MUMBAI: The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) on Tuesday issued a consultation paper on 'Entry level Net-worth requirement of multi system operators (MSOs) in cable TV services.

The Rule 11(3) of Cable Television Network Rules, 1994 deals with the financial strength of the applicant for grant of MSO registration without explicit details thereof.

In this regard, a reference was received from the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting (MIB) on 16 May 2018 seeking recommendations of TRAI on the appropriate levels for fixation of entry level net-worth of the MSOs for operationalising cable TV digitisation across the country. Further details of the reference were shared by MIB in a letter dated 13 December 2018.

The objective of the consultation paper is to deliberate whether there is a need to fix entry level net worth for MSO and what should be the value of the net worth required at the time of registration for it. Further, the paper seeks comments regarding the documents and method to assess the net-worth of an applicant, if a minimum value is prescribed.

TRAI has invited written comments on the consultation paper from stakeholders by 8 May and counter-comments, if any, by 15 May.