MSM’s Man Jit Singh is the new IBF President

The Indian Broadcasting Foundation also elected three Vice-Presidents including Rajat Sharma of India TV, Sunil Lulla of Times TV Network and Punit Goenka of Zee News. 

Alok Agrawal is the new Zee News CEO

The former CEO Barun Das was with the news organization for five years with Zee news as its CEO. 

U.S. court orders imprisonment for anti-Islam filmmaker

A U.S. court has ordered that the anti Islam film maker, Nakoula Basseley Nakoula, should be imprisoned as he has violated the probation term for a 2010 cheque fraud conviction.

The federal prosecutor said the total number of probation violations by Nakoula were eight which included using aliases and lying to the probation officers. He was convicted in 2010, for which he had to undergo 21 months in prison. He was also not allowed to use computers or the Internet, for five years. If at all he had to use the same, he had to take approval from the probation officer.

Supreme Court says auction route is not the only method for allocation of spectrum

The Supreme Court has said that the auctioning is not the only method for the allocation of natural resources such as spectrum among the companies.

The Supreme Court was responding to a Presidential Reference after the on 2G spectrum allocation. The five-judge bench of Supreme Court headed by Chief Justice S H Kapadia said that auction method of natural resources for maximisation of revenue is good but other methods for allocation of natural resources cannot be ruled out.

Gradiente to acquire TV channel

The company Gradiente Infotainment plans to acquire a General Entertainment Channel (GEC) with an estimated cost of Rs. 100 crore with a view to upgrade infrastructure and source content so the programmes can be telecast at the national level.

The company announced at the 20 th annual general meeting where it said it planned to work towards utilizing its professional synergies encompassing advertising, films and television programs and event management.

Telecom tariffs may go up after removal of roaming charges

After the government decision to remove the roaming charges for telephone operators, the telecom operators may go for hiking tariffs to stay profitable. The Telecom Minister Kapil Sibal has said that his ministry plans to remove the roaming charges by 2013. 

The telecom operators are facing the problem of decreasing revenues, especially average revenue per user (ARPU) and flat average revenue per minute (ARPM). The telecom companies also face the prospect for paying the 2G spectrum cost as well. Most of the losses to be incurred by the telecom companies would depend on the price they are going to pay for the 2G spectrum in the forthcoming 2G spectrum auctions. 

IBN7 appoints Dilip Venkatraman as CEO

N. Dilip Venkatraman, CEO, CNN-IBN has now also been assigned the mandate to lead IBN7, the Network18 Group’s National Hindi News service. In this expanded role, Venkatraman will be responsible for the strategic and operational management of both IBN7 & CNN-IBN. 

Venkatraman takes over the leadership mantle at IBN7 from Piyush Jain, who is now focusing on the group’s regional news forays. 

Anshuman Misra quits Turner International Asia Pacific, a Time Warner Company

The company which runs channels like Cartoon Network, POGO and CNN, Turner International Asia Pacific Ltd, has said its senior vice-president and managing director (networks and content distribution) Anshuman Misra, has left the company. He has worked for the compahy for almost 14 years. 

“After working without a real break for more than two decades, I look forward to taking a few months off before I start the next chapter of my work life. I hope it’s as exciting as the time I’ve had with Turner,” Misra said while talking to Livemint. “I walk out of the company very satisfied, but also sad to leave such a great bunch of people.” 

Shyam Kumar becomes CEO, Puthiya Thalaimurai

The 24-hour Tamil news channel Puthiya Thalaimurai, gets RBU Shyam Kumar as the chief executive officer, from the earlier position of director, operations and handled marketing, HR, presentation and traffic, research and magazine circulation. 

The same company also publishes Puthiya Thalaimurai group of magazines. While talking to an advertising news website, Kumar said, "I will assess all the possibilities from various dimensions to position the channel as a global brand, without compromising on the core values that we have been hitherto upholding." 

TDSAT orders Digicable to pay outstanding dues of MediaPro

The Telecom Disputes Settlement and Appellate Tribunal (TDSAT) has asked Digicable to pay the outstanding dues to MediaPro after the Media Pro had filed a case against Digicable for outstanding dues of July and August.

India TV appoints Paritosh Joshi as Strategist

India TV has announced the appointment of Paritosh Joshi as a Strategist. Until April 2012, Joshi was CEO, STAR CJ Network India, a joint venture between STAR Group and CJ O Shopping of South Korea. 

