The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) has released Recommendations on ‘Framework for Service Authorisations for provision of Broadcasting Services under the Telecommunications Act, 2023’.
As per the extant guidelines for various broadcasting services, licenses/permissions/ registrations are issued by Ministry of Information and Broadcasting (MIB) under Section 4 of the Indian Telegraph Act, 1885 for provision of broadcasting services, like, television channel uplinking/downlinking (including Teleport), SNG/DSNG, DTH, HITS, IPTV, FM Radio, and Community Radio Stations (CRS).
The Government has notified the Telecommunications Act, 2023 in the Gazette of India, which repeals the Indian Telegraph Act, 1885. However, the appointed date for various sections of the Telecommunications Act, 2023 is yet to be notified. Section 3(1)(a) of the Telecommunications Act, 2023 mandates authorisation for those intending to provide telecommunication services, subject to the terms and conditions, including fees or charges, as may be prescribed.
MIB, vide its letter dated 25th July 2024, has sought recommendations of TRAI under Section 11(1)(a) of TRAI Act, 1997 on the terms and conditions, including fees or charges; for authorisation to provide broadcasting services, aligning it to the Telecommunications Act, 2023 and harmonizing the terms and conditions across various service providers.
Accordingly, on 30th October 2024, the Authority initiated a consultation process by releasing a Consultation Paper titled ‘Framework for Service Authorisations for provision of Broadcasting Services under the Telecommunications Act, 2023′ and sought stakeholder’s comments. In response, the comments and counter comments received from the stakeholders were uploaded on TRAI’s website. As part of the consultation process, Open House Discussion (OHD) was held on 18th December 2024.
Based on the comments and counter-comments received from stakeholders as well as inputs gathered during OHD, examination of the existing provisions of various broadcasting policy guidelines, taking into account relevant earlier recommendations of TRAI that are under consideration of the Government, and its own analysis, TRAI has collated and restructured the terms and conditions into a simplified authorisation framework. The terms and conditions are aligned to the relevant provisions of the Telecommunications Act, 2023. Accordingly, TRAI has finalized its Recommendations on ‘Framework for Service Authorisations for provision of Broadcasting Services under the Telecommunications Act, 2023’. The recommendations aim to promote growth and enhance ease of doing business in the sector.
The recommended authorisation framework provides for two distinct sets of terms and conditions, the first set, for the applicant entity intending to obtain authorisation for broadcasting services; and the second set, to comply with by the authorised entity for service provisioning during the period of authorisation.
