Mumbai: The Ministry of Information & Broadcasting has issued guidelines for provisioning of Internet Protocol Television (IPTV) services in India in pursuance of Union Cabinet’s decision of 21 August.

IPTV services facilitate delivery of television content to the viewer through the technologies used for computer network instead of traditional format and cabling. It would require either a computer and software media player or an IPTV set top box to decode the images in real time. IPTV is a system where a digital television service is delivered using the Internet Protocol over a network infrastructure, which may include delivery by a broadband connection.

These guidelines bring clarity on various platforms capable of providing IPTV services, the regulatory provisions and licensing requirements and other issues to encourage stakeholders to launch IPTV.

Telecom Access Service Providers having license to provide triple play services and Internet Service Providers (ISPs) with net worth more than Rs 100 crore and having permission from the licensor to provide IPTV or any other telecom service provider duly authorized by the Department of Telecom will be able to provide IPTV service under their licenses without requiring any further registration. Cable TV operators registered under Cable Television Network (Regulation) Act, 1995 can also provide IPTV services without any further permission. However, the telecom licensees and cable operators will be required to give self certified declaration to I&B Ministry, Department of Telecom and TRAI indicating the detail of license or registration under which they propose to offer IPTV service. The date of commencement of the service, the area being covered and details of network infrastructure should also be included in the self-declaration.