In his role as a Strategist for India TV, Joshi primarily will be responsible for optimising and leading the Revenue function of the existing businesses and business development for the forthcoming ventures for the company. 

Alok Agrawal to join Zee News

Alok Agrawal, the former chief operating officer of Cheil Worldwide SW Asia, will be joining Senior Management team at Zee News Ltd in Delhi. Best Media Info, a media website reports that designation and reporting structure for the appointment has not been confirmed. It has been reported earlier that Agrawal put in his papers at Cheil about a month back after serving the agency for four years. He joined Chiel in 2008. 

Dish TV and Ten Sports bring UEFA Champions League and UEFA Europa League on Dish TV

The UEFA Champions League and UEFA Europa League Matches would be brought exclusively on the DTH platform Dish TV by Ten Sports on Pay per view basis. The football matches would be telecast on the sports channel Ten Sports.

46 select matches in 24 days would be offered to the viewers on Pay per View (PPV) basis in India through Football on Demand on Dish TV.

The BBC COO Caroline Thomson to quit by the end of this month

BBC’s COO Caroline Thomson shall be leaving the position and the public broadcaster at the end of the month. The senior team of the BBC is being restructured and the position of Chief Operating Officer is being closed by BBC's new DG George Entwistle. 

STBs, Video Games, music systems under mandatory registration regime

Electronic items such as television set-top boxes (STBs), electronic video games, laptops/notebooks/tablets, plasma/LCD/LED television sets and electronic musical systems have to come under a mandatory regime of registration.

The electronic items have to be registered under Electronics and Information Technology Goods (Requirements for Compulsory Registration) Order 2012 passed by the Departments of Electronics and Information Technology.

TDSAT reserves order on Qualcomm plea

Telecom tribunal TDSAT reserved on 21 August 2012 its order on a plea by the US-based Qualcomm opposing reduction in the validity of license period and changes in roll-out obligations on wireless broadband spectrum allotted to the company.

A TDSAT bench headed by its Chairman Justice S B Sinha reserved its order after briefly hearing the arguments from the Department of Telecom (DoT) and Qualcomm.

Narayan Rao becomes the News Broadcasters Association president again

News Broadcasters Association (NBA), the body formed by private news and current affairs broadcasters, has appointed K V L Narayan Rao as its president again. He is the executive vice-chairperson of NDTV group. The association also reappointed Barun Das, CEO, Zee News Ltd as its vice-president. Ashok Venkatramani (CEO, ABP News, MCCS Pvt Ltd) is to become the honorary treasurer, said the News Broadcasters Association in a statement. 

M.K. Srinivasan to join Star International as Senior V-P for North America

The broadcasting company Star has brought M.K. Srinivasan on board on the position of Senior Vice-President (North America) with a view to grow its network in the US and Canada. Mr M.K. Srinivasan comes with 25 years of experience in the two countries, and has worked with most of the important television stations. 

The telecom operators who flout MNP norms to pay fine

The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai) has said the telecom operators will have to pay a penalty ranging of Rs 5,000 to Rs 10,000 if they flout mobile number portability (MNP). 

In the mobile number portability norms, the users are able to switch operators but they are able to use the same numbers. The mobile number portability facility was launched last January itself. There have been complaints from the telecom subscribers who say their MNP requests are rejected by the telecom companies. 

The order on Revenue sharing by TDSAT to come soon

The Telecom Disputes Settlement & Appellate Tribunal (TDSAT) is likely to pass an order on the contentious revenue sharing issue soon. The arguments on the issue between LCOs and MSOs are being heard by the TDSAT for the last 10 days.

The petition was submitted by the companies Indusind Media Communication and Digicable Services against TRAI. They wanted the revenue sharing ratio between MSOs and LCOs to be kept at 65:35 for Rs 100 payment by the subscribers.

Delhi high court stops cable operators from unauthorised telecast of T20 World Cup

The Delhi High Court has barred the cable operators, hotels and websites against unauthorised broadcast of ICC World Twenty20 event. 27 matches of the event would be shown live by ESPN Star it will also simulcast of India matches, semi-finals and the final with Hindi commentary.

The television networks ESPN Star had said they anticipated the defendants, approximately 34 named cable operators, hotels and Internet websites may unauthorisedly telecast matches of the event on their networks.

