‘One Nation, One Framework’ echoes in TRAI’s OHD on ground-based broadcasters framework

New Delhi: Aligned with the ballyhoo of ‘One Nation, One Election’ in the country, the open house discussion organised by the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) on Friday echoed with ‘One Nation, One Framework,’ during discussions on the consultation paper titled ‘Regulatory Framework for Ground-based Broadcasters (GBB).’

At the outset, TRAI chairman Anil Kumar Lahoti informed that the consultation paper received a total of 22 comments and 2 counter-comments as stated by. The discussion was based on the need for a regulatory framework for the ground-based broadcasters, the definitions of terms - GBB. programming, etc., the distinction between GBB and satellite-based broadcasters (SBB), and the annual permission fees, among others. 

Single framework for all ‘broadcasters’

The vox populi was in coherence on establishing a single framework for both GBBs and the SBBs. The stakeholders argued that there should be no distinction between the two categories and the rules made by the government for uplinking and downlinking satellite channels in 2022 should be applied for ground-based broadcasting as well. 

Speaking on the subject, Anil Kumar Malhotra, representing the News Broadcasters and Digital Association (NBDA), suggested looking at the issue from the “content and pipe perspective.” 

He said, “At a consumer home, the TV screen is common, while the medium of delivery could be anything. It could be any pipe, be it cloud or satellite. So whatever rules and regulations were made for uplinking and downlinking, which have worked very well in the past, should be applicable to all forms of broadcasting, be it ground-based, satellite-based or cloud.”

With a slightly modified suggestion, Debashish Bhattacharya, Sr.DDG, Broadband India Forum (BIF), advocated to exempt GBBs from only the relevant clauses pertaining to satellite uplinking and downlinking. 

“Since ground based broadcasters are not operating using satellite technology therefore the relevant clauses pertaining to satellite downlink and uplink may be exempted from their scope as regards the uplinking and downlinking guidelines. The rest of the clauses as applicable for the SBBs could be also made applicable to them,” he said. 

Shweta Singh, General Manager, Bharti Airtel was in tune with Bhattacharya’s views. Taking the stage at the forum, she said, “Our submissions are that GBBs and SBBs only differ in the medium of transmission. While ground based broadcasters use terrestrial methods like fibre, broadband, cloud or 5G broadcast, the satellite based broadcasters rely on satellite uplinking and downlinking, but they carry identical type of content and advertisement, making GBBs a de facto broadcaster, as recognised in the TRAI consultation paper. 

Therefore, GBBs should adhere to TRAI's tariff order, interconnection regulations, quality of service regulations and MIB's (Ministry of Information & Broadcasting) programme and advertising code. Only satellite specific requirements like clearances from DoS (Department of Space), WPC (Wireless Planning and Coordination) wing should be excluded for GBBs to reflect their distinct transmission capabilities.”

Rabindra Narayan, President, PTC Network, aided the discussion with a global perspective and advocated “one set of laws for everyone.” He commented, “We have been operating in the US, Canada, UK, Europe, Australia and Middle East. There are no separate regulations for broadcasting of any nature in these countries. 

A single set of definitions, a single set of guidelines are prevalent there. Hence, I don’t think we should be debating on separate laws. There should be one set of laws for everyone.”

Annual Fee

The annual permission fee under the existing ‘Guidelines for Uplinking and Downlinking of Satellite Television Channels in India, 2022’ for SBB is a recurring fee that broadcasters must pay to MIB to maintain their permissions for operating TV channels. The existing SBBs pay a cumulative permission fee of Rs 7 lakh per year per channel. 

With the popular opinion being keeping GBBs at par with SBB, the stakeholders suggested that GBBs should also pay the same amount of permission fee to the government. 

Rajiv Khattar, an independent consultant, shared his views and said, “Seven lakh rupees a year is not that significant. The sum basically covers  the administrative cost and the  monitoring cost incurred by the ministry. Reiterating that there should be only one class of broadcasters, the processing  fee should be the same for GBBs and SBBs.”

Narendra Kumar Bagdi, President, All Local Cable Operator Association of India (ALCOA) was parallel with Khattar’s views and suggested the same processing fee for GBBs. He stated, “While there already are guidelines for satellite-based broadcasting, there is no need for a separate ground-based policy.” 

State vs National category of GBBs 

Strongly putting forth his views on the matter, Narayan from PTC, said, “Broadcasting is a national subject. It can affect law and order, has national security impacts, and should be under the purview of a central body. We should not risk going state-wise or region-wise. There is a risk of a localized mindset affecting the greater national and global interest.”

Offering a countering view, Shweta Singh from Bharti Airtel, said, “We believe that GBBs can operate at two levels, that is state level and a national level and as recommended by TRAI. GBBs operating in 15 or more states could be treated as pan India operators. The only thing is that they should be adhering to the same regulatory framework, as described earlier to ensure fairness and prevent competitive distortions. 

Bhattacharya from BIF suggested the same as Singh but demanded light-touch regulations for the smaller, state or regional-level GBBs. “The smaller GBBs (state or regional) may be subjected to less onerous and light touch regulations in terms of proportionate reduction in processing fees, annual fees, net worth, performance bank guarantees. By doing so, this would help encourage the smaller players and entrepreneurs who wish to enter the market and offer local regional content to the community,” he said. 

The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) released the consultation paper on the ‘Regulatory Framework for ground-based broadcasters’ on October 18 this year. The paper seeks to establish a regulatory framework that enables the use of ground-based technologies for television distribution.