last month and held an open house with stakeholders on 1 October before issuing the amendment.

     

    The regulator said the action was taken “after careful examination of the comments received from the stakeholders and further analysis” to provide relief to consumers by “mandating the following to every originating service provider providing Mobile Services for each call drop within its network.”