GSM, CDMA bodies petition TDSAT against TRAI, on the issue of getting customer confirmation on VAS

The GSM and CDMA Telecom operators have filed a petition against TRAI in the TDSAT for its order on the issue of provision of value-added-services (VAS) to their customers.

The TRAI order was about the telecom companies taking confirmation from their customers at the time of activation of value added services (VAS).

G. Kasturi, former Editor of the Hindu, passes away

G. Kasturi, former Editor of The Hindu, passed after a heart failure at his home. He was known for presiding over the rapid expansion of and innovative modernisation of The Hindu. 

He died peacefully at his home on Kasturi Ranga Road. He was active till the very end, and was 87 years of age. 

The new TRAI rule will make ISD calls cheaper

Customers would have to pay less for the International long distance calls with the introduction of new rule by the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI). The new rule is all set to intensify the competition since the regulator TRAI has allowed telephone users of one operator to calling cards from other operators. 

Therefore, the Vodafone customers will be able to make calls to US or UK by buying Reliance’s global calling card as well. 

DoT sends an SOS to the Law Ministry for Sistema case

The Department of Telecom is anticipating legal action by Sistema and has therefore sent an SOS to the Law Ministry to create a team of lawyers to fight the possible arbitration. The Russian company Sistema had asked the licence cancellation issue to be settled by August 28.

The Indian authorities were not able to settle their concerns by that date.

DTH growth in India slows further, says MPA

In Q2 2012, India’s DTH operators were expecting to get a much bigger boost in subscriber figures from the IPL cricket season and the scheduled rollout of the mandatory digitisation initiative. Unfortunately,IPL performed below expectations while the digitization rollout was pushed back four months. For the six months ending June 2012, the industry added only 4.4 million gross subscribers, taking the cumulative gross base to 48.8 million subscribers, according to the latest report from Media Partners Asia.

ZEE to launch Bangla Movie Channel ‘Zee Bangla Cinema’ on 23 Sep

Zee Entertainment Enterprises Ltd. – India’s leading media conglomerate, today took yet another step in strengthening its dominant position in the regional genre, by launching India’s one and only 24-hour Bangla Movie Channel – ‘Zee Bangla Cinema’. With a rich and varied film library, the Zee Bangla Cinema promises to offer a mixed bag of blockbusters from the golden era directors and the best masterpieces of Satyajit Ray, Mrinal Sen, Ritwick Ghatak, Tarun Mazumdar to the present movies of directors like Rituparno Ghosh, Raj Chakraborty and Anjan Dutta.

The channel will go on-air on September 23rd and will telecast 2012’s blockbuster movie ‘Shatru’ starring Jeet and Nusrat.

Department of Telecommunications (DoT) to release spectrum in 1,800-MHz band

In the new auction of 2G spectrum, the department of telecommunications (DoT) would be releasing more spectrum for all the new entrants so they can get at least 5 Mhz spectrum.

The spectrum would be released in the 1,800 Mhz band, would now be released. The DoT secretary R Chandrasekhar said the 2G spectrum in the 1,800 Mhz band would be needed for refarming in 2015. At that time, the defence ministry would be expected to vacate the spectrum held by it. Overall, defence would be vacating 55 mhz of spectrum to DoT.

Avinash Himatsinghani to leave Fox International Channels Asia

Avinash Himatsinghani, Fox International Channels (FIC) Asia’s senior vice-president and general manager, Southeast Asia, has decided to quit by the end of the calendar year. He was recently involved in creating local market teams in Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia and Thailand, reports afaqs. He was responsible for significant growth in the business of Fox International Channels there. 

He worked in Fox for more than 11 years, and he was part of several teams while building FIC business. He started working in 2001 as part of advertising sales team of Star in Hong Kong, later he moved to National Geographic Channel Asia Pacific, and other sales teams across markets. 

RBI Governor appears before Parliamentary panel on 2G spectrum scam

RBI Governor D Subbarao appeared before a parliamentary panel hearing 2G spectrum scam. He told the panel that he did not agree with the Finance Ministry note which had said the Finance Minister might have insisted for 2G spectrum auction. 

He did not agree that the 2G spectrum auction resulted in a loss. 

