CONSULTATION PAPER ON ISSUES RELATING TO REGULATION OF INTERCONNECTION FOR BROADCASTING AND CABLE TELEVISON SERVICES.
TRAI today released a Consultation Paper on Issues Relating to Regulation of Interconnection for Broadcasting and Cable Television Services. The Consultation Paper draws upon the inputs received from stake-holders in response to the Consultation Note dated 21st June, 2006.
2. The Consultation Paper gives the background for the present exercise in Section-1. Section-2 deals with issues regarding the amplification and modification of the existing provisions of the Regulation. Section-3 deals with the new issues that had not been covered in the Regulations so far.
3. The major issues that have been identified for consultation in Section 2 are as follows :-
· Period of Notice for disconnection
· Publication of Notice for disconnection
· Provisions regarding Access to content
· Area of operation for MSOs and LCOs
· MSO as an agent of a Broadcaster
· Definition of payment defaulters
4. The major issues that have been identified for consultation in Section 3 are as follows :-
· Methodology for fixing/revising Subscriber Base
· Definition of a Multi System Operator
· Renewal of Agreements
· Conversion of FTA channels to pay
· Development of Reference Interconnect Offer
· Monopoly in the last mile
· Regulation of Carriage Fee.
5. The Consultation Paper seeks detailed inputs on these issues. The gist of the comments received will be posted on TRAI's website. The full text of the Consultation Paper is available on TRAI's website (www.trai.gov.in). The last date for sending comments is May 31, 2006.
6. For any further clarification on the matter Secretary, TRAI may be contacted at rstrai@gmail.com (Telephone No.011-26167448) or Advisor (B&CS) at rakesh.kacker@gmail.com (Telephone No.011-26713291). The fax number of TRAI is 011-26713442.
Growth in Telephony Continues in April 2006- 4.60 Million Subscribers Added
The subscriber base for telephony services continued to maintain its growth trend during the month of April 2006 also. During the month approximately 4.60 million subscribers were added, which included around 0.73 million Fixed Lines including WLL (F) and 3.88 million mobiles.
With addition of 3.88 million mobile subscribers during April 2006, number of mobile subscribers has reached 96.92 million as compared to 93.04 million in March 2006.
Comparison of the subscriber additions during the month of April for last 3 years is given below: -
2004 2005 2006
Category March April Additions During the April Month March April Additions During the April Month March April Additions During the April MonthMobile 33.60 34.97 1.37 52.21 53.65 1.44 93.04 96.92 3.88 Fixed 42.58 42.98 0.40 45.91 46.50 0.59 46.78 47.51 0.73
Total Subscribers 76.18 77.95 1.77 98.12 100.15 2.03 139.82 144.43 4.61 At the end of April 2006, total fixed line telephone subscribers are approximately 47.50 million and mobiles have reached around 97 million making a total of telephony subscribers in the country to cross 144 million. Gross Tele-density of the country reached 13.16 as compared to 12.73 at the
end of March 2005.
Broadband (256 Kbps download) growth : Broadband connections have also started to grow steadily since beginning of 2006. During the month of April 2006 approximately 1 lakh additional Broadband Connections were provided taking the total Broadband Connections in the country beyond 1.4 million.
December 2005 January 2006 February 2006 March 2006 April 2006
Broadband Connections 9.3 10 10.50 13.10 14.15 Monthly Additions -- 0.70 0.50 2.60 1.05
(S.N.Gupta)
Pr.Advisor (CN)
