The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai) has recommended that telecom service providers having unified access services licence (UASL) and cellular mobile telephony service (CMTS) licence and Cable TV operators registered under Cable Television Network (Regulation) Act can provide IPTV service without requiring further clearances.
The recommendations are part of Trai?s draft regulations for internet protocol television (IPTV) issued on Wednesday. According to the draft guidelines, telecom service providers are permitted to provide triple play service. Therefore, they can provide IPTV services too without further clearances as it is within the triple play services ambit.
Internet service providers (ISPs) having net worth of more than Rs 100 crore are permitted to provide IPTV services after obtaining permission from the licensor. During the open house consultative meeting on IPTV at Trai earlier this year, MSOs had objected to the suggestion that they and local cable operators (LCOs) would need a separate license for providing IPTV services.
IPTV is a new method of delivering and viewing television programmes using an internal protocol network and high-speed broadband technology.
Trai has now solicited comments from stakeholders on the draft regulations after which it would issue final recommendations to the government for approval. On content, Trai has said only channels (including news) approved by the information and broadcasting ministry (I&B) are allowed on the IPTV platform.
The responsibility for this will lie with the broadcaster and not the licensee. For content other than TV channels, the licensee will have to adhere to the programme and advertisement code provided in the Cable Television Network (Regulation) Act.
Content on the IPTV platform was a contentious issue as globally IPTV is a platform used to provide channels that are not allowed for TV audiences, including adult-rated programmes.