TRAI order on consumers’ consent over VAS to be challenged by mobile companies

Mobile operators don’t agree with the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India’s order on getting consumers’ consent before activating any value-added services (VAS). They will be filing a legal petition against TRAI order and it will be filed this week. 

Rajan Mathews, Director-General, Cellular Operators Association of India, said, “We are going to take legal recourse. We are not opposed to the idea of taking consumers consent but we are objecting to the method prescribed by the TRAI.” 

AVerMedia RECentral Software to officially support Game Broadcaster HD

The RECentral software of the AVerMedia Technologies, will be officially supporting the Game Broadcaster HD. Now the users of the Game Broadcaster HD will get to stream and record 1080p HD game footages.

The Game Broadcaster HD is likely to turn in to a powerful tool for gameplay capture and streaming. The PC and console gamers would be able enjoy real time 1080p video capture with the help of RECentral Software.

Dish TV introduces recharge through IMPS

Dish TV India, the direct to home television service provider has launched Interbank Mobile Payment Service (IMPS) based recharge option. It will take place through National payment corporations of India (NPCI) which handles retail payments in India and has been formed by Reserve Bank of India and Indian Banks Association (IBA). The new option will allow 13.5 million subscribers a new convenient option for recharging their Dish TV accounts anywhere.

The IMPS service can be utilized by the consumers through four platforms – Mobile Applications, Short Message Service, Dish TV website and Interactive voice response (IVR). The consumers just have to feed in the required information and their existing account will be recharged right away. Salil Kapoor, Chief Operating Officer, Dish TV, said, “As a pioneer and market leader of the DTH Industry we strongly believe that the future is all about technology based secure and convenient payment options. And IMPS clearly has the potential to change the retail payment ecosystem. As a 13.5 million strong family, our current focus is to bring novel recharge solution for our valued customers.”

New ‘Fibre to Home’ facility from BSNL for high speed Internet

The ‘Fibre to Home’ (FTTH) facility for the consumers by the state run Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited would be launched by month-end for providing Internet, telephone and TV channels’ access to the consumers.

The new Fibre to Home facility would bring high speed Internet for the consumers and speeds would be up to 100 Mbps and results would be stupendous. For example, the users would be able to download a movie in just a minute, a BSNL spokesman said today quoting Senior General Manager G. C. Pandey.

BSNL's 2G expansion doubtful in East India due to uncertain gear supplies from ZTE

Expansion of 2G network for Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd in Eastern India is in trouble due to doubts whether ZTE would be able to fulfill gear supply commitments or not. The BSNL needs over Rs 1,300-crore worth of GSM equipment in nine eastern zones. 

The Chinese company ZTE bagged gear supplies contract by defeating Huawei, Alcatel-Lucent, Nokia Siemens Networks and Ericsson to get the huge deal from the state run BSNL. None of other companies agreed to go into the price range of ZTE, hence the deal went to the Chinese company. 

Foreign telcos getting license for telecom services will have to form the Indian venture in 3 months

The Indian government has said the foreign companies getting licenses in the upcoming spectrum auctions will get three months for the formation of their Indian venture. Since they cannot invest in more than 74 per cent equity, formation of the Indian venture will be necessary. 

"At the stage of participation, they would not need to be...but as happened in 3G and BWA (auction), a completely foreign-owned entity can participate and if it wins it will have to nominate a company with not more than 74 per cent foreign equity within three months," Telecom Secretary R Chandrashekhar told PTI. 

Gulf News Broadcasting brings new FM Radio Stations powered by Harris Transmitters

The Middle East music lovers would now be enjoying two new FM Radio Stations powered by Harris Transmitters. The new ration stations are Arabic and Hindi radio stations which broadcast crystal-clear FM with the help of Flexiva™ air-cooled FM transmitters.

The new Gulf News Broadcasting radio stations — are named Hayat 95.6 FM and Josh 97.8 FM. The other stations from the company include English-language FM stations, Radio 1 and Radio 2, and the Hindi channel Hum.

Progress of digitalization in four metros 68 per cent completed

According to a press release issued by the Information & Broadcasting Ministry has made a statement today that 68 per cent digitisation of households connected with cable television is complete in four metros.

The deadline set by the government for the same in the four metros is October 31 and in rest of the country by December 2014.

