MUMBAI: The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) has set the ball rolling for consultation on uplinking and downlinking guidelines with stakeholders. The regulator convened an open-house discussion (OHD) on its consultation paper on ‘issues relating to uplinking and downlinking of television channels' in India on 11th April 2018. A number of stakeholders, including associations, broadcasters, service providers and individuals, attended the OHD.

The TRAI has initiated this consultation process to seek the views of the stakeholders on the issues involved. The objective of this consultation process is to review the provisions of the existing uplinking guidelines and downlinking guidelines so as to ensure orderly growth of the broadcasting sector and in turn provide impetus to socio-cultural and economic development, a release issued the telecom regulator stated.
A total number of 38 stakeholders have submitted their comments on the issues raised in the consultation paper.

The TRAI had floated a consultation paper on issues relating to uplink and downlink of TV channels in India mid-December 2017 on receiving a reference from the Ministry of Information anf Broadcasting (MIB) to study the particular aspect and come out with suggestions. This consultation was initiated even as the regulator had been discussing various other issues with stakeholders of the broadcast and cable sectors on ease of doing business and inputs for the National Telecom Policy (NTP) 2018. Subsequently it submitted its recommendations to the government on the ease of doing business and NTP.

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