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Our Bureau

`Need to do more work on convergence of content and delivery'

MR AMARENDRA NARAYAN (centre) Executive Director, Asia - Pacific Telecommunications, introducing Mr Yohiaki Kodaki (right), Japanese Consul General, to Mr Nripendra Misra, Chairman, TRAI, at the inaugural session of Asia-Pacific Telecommunication and ICT Development Forum conference in Chennai on Monday. K.V. Srinivasan

Chennai , July 10

The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India will revisit its consultation paper on Internet Protocol Television (iPTV) to examine issues such as convergence of content and delivery, and any legal changes that may be required. This, however, will not stop the schedule launch of iPTV by Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd, according to TRAI Chairman, Mr Nripendra Misra.

"We possibly did not address some of the technological convergence in the paper. We need to do more work on convergence of content and delivery, which needs to be recognised. Convergence of content and delivery is a technical necessity and a technical truth. We cannot postpone it. This issue was not there and it was well known," he told newspersons on the sidelines of an international conference.

For example, he said, a cable operator could take a licence and start providing voice and become a telecom service provider. This could happen in future. The paper needs to be revisited to include some of the comments and queries raised by various stakeholders in both access and content.

According to Mr Misra, the consultation paper sought opinions and comments from stakeholders such as cable operators, Internet service providers and telecom service providers, on the kind of legal changes needed to be made in Telegraph Act or the Indian Cable Act.

iPTV is a system where digital television service is delivered using the Internet Protocol over a network infrastructure, which may include delivery by a broadband connection. "We will not stop launch of iPTV. We are only a facilitator to support its launch," he said.

Earlier, inaugurating a conference on Asia-Pacific Telecommunications and ICT Development Forum, Mr Misra said during the discussion on iPTV, "we were totally inadequate on the technological response. We were trying to tackle the telecom side of iPTV and not realising what cable TV can offer. How to regulate content is a major issue."

It is difficult to identify what belongs to telecom and what belongs to broadcasting. "We cannot leave the Information and Broadcasting Ministry, which in charge of the content," he said.

Nextgen technologies

Mr A.K. Sinha, Chairman and Managing Director, BSNL, said the telecom service provider was modernising its network to extend the benefits of next generation technologies to customers. The process of establishing a public wireless access network with WiFi and WiMax forums across the country has taken off, and the project is taken up on a turnkey basis. For WiFi forum, 15 cities have been identified to deploy 300 hotspots at important locations such as airports, hotels, university campuses and shopping malls, he said.

The five-day conference, which began on Monday, will take up various issues related to development of telecom and ICT in Asia-Pacific. On behalf of the Asia Pacific Telecommunity (APT), an intergovernmental organisation for the development of telecom and ICT in the region, the conference is being organised by the Department of Telecommunications and managed by BSNL. About 60 delegates from 33 member countries of APT, including Japan, Pakistan, Indonesia, Thailand, Brunei and Vietnam, are attending the conference.

More Stories on : ISPs | Convergence | Regulatory Bodies & Rulings | Radio/TV

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