Reliance Entertainment Digital's games publisher Jump Games brings T20 World Cup Mobile Game

Jump Games, the mobile and web games developer and publisher, has launched ICC T20 World Cup 2012 mobile game where the gamers would be able to own their teams, just like the superstars, and would be able to experience the T20 World Cup on their mobile handsets. The game feels just like the real T20 world cup as the games in the mobile handsets would also be scheduled just like the real world cup in Sri Lanka. 

Jump Games business head India Chaitanya Prabhu said, "Cricket is a religion in India and it is also the most popular game for Indians on their mobiles. With this game we wanted to extend the experience of the ICC T20 World Cup 2012 to the mobile phone. We wanted to add to the enjoyment around the ICC T20 World Cup 2012 and hence decided to launch the contest. I am sure that casual gamers will enjoy playing the official mobile game of the ICC T20 World Cup 2012." 

Airtel enters into a deal with cab operator GoCarz for Internet connectivity on the go

Bharti Airtel has entered into a partnership with GoCarz, the cab operator company, for providing free Internet services to its customers availing its cab services in Delhi and NCR. 

Commuters availing the services of the car company GoCarz in Delhi and National Capital Region (NCR) will be able to connect to the Internet with Airtel's high-speed Internet completely free of charge. 

Aircel’s bank guarantee reduced by half for 2 UP circles by TDSAT

Aircel’s financial bank guarantee for UP East and UP West has been reduced by half by Telecom tribunal TDSAT. There was a dispute between the Department of Telecommunications (DoT) and Aircel over revision of the financial bank guarantees.

The company had also approached TDSAT for the purpose, to request for revision of the guarantees submitted by the company in all its circles.

Two TV channels, Care World and India News, fail to qualify for DD Direct Plus

The direct to home platform of Doordarshan, DD Direct Plus, has not allowed two television channels, Care World and India News, to join its direct-to-home (DTH) platform. There are 15 other broadcasters who have stayed away from the DTH arm of Doordarshan.

The two television channels Care World and India News took part in the e-auction but didn’t qualify. The channels which stayed away included IBN Lokmat, News 24, ABN Andhra Jyothi, S V Bhakti, Amrita, Kalaignar, Total TV, E-24, Mahuaa, Kairali, Jai Hind, MH-One, News Live, Music India and Pragya.

Appropriate regime soon for the regulation of social media and cyberspace, says Government

The government has taken a decision to bring an appropriate regime about blocking content on the Internet, especially social media in an efficient and timely manner. The meeting took place on August 27 in the Prime Minister’s Office and was attended by high level officials including heads of all intelligence agencies, representatives from the ministries of home, telecom and IT and representatives from the ministries of home, telecom and IT. The details of the meeting were accessed by a business newspaper which said there would be an effective cyber monitoring system and the perpetrators would be penalized as well. 

The regime would also have a legal arm where the existing gaps in the IT Act would also be plugged so the malicious use of the internet and social media can be effectively deterred. 

Digital Accessible System (DAS) expected to get a boost due to relaxation in FDI cap in broadcast

The Government’s decision to increase the foreign direct investment (FDI) limit in the broadcasting segment including DTH (Direct To Home), MSOs (Multi Service Operators), cable TV and HITS (head-end in the sky) has given a new boost to the fledgling industry segment. The existing cap for the segment was only 49 per cent in cable TV and DTH. In HITS (head-end in the sky), it was anyway already up at 74 per cent. 

For the mobile television segment, however, there are no such norms as the FDI cap stands at 74 per cent. The news of increasing the FDI cap for Indian broadcasting industry was announced by the cabinet on September 14, 2012, where it was clearly mentioned that the FDI limit, especially for those involved in the distribution aspect of the broadcast business, has been increased to 74 per cent. 

Shaili Chopra quits ET Now

ET Now senior editor and lead anchor Shaili Chopra has decided to move on from the company. 

She had tweeted on 13 September 2012 "Hello people, moving on from ETNOW, doing something new(s) and exciting - both in business and in media - more on that coming soon." 

Sistema Shyam has no plans to acquire any telecom operator

Telecom firm Sistema Shyam Teleservices today said that the company does not have any plans to acquire any other telecom operator whose licence has been quashed by Supreme Court. 

"Sistema Shyam TeleServices Ltd would like to categorically state that there are no plans of acquiring any telecom service provider. We also believe that such talk is based on sheer speculation," the company said in a statement. 

