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DELHI: The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai) has set in motion a process
to amend the interconnect regulations for broadcast and cable services in view
of the changing ground realities.
As a first step towards this review process, Trai issued a consultation
paper for industry stakeholders comments.
"More than a year has passed since the issue of these (interconnect)
regulations. Some new issues have cropped up during this period
and some issues have arisen due to implementation of interconnect
regulations. There have also been requests for review/ amendment
of the regulations. The Authority has, therefore, begun its process
of examination of the relevant issues," the regulator said
today.
Trai had issued The Telecommunication (Broadcasting and Cable Services)
Interconnection Regulation 2004 on 10 December 2004 to ensure non-discriminatory
access to content to all distributors of television channels and to
safeguard the interests of consumers in case of disconnection of signals
to a service provider in case of a dispute.
The consultation note will examine the relevant issues and try
providing the necessary platform for discussing them.
The comments and other inputs provided by the stakeholders would
enable Trai to formulate a more detailed consultation paper with
a view to evolving appropriate policies for an orderly growth of
the cable and broadcasting services in the country, the regulator
explained.
The full text of the consultation note is available on Trai's website,
www.trai.gov.in, and the last date for filing in responses is 7
April, 2006.
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