Industry & Economy
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Foreign Direct Investment
TRAI wants review of FDI cap in DTH
Our Bureau
New Delhi
,
Oct.1
The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India today suggested a "complete review" of the existing foreign investment cap in the broadcasting sector including direct-to-home services.
It has also recommended a 2-percentage point cut in licence fee for DTH operators.
Elaborating on the issue of foreign direct investment, the TRAI chief, Mr Baijal,said that foreign investment limits in DTH should be comparable to those in the other broadcasting sector.
Currently, 74 per cent FDI is allowed for Internet service providers, while 49 per cent is permitted for cable services. In the case of DTH, total foreign equity up to 49 per cent is allowed, of which FDI can be only 20 per cent.
The remaining 29 per cent can be held by FIIs, overseas corporate bodies and NRIs. TRAI has recommended that licence fee be reduced to 8 per cent.
It also added that the application of licence fee should be on the adjusted gross revenue, as in the case of telecom.
The regulator has also categorically said that content cannot be denied to any platform be it cable or DTH. TRAI has said that broadcasters "must provide" content to other platforms on a non-discriminatory basis.
"This condition should be sufficient to prevent a DTH platform from refusing to carry the content of broadcasters affiliated to a rival platform. Thus, here also, no additional regulation is proposed," it added
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