Telecom and broadcast regulator Trai has made a strong case for introduction of unified licensing regime in the country, which, it said, would help in unification of networks and services like telecom, broadcasting and Internet leading to advanced and cheaper services to customers through Next Generation Networks orNGN.
“Telephony, data or television services had separate networks. With the efficient and cheaper IP technology forcing telecommunications networks to migrate to NGN, triple play would become common and would not be a value added service. Traffic of different services of data, television and subsequently voice would be simply enclosed in Internet protocol packets, transmitted over these networks, “ Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai) said in paper on NGN.
The regulator argued that just like access problems were sorted out through a unified access service licence, “if we are to move further towards convergence, we have to be in a unified licensing regime.”
Pointing out that “unless license conditions and regulations are light handed, it would be virtually impossible to regulate”, the Trai paper said an unified licence can easily deal with the converging technologies, carriage, service and platform.
The transition would be difficult but would bring with it the benefits to the Indian and mainly the rural economy.”Such (NG) networks would be advantageous, particularly for rural areas where there is huge demand for information, telecom, TV and video and if these services could be delivered at cheap prices, the market would be huge,” the paper said, adding India is the only country in world where cable TV connections are more than fixed line telephones and such networks would open up the possibility of delivery of cable TV channels in rural areas.
The unified licence would give an opportunity to service providers to innovate towards the best solution. Another option could be to bring a converged regime through a Convergence Act, Trai said.
Trai’s recommendations on unified licensing regimes are pending with the department of telecom for quite some time now.
Ten Sports cocks a snook at DD
Ashish Sinha
With barely a week left for the tri-series cricket tournament in Sri Lanka, Ten Sports has turned down Prasar Bharti’s demand of simulcast sharing of live coverage of the five matches involving India on cable & satellite.
Instead, Ten Sports has offered to lend 250 decoders for DD’s Low Power Transmitters (LPT) which cater to regions not covered by the cable and satellite footprint.
While there are 61 million C&S homes in India, Doordarshan claims a coverage of over 85 million. Ten Sports has, however, agreed to produce and share 90 minutes of match highlights with DD without charging any fee. “The ad-revenue generated through highlights will be shared 50:50 between us and DD,” Ten Sports sources said.
Also, the company will share the radio rights of these matches with All India Radio (AIR) free of cost.
With this offer, Ten Sports said it would be meeting some of the demands of Prasar Bharti. Any attempt to derail the arrangement at this stage will be in violation of international contract and against the spirit of the game, the company sources warned.
This way, Ten Sports has managed to protect its advertisers who have already paid between $ 6,000 to $ 9,000 per 10 seconds of advertising time. Industry sources also revealed that Ten Sports has offered to help DD with the marketing of the coverage on terrestrial network.
TELECAST ROW
• Wants to show exclusively to cable and satellite TV homes
• Offers 250 decoders for terrestrial coverage
• Willing to share highlights on DD, radio rights with AIR
• Expects to pocket Rs 55-65 crore of ad-revenue
Prasar Bharti CEO KS Sarma had earlier said that Prasar Bharti wanted the simulcast live coverage of the five ODIs on a revenue-sharing basis after its opportunity cost of Rs one crore a match was covered. In its letter received by Ten Sports on July 15, Prasar Bharti has proposed that a separate account will be maintained for the ad-revenues being generated for the five matches on DD. While Ten Sports would get the lion’s share of 80%, DD will retain 20%. AXN celebrates 50th anniversary of ‘Guinness World Records’
AXN - the action and adventure oriented channel celebrates the 50th anniversary of the The Guinness World Records. AXN premieres a two part series of 50 Years, 50 Records, a death defying, awe-inspiring show starting July 20.
The Guinness World Records has shared a long history with India. It was in the early eighties’ that it was aired in India for the first time. From Shridhar Chillal who, till very recently held the record for the world’s longest fingernails to the man who ate light bulbs just to win a place in the Guinness World Records. 50 years, 50 records chronicles the years gone by and the awards that have been broken as well as held. The show also explains metaphorically the changes and evolution and even in some cases inertia of society and culture.
Filmed live in front of an audience of record holders, the Guinness World records come to life with 32 naked people experiencing forces of 4G when they bare all on a white-knuckle rollercoaster ride and marvel as the world’s finest precision driver Russ Swift risks blackout performing ‘donuts’ in a supercar.
Says AXN director sales and marketing Rohit Bhandari says, “AXN is a brand that always strives to give the best to its viewers. The number of Indians who have made their way into the book gives evidence of the sheer determination and grit of Indian people. The Guinness World Records have always enjoyed success in India and we are celebrating its 50th anniversary with the two part series of 50 Years, 50 Records.”
The show will showcase the old records as well as the new avatar of records that have been broken.
Legal music downloads reach 180 m in first half
Legal music downloads tripled to 180 million in the first half of the year as illegal file-sharing was kept “in check” with a 3% rise in available files, the music industry’s global trade body said. Tracks downloaded legally rose from 57 million in the first half of last year, the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry said in an e-mailed statement.
Apple Computer Inc said this week that its iTunes Music Store download service, which began in April 2003, reached 500 million downloads. “We are now seeing real evidence that people are increasingly put off by illegal file-sharing and turning to legal ways of enjoying music online,” John Kennedy, the London-based trade group’s chairman and chief executive, said in the statement. The recorded music industry is taking illegal file sharers to court and encouraging the growth of online music retailers, in a bid to reverse a global decline in sales to $33.6 billion last year from $39.7 billion in 2000.
The industry was strengthened last month by a US Supreme Court ruling that said software companies could be liable if they induce consumers to illegally download copyright material. Illegal music files available on file-sharing networks increased to 900 million from 870 million in the first half of the year, while the number of installed broadband lines grew by 13%, the report said. Broadband connections make file sharing easier, so the report said that the data “shows that illegal file-sharing is kept in check as broadband use surges.” About 300 legal digital music sites are now available worldwide, more than three times the number of a year ago, said the trade group, which represents smaller labels and the major music companies such as EMI Group Plc, Warner Music Group Corp, Vivendi Universal SA’s Universal Music Group and Sony BMG, a joint venture between Sony Corp and Bertelsmann AG.