Cable control in telecom hands

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The government today announced that the telecom regulator will also act as
the regulator for broadcasting and cable services. The Telecom Regulatory
Authority of India will regulate terms and conditions of licence,
revenue-sharing between stakeholders and pay-channel prices. Trai will thus
have to wrestle with all the contentious issues thrown up by the conditional
access system, which will be dealt with within the parameters set for
telecom services. The regulator will recommend measures to facilitate
competition and promote efficiency in the operation of broadcasting services
to help growth in such services. It will also recommend technological
improvements in services provided by service providers, ensure compliance of
terms and conditions of licence and technical compatibility and effective
inter-connection between different service providers. Trai will also
regulate arrangements among service providers for sharing revenue from
providing broadcasting and cable services, lay down standards for quality of
service to be provided by the service providers and ensure such quality of
service, as well as conduct periodical surveys of such a service provided by
the service providers so as to protect the interests of the consumers. The
regulator will also examine the terms and conditions on which "addressable
systems such as set-top boxes" are to be provided to customers, the
parameters for regulating maximum time for advertisements in pay channels
and other channels and prescribe standard norms for and periodicity of
revision of rates of pay channels, including interim measures.

Source:
http://www.telegraphindia.com/1040110/asp/nation/story_2771492.asp