22-Dec-2021: 7 New Internet Exchange Nodes to boost connectivity & Digital economy in Uttar Pradesh

Giving impetus to Internet connectivity and Digital Economy, 7 new Internet exchange nodes will be launched in Uttar Pradesh on 23rd December, jointly by Minister of State for Electronics, Information Technology and Skill Development and Entrepreneurship Shri Rajeev Chandrasekhar and Minister of State, Law and Justice, Shri SP Singh Baghel.

These nodes will be located at Meerut, Agra, Kanpur, Lucknow, Prayagraj, Varanasi & Gorakhpur.  The Minister is expected to launch all these exchange nodes physically from Agra while people and dignitaries from other 6 locations shall join virtually in the inaugural ceremony. Till date only one Internet exchange node was operating in UP at Gautam Buddha Nagar. With 7 new Internet exchanges, Internet ecosystem shall be further strengthened in the state, which is taking fast strides in leveraging technology for transforming the lives of people.

Internet exchange improves Internet performance and speed for consumers. Ensures better resilience, stability, efficiency & quality of Internet at a lower cost.

It benefits the Netizens and promotes the arrival of more Internet service providers thereby expanding the digital market. “Setting up of Internet exchange is a part of PM Modi's Digital India vision of connecting all Indians with Open, Safe & Trusted Internet”, mentioned Shri Rajeev Chandrasekhar in an event recently.

Under the Narendra Modi Govt. number of broadband users have increased from 250 million to approximately 840 million. The data consumption has seen an increase of 189 times (from 62.9 peta bytes to 11924 petabytes).

Proactive and favourable Government policies have increased Internet Service Providers from approx. 221 to approx. 1556 (7-fold increase) over the last 7 years since 2014.

Uttar Pradesh is taking a lead in this direction by getting 07 new Internet Exchange points in addition to an existing Internet Exchange at Noida. These Exchange points are covering all zones of UP so a user of Braj region or Bundelkhand region will have the same internet capability of user experience as the Metro City user.

Last 19 months have witnessed unprecedented digitalization in all sectors of economy leading to an increased demand for digital products and services. A lot of services like education, healthcare, commerce have shifted online and a lot of professionals worked from home during the pandemic.  Internet Offered the only platform to connect with people and access services. The inauguration of 7 new Internet exchanges shall enable people of UP to access high quality Internet.

23-Dec-2020: Cabinet approves Revision in guidelines for providing Direct to Home (DTH) Services in India

The Union Cabinet, chaired by the Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi, has approved the proposal for revision of the guidelines for obtaining license for providing Direct-To-Home (DTH) broadcasting service in India. The salient features of the decision are:

License for the DTH will be issued for a period of 20 years in place of present 10 years. Further the period of License may be renewed by 10 years at a time.

1. License fee has been revised from 10% of GR to 8% of AGR. AGR will be calculated by deduction of GST from GR.
2. License Fee will be collected on quarterly basis in lieu of presently annual basis.
3. DTH operators shall be permitted to operate .to a maximum of 5% of its total channel  carrying  capacity  as  permitted  platform  channels.  A one-time  non-refundable registration fee of Rs.10,000 per PS channel shall be charged from a DTH operator.
4. Sharing of Infrastructure between DTH operators. DTH operators, willing to share DTH platform and transport stream of TV channels, on voluntary basis, will be allowed. Distributors of TV channels will be permitted to share the common hardware for their Subscriber Management System (SMS) and Conditional Access System (CAS) applications.
5. The cap of 49% FDI in the existing DTH guidelines will be aligned with the extant Government (DPIIT's) policy on FDI as amended from time to time.
6. The decision will come into effect as per revised DTH guidelines are issued by the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting.

The proposed reduction is intended to align the license fee regime applicable to Telecom sector and will be prospectively applied. The difference may also enable DTH service providers to invest for more coverage leading to increased operations and higher growth and thereby enhanced and regular payment of License Fee by them. Registration fee for Platform Services is likely to bring a revenue of approximately Rs. 12 Lakhs. Sharing of infrastructure by the DTH operators may bring in more efficient use of scarce satellite resources and reduce the costs borne by the consumers. Adoption of the extant FDI policy will bring in more foreign investment into the country.

The DTH is operable on pan-India basis. DTH sector is a highly employment intensive sector. It directly employs DTH operators as well as those in the call centres besides indirectly employing a sizeable number of installers at the grass-root level. The amended DTH guidelines, with longer license period and clarity on renewals, relaxed FDI limits, etc., will ensure fair degree of stability and new investments in the DTH sector along with employment opportunities.