TRAI amends broadcasting, cabel interconnection rules

New Delhi, Sep 4: Broadcasters will have to give a three week notice to distributors of TV channels if they want to disconnect their singnals to them, as per an amendment in the interconnection regulation for broadcasting and cable services issued by the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India(TRAI) today.

Distributors of TV channels will also have to issue a notice prior to stopping the transmission of any TV channel.

Both broadcasters, multisystem operators and cable operators will give the notice in newspapers but they are also required to inform the consumers through scrolls on the concerned channel.

Broadcasters will be required to give one months notice for conversion of Free To Air Channels to Pay channels and vice versa Under the interconnect agreement, the broadcaster/multisystem operator or their agents/ intermediaries to whom a request for providing TV channel signals is made, should either provide the signals on mutually agreed terms, or specify the terms and conditions on which they are willing to provide TV channel signals, within sixty days from the date of the request.

Methodology to arrive at the subscriber base of each distributor of TV channels at the time of first agreement, during the validity of agreement and at the time of renewal of agreement has also been laid down for agreements between the broadcasters and multi system operators and between multisystem operators and cable operators.

The Authority has prescribed that all broadcasters shall publish their Reference Interconnect Offers (RIO) describing, inter-alia, the technical and commercial conditions for interconnection for non-addressable systems and submit copies of the same to the Authority.

The reference interconnect offer so published by the broadcaster will form the basis for all interconnection agreements to be executed thereafter.

Parties to an interconnection agreement for supply of TV channel signals will be required to renew their interconnection agreements within three months of the expiry of the original agreement.

Issue of invoices by broadcasters /multisystem operators or their agents/intermediaries has been made compulsory for payment received from any distributor of TV channels for providing TV channel signals. The monthly invoice shall clearly specify the arrears and current dues along with the due date for payment of the same.

UNI