In New Delhi, the telecom and broadcasting sector regulator TRAI (Telecom Regulatory Authority of India) asked for opinions from various stakeholders on Wednesday over the renewal of registration for multi-system operators, as well as the amount of fees associated with the procedure. The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India sought input from various stakeholders on the provisions for multi-system operators to continue serving consumers after the registration has expired, while a final decision on its application for renewal was pending in a consultation paper that was published.
Additionally, it asked for opinions on whether the broadcasters should cut off television channels for MSOs whose registration has expired and they haven't submitted an application for renewal. The signals of a television station can be obtained by an MSO with current registration, according to the regulations.
Should registered operational MSOs be granted a longer period of time to apply for renewal than the initial registration period? What should be the maximum amount of time after expiration that the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting can consider a request for renewal? These are the questions that the sector regulator has raised.
The regulator also requested opinions on whether late-arriving renewal applications should be subject to an extra cost.
The TRAI also requested input from the stakeholders on the list of compliances that should be made a requirement for such a procedure, as well as the prescription of qualifying requirements for MSO registration renewal. Beginning in 2012, the nation's broadcasting industry underwent a digital transformation, which was finished in March 2017. During the implementation of the distribution antenna system in June 2012, the ministry of information and broadcasting provided the first new registrations to multisystem operators.
