Technology, Media and Telecom

On 25 October 2021, the Department of Telecommunications, Government of India (DoT) issued a landmark amendment (Amendment) to the telecom license conditions. The Amendment ushers in a new dawn for the telecom licensing regime in India by redefining the basis of ‘adjusted gross revenue’ (AGR). AGR has been the basis of computing the license fees payable by a telecom licensee and has been a subject of debate for at least the past couple of decades.

The Union Cabinet, after much ado, has announced a slew of major reforms in the telecom sector on 15 September 2021. The reforms are set to address some long pending key issues affecting the telecom industry such as moratorium on payment dues, rationalizing the license fees and bank guarantees, spectrum auctions, increase in foreign direct investment (FDI) limit, etc. With the objective of promoting ease of doing business in this sector, these reforms aim to inter alia infuse liquidity, encourage investment and reduce the regulatory burdens on telecom service providers (TSP).

The government has justified its action to regulate digital media publishers under the IT Act, saying the Code of Ethics is in conformity with the permissible restrictions on freedom of speech

On 25 August 2021, the Ministry of Civil Aviation (Ministry) notified the Drone Rules 2021 (Drone Rules). The Drone Rules supersede the erstwhile Unmanned Aircraft System Rules 2021 (UAS Rules) and have significantly reduced the approvals, compliance requirements and entry barriers for drone operators in India.

On 2 July 2021, the Department of Telecommunications (DoT) announced the approval for the creation of the ‘Digital Intelligence Unit’ (DIU) and ‘Telecom Analytics for Fraud Management and Consumer Protection’ (TAFCOP) to curb financial frauds committed through misuse of telecom resources, such as consumer harassment by sending of unsolicited commercial communication (UCC), use of false or forged documents to obtain telecom resources, and other deceitful activities.

On 23 June 2021, the Department of Telecommunications (DoT) issued the Revised Other Service Provider (OSP) Guidelines (Revised Guidelines), in supersession of the New OSP Guidelines that were released on 5 November 2020 (Old Guidelines).

The Ministry of Information and Broadcasting (MIB) through a notification dated 17 June 2021 amended the Cable Television Network Rules, 1994 (Cable Rules 1994) by way of the Cable Television Networks (Amendment) Rules, 2021 (Amendment). The Amendment introduces a formal complaint redressal mechanism for redressal of viewers grievances relating to content broadcasted by cable television channels which are in contravention of the Programme Code or Advertising Code under the Cable Rules 1994.