TRAI Addresses Policy Issues in Broadcast Sector

The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) has recently released a consultation paper on Ease of Doing Business in Broadcasting Sector. The government and TRAI have been constantly promoting a conducive policy and regulatory environment for encouraging plurality of broadcasting services through multiple distribution platforms in a fair and transparent manner to provide choices to consumers.

The government has launched a program of reforms aimed at making it easier to do business in India. The program aims to pinpoint the bottlenecks and ease them to create a more business-friendly environment. While the broadcasting sector so far has been replete with success, increasing digitization, higher Internet usage, and huge business growth, TRAI is of the view that these opportunities coupled with improvement in ease of doing business may catapult the sector into a faster growth trajectory.

TRAI has decided to consult with stakeholders on ease of doing business in the broadcasting sector. As a first step, a preconsultation paper was issued on April 19, 2016 to get the views of stakeholders to identify relevant issues which may be required to be addressed. The present consultation paper is being issued consequent to the analysis of stakeholders’ responses to the preconsultation paper, with the following objectives:

To review various policy issues related to the broadcasting sector. To identify procedural bottlenecks that affect ease of doing business in broadcasting sector and recommended measures for simplifying the rules, regulations, and bring more transparency and clarity in policies/ framework of the broadcasting sector

• To remove entry barriers by laying down well-defined and transparent procedures and processes thereby creating a level playing field and competition in the sector
• To facilitate innovation and technology adoption in the sector for providing better quality of services to the consumers
• To steer further growth of the sector by attracting investment through investor friendly policies
• To promote indigenous manufacturing of broadcasting equipments
• The new framework might be helpful to devise policy guidelines to encourage development of an ecosystem that will foster development and adoption of new technologies in the sector.

Comments on the consultation paper have been invited by TRAI from the stakeholders by August 28, 2017.