The Hindu Business Line : TRAI proposes bidding for mobile TV licence

Draft recommendations
Policy should be technology neutral and the choice should be left to the service provider.
Subscribers must have the option to change the service provider without having to change the handset.
Infrastructure sharing should be mandated between mobile TV providers

Our Bureau

New Delhi, Jan. 3 The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India has proposed to bring in new operators for offering mobile TV services and has suggested that the Government should hold a bidding process for issuing licences.

While existing mobile operators will be allowed to offer mobile TV without having to take a new licence, they will not be given any additional spectrum for the purpose.

Cap on broadcasting cos

Only those companies taking part in the bidding process will be given 8 Mhz spectrum along with the licence. TRAI has however barred broadcasting companies from holding more than 20 per cent stake in a mobile TV provider.

In its draft recommendations on mobile TV, the regulator also suggested that the policy should be technology neutral and the choice should be left to the service provider.

The regulator, however, said that technology used should be such that it allows subscribers to change the service provider without having to change the handset.

TV on mobile

Mobile television services refer to provision of television services to subscribers for viewing on handheld or portable devices. Technically, there are two main ways of delivering television content to mobile devices. The television content could be provided via mobile telecommunications networks or by using broadcasting technologies.

At present, only Doordarshan has commercially launched the service. Telecom companies are also planning to foray into this segment owing to its huge revenue earning potential. However, they will either have to take 3G spectrum or bid for a mobile TV licence. The draft recommendations will be finalised and sent to the Government after taking inputs from the various stakeholders.

FDI limit

TRAI has also suggested that infrastructure sharing should be mandated between mobile TV providers. The FDI limit for mobile television service providers has been proposed to be 74 per cent whereas broadcasting sector has a cap of 49 per cent.

Roll-out norms

The regulator has also set roll-out norms. In the first phase, the service providers must commence the mobile television transmission in at least one city in a State having a population of more than one million or the city with the largest population within one year.

Further, the second phase of roll-out obligations would require all the cities having a population of more than one million within the licence area to be covered within a period of four years from the date of grant of licence.

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