The long awaited Communications Convergence Bill 2001, which has far-reaching implications on how the media industry is to be run in India, is expected to be tabled in parliament on Tuesday, industry sources say. According to them, the final version of the bill, which has gone through a number of modifications, has incorporated a number of draconian clauses, putting paid to any hopes industry watchers had that the government might be willing to ease up on its obsession with controlling and regulating all things in the media domain.

A new element that has been introduced in the final version is that within the ambit of the high-powered super regulator - the Communications Commission of India - there will be two separate bureaux - a carriage bureau and a content bureau.

According to sources, information and broadcasting minister Sushma Swaraj had been lobbying to get all content, including that relating to the Internet, under the ambit of the content bureau. Swaraj wanted communications regulation to be delinked from the bill, the sources say. The information technology and communications ministries strongly opposed this pointing out that it negated the whole concept of convergence. It was after this that a compromise formula was adopted where there would be two bureaux.

There is bound to be a great deal of overlap when it comes to issues of jurisdiction and it remains to be seen how the two bureaux are going to operate without constantly stepping on each other‘s toes.

There are some points to ponder upon though. The content bureau will be responsible for all issues that come under that head, including regulation and laws relating to the Internet. Industry experts also believe that if such strict regulations were put in place wherein companies are forced to obtain a licence to transact electronically, it will have an adverse affect on foreign investments in India. Their reason: why would anyone go through such complex processes and red tape when they can easily invest in countries where no such licences or permits are required.

Even as far as the print media goes, the picture is not a happy one. Reports say an innocuous sounding clause (Chapter 14, 63) in the bill permits the central government to detain press messages and articles of all those journalists who are NOT accredited with the governments PR set-up, and the Press Information Bureau (PIB).

The clause empowers anyone - central, state or any authorised officer - to intercept any e-mail, phone conversation or data transmission of non-accredited journalists on any communication network (internet, cellular phones).

Service providers will have to monitor and intercept messages and failure can lead to a sentence of up to seven years.

The final judgment on the bill will however, have to wait till its tabling. The bill will be piloted by the communications ministry. If and when the bill does get passed, India will become only the second Asian country, after Malaysia, to have a Convergence Bill.

Come 1 November, TV studio owners, editors, animation and graphic artists are going to be headed towards Mumbai‘s World Trade Centre. The reason: the eleventh edition of the Broadcast India trade show, showcasing the latest in post and production equipment, will be flagged off on that day.Organised by Saicom Trade fairs & Exhibitions from 1-3 November, the show will be preceded by a two-day Symposium from 30-31 October 2001 at Y.B. Chavan Centre which is a hop step away from the WTC.

Ramesh and Kavita Meer

"The entire exhibition space has been booked," says Saicom promoter Ramesh Meer. "The response has been very enthusiastic."

The DPSVelocity (providers of post production equipment) stall at last year‘s event.

"The event is expected to attract more than 21,000 trade visitors," says Saicom CO-promoter Kavita Meer. Senior professionals from the broadcasting and post industry are expected to speak at the symposium and topics will run the gamut of TV, radio, video, audio, film, music, lights, cable, satellite, multimedia, transmission, computer graphics, broadband Internet and all their allied and associated technologies.

MTV India threw cold water today on a recent report that it was seriously considering a proposal by the Hinduja-owned INCablenet whereby it would be able to insert local ads on the music channel carried on its cable network.
Sanjeev Hiremath, vice-president, network development, South Asia, licensing and merchandising, MTV India, while admitting such a proposal had come from INCablenet, said MTV had asked the MSO‘s officials to produce a practically workable model before taking matters ahead.

In the west, broadcasters enter into agreements with local cable operators since a single headend supplies the cable feed. In India, taking the example of an MSO like INCablenet, in a city like Mumbai it supplied its feed through mutiple headends which makes tracking how many times an ad appears, where it appears and when it appears, extremely complicated, Hiremath said.

According to Hiremath, ad insertion at local levels can be possible if:

1) There is consolidation - typically a single headend feed.

2) MSOs or cable operators install ad insertion equipment at individual headends. These are very expensive.

3) The broadcaster or channel has cue tone generation equipment (something no channel in India has at present) in place.

4) Broadcasters programme their channels such as to create bands for local ad insertion.

Despite repeated attempts, INCablenet officials were unavailable for comment on the issue.