Broadcast regulator Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai) today allowed service providers to file their interconnection agreements with television broadcasters on an annual basis in sync with the industry practice.
The Register of Interconnect Agreement (Broadcasting and Cable Services) (Fourth Amendment) Regulation, 2009, has made provisions for annual filing by service providers by July 31 every year instead of the earlier quarterly reports, the Trai said in a statement.
Interconnect agreements are contractual agreements between service providers and broadcasters, involving payment schemes and schedules, coordinating routing policies, acceptable use policies, coordinating network operations and dispute resolution.
Since it is an industry practice to sign interconnection agreements annually, mainly for a calendar year or for the financial year, Trai has sought to harmonise regulation with the industry practice, it said.
Also, based on an analysis of comments received from stakeholders during the consultation process, Trai has decided to change the provisions as this will allow better monitoring of newly emerging service providers such as HITS and IPTV.
