New Delhi, Feb 21 (UNI) In a relief to Direct-To-Home (DTH) service providers, telecom and broadcast regulatory TRAI on Friday recommended reducing License Fee to 3 per cent of AGR, to be reduced to “zero” by the end of 2026-27.
“No authorisation fee (License Fee) after the end of FY 2026-27”, the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) said in recommendations on Framework for Service Authorisations for provision of Broadcasting Services under the Telecommunications Act, 2023.
TRAI has also recommended reducing the bank guarantee requirement for DTH and Headend-in-the-Sky (HITS) services, lowering the processing fee for HITS services from Rs1 lakh to Rs10,000, and extending the validity of HITS service authorization from 10 years to 20 years, with a renewal option every 10 years.
The DTH prices for consumers should come down if the benefits to service providers are passed on.
The TRAI also recommended reducing fees and charges of other services to align with the Telecommunications Act of 2023.
The radio broadcasting services fee will be 4 per cent of AGR, with a reduced 2 per cent fee for service providers in the Northeastern states, Jammu and Kashmir, and island territories during the first three years.
Other key features of the recommendations include, the terms and conditions for ‘Grant of Service Authorisations’ have been harmonized for similar services and covers eligibility criteria, application process and other relevant details/information required by an applicant entity before applying for service authorisation.
Migration of existing licensee/permission holder to new authorisation regime shall be voluntary, till the expiry of their license/permission. Further, no processing fee or entry fee will be required for migration, in case of broadcasting services. However, the validity period of the respective service authorisation should be from the effective date of migration to the authorisation regime, irrespective of the validity period of existing license/permission.
Addition of new services, namely, ‘Ground-based Broadcasting of a Television Channel’ and ‘Low Power Small Range Radio Service’, based on earlier recommendations of the Authority.
To protect the interests of service providers, it has been recommended that amendments to terms and conditions of service authorisations (except for reasons of National Security) shall require TRAI’s recommendations.
Mandatory co-location should be removed for authorised entities of Radio Broadcasting Services.
Infrastructure sharing, on voluntary basis, among broadcasting service providers as well as with the telecom service providers/infrastructure providers, wherever technically and commercially feasible, has been recommended.
Authorised entities of ‘Television Channel Distribution Services’ shall endeavour to adopt interoperable STBs to enhance consumer choice and reduce electronic waste.
TEC to prepare and notify standards for interoperable STBs and television sets with inbuilt STB functionality.
The minimum net worth requirement of Rs. 100 crore for the Internet Service Providers to provide IPTV Service is recommended to be removed and the same should be aligned with the provisions contained in the authorisation for Internet Services to be issued by DoT.
Terms and conditions for Radio Broadcasting Service have been made technology agnostic enabling adoption of digital technology.
Service authorisation for ‘Terrestrial Radio Service’ to be delinked from frequency assignment and the auction of spectrum for frequency assignment for Terrestrial Radio Service shall be done separately.
In addition to broadcasting of radio channel(s), the authorised entities for Terrestrial Radio Service should be allowed streaming the same content through internet concurrently without any user control.
MIB should prescribe separate Programme Code and Advertisement Code for radio broadcasting service providers.
Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, vide its letter dated 25th July 2024, has sought recommendations of TRAI under Section 11(1)(a) of TRAI Act, 1997 on the terms and conditions, including fees or charges; for authorisation to provide broadcasting services, aligning it to the Telecommunications Act, 2023 and harmonizing the terms and conditions across various service providers.
Accordingly, on 30th October 2024, the Authority initiated a consultation process by releasing a Consultation Paper titled ‘Framework for Service Authorisations for provision of Broadcasting Services under the Telecommunications Act, 2023′ and sought stakeholder’s comments. In response, the comments and counter comments received from the stakeholders were uploaded on TRAI’s website. As part of the consultation process, Open House Discussion (OHD) was held on 18th December 2024.
Based on the comments and counter-comments received from stakeholders as well as inputs gathered during OHD, examination of the existing provisions of various broadcasting policy guidelines, taking into account relevant earlier recommendations of TRAI that are under
consideration of the Government, and its own analysis, TRAI has collated and restructured the terms and conditions into a simplified authorisation framework.
The terms and conditions are aligned to the relevant provisions of the Telecommunications Act, 2023. Accordingly, TRAI has finalized its Recommendations on ‘Framework for Service Authorisations for provision of Broadcasting Services under the Telecommunications Act, 2023’.
The recommendations aim to promote growth and enhance ease of doing business in the sector.
The recommended authorisation framework provides for two distinct sets of terms and conditions, the first set, for the applicant entity intending to obtain authorisation for broadcasting services; and the second set, to comply with by the authorised entity for service provisioning during the period of authorization, the TRAI said.
