Accelerating the deployment of broadband digital networks must remain at the top of the government's agenda: CASBAA

Digital television and broadband networks will play a vital role in India's economic development and national competitiveness. This potential is already being demonstrated in other Asian countries such as Japan, Singapore and Greater China. As private investment pours in to high-speed digital capacity for cable-TV-both in the major urban areas and, down the track, in the country's massive rural areas-the benefits for consumers and the economy alike will be enormous.

However, to ensure this growth, policy-makers must stay true to the course and systematically implement 'lighter-touch' regulations appropriate for the digital age that will allow the creation of a world-class digital infrastructure. Sticking with the outmoded analog practices of the past will quench growth. Accelerating the deployment of broadband digital networks must remain at the top of the government's agenda.

All new technologies like BWA and 3G are welcome, but media regulations should be technology agnostic with all technologies and delivery mode getting a level playing field.

However, in India

CASBAA has been witnessing a trend wherein draft regulations and government thinking seem to be overlooking the problems of existing services and players. For example, a proposed move to reallocate certain C and extended-C bandwidths to WiMax services may seriously hurt existing broadcasting services. This particular move has been opposed by no less than Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO).

How would the iPad and other such smart technologies help in transforming broadband in the country?

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and other Indian leaders have indicated that they understand these issues well, particularly the importance of digital TV and broadband infrastructure as key enablers of economic growth. In 2006, the Prime Minister formed a committee under his office to consider steps to promote further growth in the information, communications and entertainment (ICE) areas of the economy.

As said earlier, all new technologies should be encouraged but the importance and priorities of existing services should not be sacrificed.

IPTV has still not caught on very well in India. Why is this and what is the solution according to you?

India has to sort out its domestic pulls and pressures and ensure that newer technologies like IPTV have growth-friendly regulations. In India, competing modes of pay-TV delivery are regulated differently, with varying frameworks in place for cable, DTH and

IPTV, and efforts to unify the practices are being resisted by vested interests.

International experience demonstrates that overall household penetration and growth of advanced services are highest where competing infrastructure players are allowed to exercise their creativity and serve new markets on a revenue generating basis. In these countries, cable operators compete with telecom companies, and with DTH operators in partnership with xDSL, cable or wireless broadband operators or newer technologies. This can and should happen rapidly in India. Other related sectors will also flourish on the back of digital broadband competition, including content providers, software companies and technology firms.

How will harmonization of taxes and tariffs for satellite, IPTV, DTH, etc, help the industry?

An investor-friendly environment and harmonization of the tax regime is always helpful for the growth of any industry. At times, some tax sops too should be given to encourage penetration and adoption of new and digital technologies and services that have the potential of generating big time revenues for the government in the long term.

In this regard, India's move towards Goods and Services Tax (GST) is a welcome step where the government is attempting to remove multiple taxation.

However, CASBAA's information is that GST may not do away with varying levels of entertainment tax being levied on various broadcasting services and the practice of different states levying different levels of entertainment taxes might continue. This may be disappointing for us as DTH, for example, has shown rapid growth in India, but the trend to milk it for additional taxes at state level may be detrimental for the whole industry.

As an organization, CASBAA has been constantly engaging the government, policy-makers and regulators on industry-related issues; a practice that will continue in future also.

What are some of the new technology trends that CASBAA is working on?

CASBAA is not a technology organization or company. It's an industry organization that works for the causes of its members. In our case it's to see a vibrant pay TV industry on various distribution platforms via any technology in an investor friendly environment.

berylm@cybermedia.co.in