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Our Bureau

New Delhi, Sept. 9 The Ministry of Information & Broadcasting has issued guidelines for provisioning of Internet Protocol Television Services. The Union Cabinet had already given its approval to the new guidelines on August 21.

IPTV is a system where an interactive digital television service is delivered over an Internet connection instead of the traditional way of transmitting through a cable network. Users will also get new services such as video-on-demand, where they can watch their favourite movies for a fee. They can time their programmes, and view them at their own leisure. Since IPTV delivers TV channels in digital form, the quality of TV viewing is expected to be much better as compared with analog transmission. It would require either a computer and software media player or an IPTV set-top box to decode the images in real time.

Downlinking guidelines have also been changed to allow broadcasters share content with telecom operators for IPTV services. The guidelines available on the Ministry’s Web site clarifies guidelines for various platforms capable of providing IPTV services, regulatory provisions and licencing requirements and other issues for IPTV players. Telecom Access Service Providers with licences for triple play services and Internet Service Providers (ISPs) with net worth of more than Rs 100 crore will now be able to launch services with permission from the licensor. Telecom service providers authorised by the Department of Telecom will not require any further registration. Cable TV operators registered under Cable Television Network (Regulation) Act, 1995 can also provide IPTV services. However, both will be required to give self certified declaration to the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, Department of Telecom and Telecom Regulatory Authority of India indicating the detail of licence or registration under which they propose to offer IPTV service, with the date of launch and details of network infrastructure.

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