“Technological convergence brings with it peculiar problems with coverage, regulation, information privateness, and information safety, therefore it will be significant that coverage and rules evolve on a steady foundation to maintain tempo with the developments,” learn the session paper by the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI).
The paper offers with the problem of regulating converged digital applied sciences with a selected concentrate on enabling convergence of carriage of broadcasting and telecommunication providers. The regulator added that regulating converging expertise, which integrates a number of applied sciences, will be “difficult”.
The paper flagged points like requirements and technical license situations as necessary areas from a coverage perspective which incorporates “security, interoperability and high quality of service”.
Why it issues: The paper is notable because it examines challenges posed by converging applied sciences and explores adjustments wanted in authorized, administrative, and licensing frameworks to cope with them, as per TRAI. The proposal is necessary as a result of it will possibly trigger important disruption to web companies.
- Furthermore, the plan has additionally ruffled the feathers of the Ministry of Data and Broadcasting (MIB) which requested the Indian telecom regulator to concentrate on growing a single regulatory system as a substitute.
The suggestions on this paper will be despatched to Sanjeev Kumar Sharma, Advisor (Broadband & Coverage Evaluation), TRAI, by February 27, 2023. The regulator will settle for counter-comments until March 13, 2023. The suggestions will be despatched to advbbpa@trai.gov.in with a duplicate to jtadv-bbpa@trai.gov.in.
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Key takeaways
Converged regulatory framework
Want for revisiting frameworks: “Within the converged period, regulatory and licensing frameworks have to be revisited to allow business gamers to supply new providers in a converged period and supply it in a ubiquitous and cost-efficient method,” learn the paper. “convergence of telecom and broadcasting networks and providers can guarantee environment friendly utilization of the out there sources,” the paper reasoned, stressing that administrative models accountable haven’t been converged/restructured.
- It famous that disparate coverage buildings for telecom and broadcasting trigger governance challenges like a number of license/permission authorities for a similar converged service (e.g., IPTV), lack of regulatory readability on the outcomes of converged applied sciences (e.g., OTT), demarcated administration of the converged digital providers (e.g., converged cloud platforms).
What ought to the framework embody: The telecom regulator wrote that the framework must be outlined in such a method that it “offers adequate flexibility and alternatives to connectivity suppliers, media suppliers and expertise suppliers for adopting new enterprise fashions”. It added that there could also be a must issue within the OTT (Over-The-High) sector. It also needs to cowl elements like new entry, interconnection, client safety, sharing of infrastructure, and high quality of service within the new construction.
Absence of convergence
As per TRAI, the absence of convergence on the statutory, licensing, regulatory, and administrative ranges is inflicting challenges:
Statutory stage: The regulator mentioned that there are completely different Acts and Pointers such because the Indian Telegraph Act, 1885, the Data Know-how Act, 2000, Cable Tv Networks (Regulation) Act, 1995, and TRAI Act, 1997, amongst others. “These Acts are insufficient to handle regulatory considerations in a converged period,” the paper mentioned. The regulator mentioned that convergence of applied sciences warrants permissions from completely different ministries and oversight from completely different regulators which will increase prices and causes delays.
Licensing stage: “There’s hardly any convergence at licensing,” the paper mentioned, including that the Division of Telecommunications (DoT) and MIB are each concerned within the course of. “The technology-specific strategy can be too detailed within the converging atmosphere, would result in a gradual licensing course of, and would prohibit competitors within the business and development of the business within the type of new investments, new applied sciences, merchandise, and providers,” the paper concluded.
Regulatory stage: The telecom watchdog mentioned that its regulatory powers are restricted compared to the opposite regulators in lots of main international locations. It mentioned that it’s restricted solely to prescribing and monitoring high quality benchmarks, interconnect guidelines and pricing of providers. It merely has recommendatory powers in crucial areas like licensing administration, spectrum administration and many others., and areas like content material regulation stay out of its purview.
Content material regulation: The paper highlighted that there’s convergence so far as regulation of carriage and content material is worried in a number of main nationalities. It mentioned that there have been a number of our bodies regulating content material on televisions, print, promoting, movies, and many others. “So far as regulation of content material within the broadcasting sector is worried, the scenario has change into more and more complicated as a result of onset of a lot of OTT streaming suppliers. The OTT revolution has led to many gaps within the coverage area of content material regulation. In India, OTT content material oversight coverage remains to be evolving and a piece in progress,” the paper mentioned.
- The paper mentioned {that a} fragmented regulatory strategy for regulating content material is probably not conducive to advertise the expansion of the content material sector which has employment and export potential.
- “The present regulatory oversight framework for content material regulation, which is patchy and insufficient at its greatest, might have a whole overhaul in a converged period in step with many different nations, the place a converged regulator regulates carriage and content material,” the paper concluded.