Empowered group of ministers (EGoM) to decide the fate of FM-III policy

The decision about the fate of third-phase of private FM radio policy (FM-III) now rests in the hands of a EGoM. The Empowered Group of Ministers will be formed by the government soon.

The issue has gained significance due to numerous new issues cropping up and also due to technical and financial implications for the industry as well.

The issues before the proposed Empowered Group of Ministers will include the amount charged for migration fee to FM-III; the changes in the RFP for FM-III compared to 3G and BWA auctions. There is a proposal to reduce inter-channel spacing between two adjacent FM stations in FM-III, the EGoM will take a decision on whether to adopt that suggestion or not.

Indian TV Fest ’12 rescheduled due to digitization deadline

The schedule of the Indian TV Fest ’12 (ITF 2012) is being rescheduled in view of the digitisation process across the metros by the Indian Broadcasting Foundation. The ITF was earlier scheduled November 2 and 3, 2012 in Goa.

Digitisation of cable TV being considered as a very step in the Indian television industry and efforts are on to make sure there is no loss of focus for the same due to other events. The Information and Broadcasting ministry as well as the broadcast industry is also taking keen interest in the same. The Indian Broadcasting Foundation (IBF), has decided to focus towards a successful roll-out of digitization so there is no distraction for the process.

Cabinet clears increase in FDI cap for broadcasting sector

The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs today approved the proposal of I&B Ministry to increase the FDI cap in broadcasting to 74% in cable TV services, DTH and HITS keeping the FDI in News and current affair channels to 26%. 

Earlier, 49 per cent FDI was allowed in cable TV and DTH, and 74 per cent in HITS. This is likely to attract FDI in MSO companies and help them to digitalise before the deadline of 31 Oct 2012. This may also increase monopolies of some large media groups who enjoy vertical monopolies in the sector through their TV channels, DTH and MSO networks. 

Even the older 2G players would be allowed to participate in the 2G auction: says Milind Deora

The Minister of State for Communications and IT, Milind Deora, has said the old players will also be allowed to participate in the 2G auction by the government. He was speaking about the upcoming 2G auction at the 2nd National Conference on e-Commerce organised by The Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry of India (ASSOCHAM) in New Delhi on 14 September. 

The auction will be open to all players, including those operators whose licences were cancelled by the Supreme Court order, he said. 

Sistema says its stand on participation in spectrum auction will be taken its plea is heard by Supreme Court

Russia's Sistema said its decision on the participation in the upcoming 2G spectrum auction will be taken after Supreme Court has heard its petition about being exempted from the cancellation of 122 telecom licences. Out of those 122 licenses, 21 belong to Sistema Shyam. 

"Auction prices announced by the regulator are unjustifiably high and no decision on auction participation will be taken until our case is heard in our Curative Petition to the Supreme Court," Sistema's President and Chief Executive Officer Mikhail Shamolin said in a statement. 

To encourage digitalization, TVs will go blank for 2 minutes for three days

The television sets of the viewers will go blank for two minutes for the next three days, and the move has been planned by the broadcasters to encourage the viewers to switch to the set top box in time before the approaching digitalization deadline of November 1, 2012. The transmission will be stopped simultaneously at 7:58 pm, 8:58 pm and 9:58 pm for the next three days, Friday, Saturday and Sunday.

Instead of the usual programming, the television stations will be showing a 30-second advertisement in two languages, Hindi and English, to tell the viewers to change to digital set top boxes before October 31. The tagline for the advertisement would be "Go digital or go blank" in English and "Set top box lagaye ya TV bhool jaye" in Hindi.

Revenue-sharing formula favours broadcasters, says Delhi MSO to TDSAT

A Delhi based MSO has argued before TDSAT that the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai) tariff order was drafted at the behest of broadcasters and that’s the reason it favours the hence, the revenue-sharing formula seems to have benefited them the most.

Surprisingly, the argument also cites tacit admission in Para 27 of the Explanatory Memorandum of the Tariff Order issued on 30 April, said counsel for multi system operator (MSO) Delhi Distribution Company Navin Chawla. He was presenting his argument while challenging the Trai tariff order in Telecom Disputes Settlement and Appellate Tribunal (TDSAT).

Indian TV Fest ’12 rescheduled due to digitization deadline

The schedule of the Indian TV Fest ’12 (ITF 2012) is being rescheduled in view of the digitisation process across the metros by the Indian Broadcasting Foundation. The ITF was earlier scheduled November 2 and 3, 2012 in Goa.

