The Indian Government finally issued guidelines for IPTV services in India yesterday, and there are a few surprises: -- Differential IPTV License Fees: Telecom service providers will have to pay a heavier license fee than ISPs. Telcos will have to pay according to the circle of operation - 10% of Adjusted Gross Revenue (AGR) for Category A circles, 8% for category B and 6% for Category C. Comparatively, ISPs will have to pay only 6% of AGR. The government has blocked a possible loophole for Telcos - if a teleco registers as a cable operator to provide IPTV, it will be considered a telecom operator. There's no mention of a license fee for Cable Operators, only that Cable Operators will be governed by provisions of Cable TV Networks (Regulation) Act and TRAI Act for content. -- Value Added Services: IPTV Service Provider shall furnish the complete details such as name, technical details and license etc of the value added service being provided through IPTV network. Provided that in case of any new value added service is added to the network, the IPTV service provider shall obtain prior approval of the Government or licensing authority. -- The guidelines allow licensees to take content from Multi System Operators (MSOs) and Cable Operators, instead of going to specific channels or IPTV service providers. -- Only broadcast satellite TV channels registered/permitted by the Ministry of I&B shall be transmitted, in the same (unaltered) form. Only those News & Current Affairs TV channels which have…
