India Regulator Issues TelcoTV Position Paper

The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India has issued a Position Paper on the Provisioning of IPTV Services. This paper describes how regulations in India should be adjusted to accommodate the recent introduction of TelcoTV services in India. It states that:

• Both telecom service providers having license to provide triple play services under and cable TV operators can provide IPTV service without requiring any further license or registration.
• The content will be regulated under Up-linking/Down-linking guidelines issued by Ministry of Information and Broadcasting.
• There should be no bar on Broadcasters or content providers to provide their content to IPTV service providers also.
• Any breach of the provisions by telecom service providers. cable operators, or Broadcaster shall be dealt with by designated agencies.

It appears that the regulator in India is not creating barriers to the deployment of TelcoTV services in India. It is working to rationalize its regulation to accommodate the introduction of these services.