New Delhi : In an efforts to throw a clarity on future renewals and issuance of new DTH Licences, TRAI had released a recommendation letter based on the request from Ministry of Information and Broadcasting (MIB) dated August 2013 The Govt regulators advised the MIB to review the existing DTH Guidelines and put forward a new DTH licensing regime for issue of new licenses and migration of existing DTH licensees under the circumstances where none of the existing DTH operators could reach the breakeven mark and the industry having done a total expenditure Rs 27,250 Cr between 2008 to 2013 with accumulated loss of Rs 11,400 Cr. While recommending on review of License Period Under the new licensing regime for DTH, TRA stated that “licenses should be issued for a period of 20 years. Upon request of the Licensee, the period of License may be renewed by 10 years at a time, on the terms and conditions specified by the Licensor in consultation with the Authority”. Regarding the Entry Fee and License Fee, TRAI states that “a one-time entry fee of Rs. 10 Cr should be charged in the new DTH licensing regime also. The renewal shall be on the terms and conditions, including renewal fee, specified by the Licensor, in consultation with the Authority. The license fee in the new DTH licensing regime should be charged as 8% of Adjusted Gross Revenue (AGR) subjected to a minimum of 10% of the entry fee and can be paid on a quarterly basis. TRAI also recommended changes in mandate for furnishing Bank Guarantee stating “DTH licensees shall be required to furnish a Bank Guarantee for an amount equivalent to the estimated sum payable, equivalent to License fee for two quarters and for new entrants, a BG for a fixed amount of Rs. 5 Cr shall be taken for the first two quarters, and thereafter, for an amount equivalent to the estimated sum payable, equivalent to License fee for two quarters. A provision for Existing DTH Operators to Migrate to the New DTH Licence was also recommended upon payment of Migration Fee as stipulated by the Regulator. It also covered the areas related to Interoperability of DTH STBs, Restructuring of cross-holding with definition for Control, Relevant Market, Legality of Broadcasters and DPOs, Restrictions on Vertically and Horizontally Integrated entities with a Compliance period of one year.
