The Hindu Business Line : `Unified licence favours telecom sector'

TELEVISION broadcast companies including Star India, Zee Network and ASC Enterprises have told the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai) that the existing unified licensing regime was heavily loaded in favour of telecom operators. Broadcasters have said that with emerging technologies like IPTV (Internet Protocol Television) and broadband, the regulatory framework for telecom services and TV should keep pace in key aspects such as FDI limit, revenue share and licensing.

Responding to Trai's consultation paper on convergence and competition in telecom and broadcasting sectors, TV channel operators have said that newer technologies like IPTV, which telecom companies want to introduce, must be brought under regulations governing the Cable TV sector.

"The Unified Licensing Guidelines are incomplete without an in-depth and considered study of the broadcasting and media sector. The recommendations on Unified Licensee remain one-sided, granting the provisions of unified services to only one class of operators (access operators). IPTV provision should be declared as a cable TV service. This would imply that cable TV operators can provide IPTV. This would also imply that IPTV would be subject to the same downlinking guidelines, FDI and carriage norms as applicable for cable TV," said Zee Network in its response to the Trai paper.

Singapore-based Motion Picture Association said that unified licensing regime should be consistent to ensure fair treatment and unencumbered growth opportunities for both content and carriage industry players.

"The regulatory framework for competitive telecom services (such as mobile voice, data services), broadband Internet services and other data services and broadcast TV (such as cable, DTH, terrestrial, IPTV) should be similar. Disparities such as annual licence fee (6 per cent of adjusted gross revenue for telecom services as against 10 per cent for DTH) should be removed," said Star India Pvt Ltd.

ASC Enterprises called for a re-look at the unified licensing norms. "Telecom operators have been allowed to provide all kinds of services whereas the players which originate from the broadcasting side are considered as standalone services providers and are not allowed to provide the services which a telecom player can provide."