Govt To Allow Sharing Of DDs Terrestrial Infrastructure?

A lot has been written about DoorDarshan (DD) testing Mobile TV with Nokia (when is the launch, again?), and we’d also reported about Motorola also planning something similar. A Financial Express story claims that an internal committee of the Information and Broadcasting Ministry has recommended the allowing private broadcasters to utilize DD’s terrestrial broadcasting infrastructure. As governments are likely to do, apparently a committee has been set up to look into leasing of the infrastructure, and the TRAI will probably be asked to frame the guidelines.
As of today, the public broadcaster has a monopoly over terrestrial broadcasting in India, and private broadcasters aren’t even allowed to set up their own infrastructure. Readers should note that Mobile TV isn’t necessarily TV on the mobile or TV via the telecom operators; it could be a direct broadcast to a TV set in a bus or a car, or to a mobile phone that has a receiver. If investment in infrastructure for terrestrial broadcasting were to be allowed, then there’s opportunity for other players: in the US, broadcast and telecom infrastructure company Crown Castle started its Mobile TV co called Modeo. In India, I think it’s better if broadcasters other than DD are allowed into the terrestrial broadcasting space – would you buy a phone with Mobile TV capability just for DD programming? The policy in India is expected to take till December 2007…which probably means 2009-10.

Related:
@ Convergence India: Motorola-Mobile TV; Broadcast Issues Deferred
— <a href="http://www.contentsutra.com/entry/419-dds-mobile-tv-trials-to-start-soon/&quot; title="DD

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