Challenges in enabling convergence of carriage of telecom and broadcasting providers
The paper mentioned that the carriage half (entry community) is regulated/licensed by the DoT beneath Indian Telegraph Act, 1885, and the content material half is regulated by MIB beneath the Cable Tv Community (Regulation) Act, 1995.
Logical step: “It may be argued that in (the) converged period, a logical step will be of converging the licensing framework,” the paper prompt. The regulator proposed that entities will be authorised to function beneath a unified license as a substitute of being issued completely different licences for broadcasting, by means of a modified authorized framework. The paper thought that this authorisation will be offered by the ministry or division that oversees the supply of the communication service or infrastructure community which might be the DoT on this case.
Single regulation: The telecom watchdog mentioned that the convergence will probably be wanted at a statutory stage as “sure broadcasting registrations are issued beneath the Cable TV Act whereas DTH license is issued by MIB beneath the Telegraph Act”.
What will be the issues: The paper mentioned that “key issues” for growing a single code might contain consolidating legal guidelines governing the supply of communication providers, growth, institution, operation and growth of communication providers, infrastructure and networks. It ought to cowl the next—
- Conventional Telecommunication Providers
- Broadcasting & TV Providers
- IP-based communication providers
- OTT Communication/Broadcasting Providers
- Subscription/ Person-ID-based Video on Demand providers.
- Linear/ Stay Linear Tv Channels by means of varied OTT platforms
- Machine-to-Machine (M2M) Communication Providers.
- AR/VR communication
Coordination amongst ministries: The paper mentioned that the brand new framework ought to consist of latest definitions in order that communication providers will be comprehensively ruled and converged. It also needs to contain coordination amongst associated ministries and departments, the paper continued.
Administrative readability: “Will the authorisations beneath the Unified License (UL) be issued by respective ministries?,” questioned the paper, including that many points will come up if authorisations are dealt with by respective ministries. “Thus, to keep away from confusion and delays, it may be argued that aside from the requirement for convergence of the authorized and licensing framework, there may also be a requirement for convergence at administrative stage,” learn the paper cautiously. It added that there is probably not a must introduce adjustments as considerations will be addressed by implementing Ease of Doing Enterprise (EoDB).
What did the MIB say: The ministry was not satisfied with the proposal, and acknowledged that “shifting of licensing features to a different division, say DoT, won’t serve any good however will solely disturb the established practices,” as per a letter despatched by it. You may learn MediaNama’s report on the letter right here.
What did TRAI advocate?
The consultationpaper really helpful that the “DTH licence and terminal stations will be introduced beneath the jurisdiction of DoT whereas leaving the content material half to be regulated by MIB. Equally, the carriage a part of the Cable TV service suppliers might also be introduced beneath the jurisdiction of DoT whereas content material regulation continues with MIB.”
The regulator mentioned that there’s a case for “provisioning of registration/licenses on the premise of use instances as a substitute of on the premise of sort of expertise for service provisioning”. “The march of expertise continues to maneuver at a quicker tempo and subsequently the definitions of providers have to be expertise agnostic and in addition all encompassing,” the paper concluded.
Modifications in spectrum administration: The telecom watchdog famous that the DoT workouts the statutory features of issuing licenses to telecommunication providers. Nevertheless, for the supply of providers for broadcasters, say for instance, licenses for DTH providers and Cable TV are issued by the MIB. It famous that the spectrum to all broadcasting providers and telecommunication providers is assigned by the DoT. “…the convergence of broadband providers and broadcasting providers will deliver substantial efficiencies. It could be fascinating that comparable providers are regulated in an identical method from regulatory and coverage perspective,” learn the paper. The regulator added that there should be a deliberation on the problem of adjustments within the spectrum administration regime in India for carriage of broadcasting providers and telecommunication providers.
Holistic convergence: The paper famous that the side of convergence goes past telecom and broadcasting and includes convergence with the IT sector as effectively. “Community features are getting virtualized and will be optimized to be hosted in edge information centres. Convergence of networking and cloud/edge computing will in the end have an effect on the best way the telecom in addition to broadcasting providers are delivered,” the paper mentioned. “Within the coming years, it will virtually be unimaginable to demarcate and assign obligations between cloud and telecom service suppliers from a regulatory perspective,” it concluded.
- The regulator identified that it was crucial to have a look at the convergence not simply from a telecom and broadcasting lens, however in a holistic method which includes ITeS (Data Know-how enabled Providers) and the area sector as effectively.
different international locations: “Giant economies world wide just like the USA, UK, Australia, European Union, and many others. have established the converged regulators who’re empowered and made accountable for overseeing the whole digital communication area which incorporates telecommunication, broadcasting, media, and our on-line world,” TRAI defined within the paper. It added that they’ve a typical physique that authorises or offers licences for each telecommunications and broadcast providers.
Disclaimer: The submit was edited on February 7, 2023, at 13:20 to incorporate hyperlinks to numerous authorized acts included within the submit.
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