| |
Government to ask Trai help
to work out IPTV norms
Other Topics: IPTV Content
Protection, IPTV Acquisition
Trai
August 6, 2007
New Delhi -- In a bid to address several ambiguities regarding IPTV,
the government will soon ask Trai to launch a consultation process
on this service. Internet Protocol Television is a service where the
customer can get digital TV signals (voice, data and video) through
their landline telephone connections, rather than the traditional
method of cable lines. The technology is considered a threat to DTH,
CAS and cable TV industry. |
|
|
|
|
|
|
While the telecom and information and
broadcast (I&B) ministries have reached a decision on jurisdiction
of emerging technologies such as IPTV, there are no regulations in
place for this sector. This comes even as some players have launched
this service while several other operators are conducting trial
runs.
At present, the telecom sector and the cable industry are involved
in a slugfest over who can provide this service. Telecom players
such as BSNL and MTNL have already launched IPTV on the grounds that
the universal access service licence (UASL) permits this service.
Other service providers such as Reliance Communications, Bharti
Airtel and HFCL Infotel are also slated to launch IPTV services
soon.
Not wanting to lose ground to telcos, the cable industry is
demanding the inclusion of IPTV under the Cable TV Act. At the same
time, the cable TV industry has also warned the government that
unless the regulatory and policy issues for this sector are
addressed, telecom operators will have a free run and introduce over
3,000 unauthorised TV channels, whose content cannot be controlled
by the government.
The issues that are expected to be addressed during Trai’s
consultation process include quality of service norms, FDI norms,
exclusivity of content, pricing of TV channels over this platform
and content related issues.
The consultation process will also lay down guidelines to protect
consumer interests in line with other services such as telecom and
CAS, sources added.
In Asia, IPTV is presently available in China, Hong Kong, Malaysia,
Singapore, South Korea, Taiwan and Thailand, and is expected to be
launched on a mass scale in India and the Philippines in 2007.
Countries like China, India and Australia are expected to emerge as
high growth markets for this sector by 2009. |
|
Back to Newsroom |
|
