TRAI favours 74% FDI, bidding for Mobile TV licences
In the first major step in making mobile TV a reality in India, TRAI submits its set of recommendations on the subject to the govt. New phones for 2008!
By TNN & Agencies |
NEW DELHI: Digcam, music player, FM radio, internet device, navigation system, hand-held computer... just when you thought your cell phone is just about everything it can be, here comes mobile TV. No more missing your favourite live sporting action or TV serial. Soon you can catch it all and more on the move, on your handset.
In the first major step in making mobile TV a reality in India, TRAI on Wednesday submitted its set of recommendations — including allowing 74% FDI and a bidding process for allocating licences — on the subject to the I&B ministry.
The telecom regulator has suggested that the choice of broadcasting technology should be left to the service providers but should be recognised by an authorised body. There are broadly two routes for providing mobile television services. One is operated by using the telecom network with spectrum allotted to Unified Access Service License (UASL) and Cellular Mobile Telephone Service (CMTS) licensees, and the other using broadcasting method with separate spectrum.
In the first major step in making mobile TV a reality in India, TRAI on Wednesday submitted its set of recommendations — including allowing 74% FDI and a bidding process for allocating licences — on the subject to the I&B ministry.
The telecom regulator has suggested that the choice of broadcasting technology should be left to the service providers but should be recognised by an authorised body. There are broadly two routes for providing mobile television services. One is operated by using the telecom network with spectrum allotted to Unified Access Service License (UASL) and Cellular Mobile Telephone Service (CMTS) licensees, and the other using broadcasting method with separate spectrum.
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According to TRAI, telecom operators with CMTS or UASL licenses will not require any further licence or permission for offering mobile television services on their own network using the frequency or spectrum already allotted to them.
However, providing mobile television services through the broadcasting method will require a separate licence. Besides state-run television network Doordarshan, private mobile television operators may be assigned at least one slot of eight MHz each for mobile television operation in UHF Band V from 585 MHz to 806 MHz.
Such spectrum would enable each mobile TV operator to offer about 15 video channels through the terrestrial broadcast route, TRAI said. On the issue of licence fees to be paid by the operators, TRAI recommended that the licences for mobile television services should be granted through a closed tender system on the basis of one time entry fees (OTEF) quoted by the bidders.
The reserve OTEF for a particular licence area should be 50% of the highest financial bid submitted for that particular licence area. It has also called for automatic allocation of spectrum to mobile television licensees for successful bidders while ruling out any kind of selection process. The body also asked that the mobile television licence be made mandatory for any telecom licensee.
It has also batted for the creation of a new class of service providers for provision of mobile television services using broadcasting technologies. TRAI has fixed the limit of 74% FDI for mobile television services. It also fixed the tenure of the licence for 10 years. The licence fee should be charged at 4% of the gross revenue for each year or at 10% of the OTEF limit for the concerned licence area, whichever was higher, TRAI said.
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Also, a mobile TV licensee cannot allow broadcasting firms to hold 20% or more of the total paid-up equity in the company at any time during the licence period.| | | Mobile TV standards | |
| | | Mobile TV can come to you either through a two-way cellular network (GPRS, CDMA and 3G) or a one-way dedicated broadcast network. Here is a list of some developing standards and the countries checking them out... | |
| | à | DVB-H/SH (Digital Video Broadcasting - Handheld) – EU, UK, New Zealand, Australia, South Africa, Iran, Malaysia, Singapore, Taiwan, Philippines and Sri Lanka. | |
| | à | S-DMB (Satellite Digital Multimedia Broadcast) – South Korea, Japan | |
| | à | CMMB (China Mobile Multimedia Broadcasting) – China | |
| | à | MediaFLO – launched in US | |
| | à | ISDB-T (Integrated Service Digital Broadcasting) – Japan and Brazil | |
| | à | T-DMB (Terrestrial Digital Mulitmedia Broadcast) – South Korea & Germany | |
| | à | DAB-IP (Digital Audio Broadcast) – UK | |
| | à | DMB (Digital multimedia broadcasting) | |
| | à | TDtv (based on TD-CDMA technology from IPWireless) | |
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