Digitisation of cable TV being considered as a very step in the Indian television industry and efforts are on to make sure there is no loss of focus for the same due to other events. The Information and Broadcasting ministry as well as the broadcast industry is also taking keen interest in the same. The Indian Broadcasting Foundation (IBF), has decided to focus towards a successful roll-out of digitization so there is no distraction for the process.

Cabinet clears increase in FDI cap for broadcasting sector

The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs today approved the proposal of I&B Ministry to increase the FDI cap in broadcasting to 74% in cable TV services, DTH and HITS keeping the FDI in News and current affair channels to 26%. 

Earlier, 49 per cent FDI was allowed in cable TV and DTH, and 74 per cent in HITS. This is likely to attract FDI in MSO companies and help them to digitalise before the deadline of 31 Oct 2012. This may also increase monopolies of some large media groups who enjoy vertical monopolies in the sector through their TV channels, DTH and MSO networks. 

The new iPhone 5 launched by Apple on Sep 13, 2012

Bringing the months of speculation to an end, the new smartphone from Apple, iPhone 5, has been launched on Sep 13 to tackle growing challenges from Samsung, Google and Microsoft. The phone was launched in San Francisco, where the Apple marketing chief Phill Schiller called the new phone the “most beautiful product ever made, bar none”. He also said it was the best engineering the company had ever come up with. 

The new smartphone will be available for pre-order in U.S., Canada, U.K., France, Germany, Australia, Japan, Hong Kong and Singapore, and the shipping of the product will begin one week later. The product will finally be available in more than 100 countries, Mr. Schiller said. 

TRAI hauls up Telecom operators for non-compliance of regulations

Trai has told the telecom operators to start complying with regulations. They will have to face penalty if they don’t adhere to the regulations. In a meeting with the operators, the TRAI has said if a regulation has been issued it has to be adhered to. Earlier, there were cases when the implementation of the orders was delayed if it went against the business. For instance, a 2011 on valued added services has not been complied with yet.

TRAI hauls up Telecom operators for non-compliance of regulations

Trai has told the telecom operators to start complying with regulations. They will have to face penalty if they don’t adhere to the regulations. In a meeting with the operators, the TRAI has said if a regulation has been issued it has to be adhered to. Earlier, there were cases when the implementation of the orders was delayed if it went against the business. For instance, a 2011 on valued added services has not been complied with yet.

Reliance’s low-cost tablets to be disruptive for the 3G operators: Gartner

The inexpensive Long Term Evolution tablets and tariffs to be introduced by the Reliance Industries may turn out to be disruptive for 3G operators, says the research agency Gartner. 

The company intends to introduce a Long Term Evolution (LTE) tablet for the price of Rs 3,500 (about $60) in the Indian market. The company has also partnered with Datawind for the production, says the research and advisory firm Gartner’s report. 

Game-Changing FTTH Fault Detection Technology Launched at ECOC 2012

The new game changing fault detection technology is known as Fast Light, and it will allow the service providers to bring fibre faulting time to minutes. The new technology is being launched at ECOC 2012.

The new technology automates the fibre repair process and carries out protection switching of optical line terminal (OLT) ports. The commercial benefit of the new technology is very clear just by looking at the relevant business cases. Even one single passive optical network (PON) fibre failure results in loss of TV or internet access for 64 customers. The new technology Fast Light identifies all customers affected remotely and that too happens very quickly.

Tdsat hearing: MSOs against basic service tier conditions in Trai tariff order

The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai) is said to have come out with a “confusing and faulty” Tariff Order, said an MSO counsel to the Tdsat while arguing at the TDSAT hearing. The TDSAT hearing started to take up the matter of revenue share between MSO and LCOs and also about the basic service tier conditions in the Trai tariff order. The Trai order had stipulated that the subscribers would get a basic service tier (BST) of 100 free-to-air (FTA) channels for the price of Rs 100. The order also says that in place of the basic service tier provided by the MSO, the subscriber would also be able to choose any combination of free to air channels up to 100 channels.

Such an order negates the very meaning of the basic service tier itself, said the counsel for MSO Delhi Distribution Company Navin Chawla. He further pointed out the order also asks the MSO to include five channels of each category news and current affairs, infotainment, sports, kids, music, lifestyle, movies and general entertainment in Hindi, English and regional language channels as well. Going by this order, he argued, the number of channels would easily go above the stipulated number of 100. He also suggested there was no study conducted to even find out whether the viewers wanted those 100 channels or not.

