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Zee Recommends 3G License For Mobile TV
(1 votes, average: 5 out of 5)
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We have discussed Mobile TV in the past. For beginners, it’s the reception of TV signals, Live on your mobile screens. As opposed to downloaded video clips, this reception. For a cricket and Bollywood crazy nation, this seems like a huge opportunity waiting to be tapped. Many of the operators (the mobile phone operators) have already started working on it. Even government seems pro this time.
TV reception on Mobile screen will mean a whole new revenue stream for the mobile phone carriers which are bleeding under the lowest-fare regime (scenario).
But what incentive does it offer to the TV channel broadcasters? Well, the Mobile network operators will have to share the Mobile TV revenues with the TV channels whose content they show on their screens. But the TV channel may go solo, too, offering their content independently to the mobile networks. This will however require them to cover the legal and licensing formalities which might take up to one year. It’s here that Subhash Chandra promoted Zee has raised concern. TRAI, the industry regulatory body had earlier granted the Universal Access Services License (UASL) to the mobile phone operators. According to this, the telecom companies coming under this license are allowed to offer fixed as well as mobile telephony. Even in mobile, they can choose one of the either GSM or CDMA technologies. Now the “Universal” part gives the telecom networks the freedom to carry other signals too, be it internet, value-added services like ringtones, wallpapers and even TV signals. So, effectively, in the policy context at least, the telecoms are ready to offer Mobile TV services.
The TV broadcasters (The channels, Zee, Star, etc), on the other hand, will have to get another license in order to operate the Mobile TV. Zee says that all the legal formalities can take upto an year, and this gives an unfair headstart to the mobile phone companies in the Mobile TV business.
“This is against the spirit of providing level-playing field,” a senior Zee executive said.
Zee has also objected to the TRAI’s decision to allow mobile TV serviced within the existing spectrum. The existing spectrum was allocated to the telcos based on the subscriber-linked criterion. And any unused spectrum held by any operator is liable to be returned to the government.
Zee suggests that for the Mobile phone companies be required to have a 3G license for offering the Mobile TV services so that the services are bundled with a new license, in this case, the 3G license.
Now if this happens, India may have to wait further for the Mobile TV rollout, as the telecom ministry is yet to allocate the spectrum for the 3G mobile services.
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It is somewhat of a misnomer that the telecom companies are really ready to provide mobile TV services. The fact is that with the 2.5 G technologies in use today ( GSM,GPRS,EDGE or CDMA2000), live TV is difficult to provide due to limited bandwidth. Moreover they have no spectrum available for such purposes. The available spectrum is made available for Voice calls and any excess is to be returned.
Hence why make a muddle of policies and not do it in the right and transparent manner? Mobile TV does require aditional spectrum, whether 3G or UHF ( terrestrial). So why then start them in the voice spectrum, when there are so many other operators in queue for the same?
@Amitabh
Agreed