Trai to recommend licence for MSOs

The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai) will unveil its recommendations on the cable network industry on Monday. Trai sources said the Multi-System Operators (such as Hathway, In Cable, WWIL, among others), which control cable TV homes mostly through distributors and cable operators, will now have to take a licence from the Ministry of Information & Broadcasting.

"MSOs are being recognised as an entity for the first time. They will be able to apply for a local, a national or a regional licence for a fee," said a Trai source. He said the recognition would lead to structural integration in the industry as now an MSO can also operate like a cable operator.

It's not difficult to see why MSOs are being recognised. "MSOs have made huge investments in cable networks and they are the only stakeholders who can help in digitising the industry," the official said.

The cable operators, meanwhile, will continue to get themselves registered at the post office and get a licence. However, they will now have to follow a procedure and submit their income tax details, PAN numbers, etc.

Trai also plans to push addressability in cable homes and is recommending that the subscriber management systems should be audited.

Trai is also laying down the procedure for termination of licence as well as setting up an appellate authority in case the postal department delays granting licences to cable operators.