Ganesh Chaturthi Celebrations now Live on ZengaTV

ZengaTV, the pioneer in mobile TV services will be streaming live Andheri ka Raja Ganesha prayer from September 19th. The channel dedicated to the world of Ganesha devotees will be available in India on Mobiles, Web and Tablet devices. 

Ganesh Utsav is a spectacular festival, honoring Lord Ganesha. The elephant-headed god is worshiped for 10 days from Bhadrapada Shudha Chaturthi to the Ananta Chaturdashi. It is celebrated all over India, but the maximum grandeur is witnessed in Mumbai and across Maharashtra. 

BoxTV.com, a premium video service launched by Times Internet Limited

Times Internet Limited (TIL) has announced on September 11, 2012 that it is launching BoxTV.com, where the users would be able to stream movies, TV shows and short films on their computers, smartphone or tablet.

The service is very similar to Hulu and Netflix, already available in the US, is targeted at the Indian users as well as the Indian users across the world. They would also be able to stream Bollywood and Hollywood films, and videos in regional languages such as Tamil. It is not open for general public and user can request for an invite for the same on the company website www.BoxTV.com . 

The iPhone gets its own YouTube app

The new version of the YouTube app for iPhone is being released by Google and it will be the first time advertising as well but it won’t be preloaded on the phone. The app will be available for download from the Apple app store, said Google in a blog post. 

The Youtube’s business is becoming increasingly more dependent on the smartphones and a large number of videos get their hits from the smartphones. The new app will come with additional videos, says the blog post and improved features for finding and sharing videos on social networks. 

Airtel to launch voice-based map services

With Google and Nokia already having come out with map services, the telecommunications giant Airtel has also decided to test its mettle in the navigation services market. The company has started its own turn-by-turn voice navigation service. The new app is named ‘SmartDrive’ map application. 

Only about a week ago, Google has also unveiled a similar service on the same platform on its present map service. It is believed more operators will soon join the fray to provide similar services. 

TRAI chairman says tariff war among telecom companies will end in three years

We are in the midst of a price war among the telecom companies for the call rates, and it has taken its toll on the telecom companies and their margins. The regulatory authority TRAI says the tariff war may come to an end within 3-5 years. 

"Next 3 to 5 years, we are going to see industry margins are under pressure, companies going looking around for cash to tide them over liquidity crisis and three you are going to see consolidation," Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) Chairman Rahul Khullar said while talking to media. 

TRAI chairman says tariff war among telecom companies will end in three years

We are in the midst of a price war among the telecom companies for the call rates, and it has taken its toll on the telecom companies and their margins. The regulatory authority TRAI says the tariff war may come to an end within 3-5 years. 

"Next 3 to 5 years, we are going to see industry margins are under pressure, companies going looking around for cash to tide them over liquidity crisis and three you are going to see consolidation," Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) Chairman Rahul Khullar said while talking to media. 

Telcom operators won’t be able to charge extra for SMS or phone calls on special occasions

The customers would not have to pay extra charges for calls or SMSes beyond their existing tariff plans on festival days like Diwali and New Year, says a TRAI directive issued on Sep 14, 2012. 

"The charges for calls or SMSs on 'blackout' days shall not exceed the rate in the tariff plan in which the consumer is enrolled," Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) said. It needs to be clarified if the Blackout days have been mentioned in the plan the customer has enrolled for, those blackout days will stay till the plan period. 

Supreme Court says trial proceedings reporting can be restricted

The Supreme Court has said it’s difficult to give any blanket guidelines to regulate media reporting of legal and sub-judice matters but some restrictions may be sought by affected companies in some of the cases.

It will however only be granted on case by case basis and by and large, the court veered towards freedom of expression.

Bloomberg says the Essel group to fund its growth by raising $500 mn

The Essel Group, owned by Subhash Chandra, is looking to raise $500 million to fund expansion. Some of the funds will also be used to pay its debt in its companies.

The funds will be used for the Dish TV India Ltd, the DTH operator, multi-system operator (MSO) Siti Cable Network Ltd. as well as and Zee Learn Ltd, says Bloomberg.