Trai revises interconnection norms for broadcasters

The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai) has made it mandatory for all broadcasters to have Reference Interconnect Offers (RIOs) for their addressable systems like direct-to-home (DTH), IPTV and conditional access system (CAS).

This means that all broadcasters will now have to give in writing the price of their pay and free-to-air channels and the terms on which they will provide them to digital platforms like DTH, IPTV and CAS.

In order to implement this, Trai has amended the Telecommunication (Broadcasting and Cable Services) Interconnection Regulation, 2004.

The new norms facilitate voluntary rollout of CAS by making it mandatory for all broadcasters to have RIOs for all addressable systems. In addition to this, minimum technical specifications for addressable systems have also been specified.

The new rules also make it mandatory for all interconnect agreements to be put in writing. They, however, allow the distributor of channels to charge a fee for placement of the channel of a broadcaster vis-a-vis channels of other broadcasters on its distribution platform.

Trai said these provisions in the interconnect norms would go a long way in facilitating access to content on non-discriminatory basis for distributors of TV channels deploying addressable platforms. This, in turn, would lead to greater competition among various pay TV delivery platforms, bringing considerable benefit to consumers, it added.

The regulatory body also said that the 2004 regulations were amended as the cable and broadcasting sector had witnessed a lot of changes in the last five years, especially after the advent of CAS and DTH systems.