New Delhi: Today The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) has today issued the Telecommunication (Broadcasting and Cable) Services Register of Interconnection Agreements and all such other matters Regulations, 2019.
The register of Interconnect regulations will formulate the contours of a reporting system for the service providers so that they can report details of interconnection agreements including commercial details to the Authority. Currently, the Register of Interconnect Agreement (Broadcasting and Cable Services) Regulation, 2004 is in force.
The objective of this regulation is to promote transparency and non-discrimination in the Broadcasting sector. As per the new Regulation, all the Reference Interconnect Offer (RIO) are required to be filed by every broadcaster and the distributor of television channels.
Distributors having average active subscriber base below one lakh have been exempted from the obligation of reporting details of interconnection agreements to promote ease of business and reduce the regulatory burden on such MSOs with limited resources.
The new regulation envisages online filing in electronic mode. The Authority has specified that the new regulations will come in force in 120 days, except as regards submission of information related to the Compliance Officer. The intervening period will enable service providers to prepare for easy compliance.
