Saturday 15 September 2012

Empowered group of ministers (EGoM) to decide the fate of FM-III policy

The decision about the fate of third-phase of private FM radio policy (FM-III) now rests in the hands of a EGoM. The Empowered Group of Ministers will be formed by the government soon.
The issue has gained significance due to numerous new issues cropping up and also due to technical and financial implications for the industry as well.
The issues before the proposed Empowered Group of Ministers will include the amount charged for migration fee to FM-III; the changes in the RFP for FM-III compared to 3G and BWA auctions. There is a proposal to reduce inter-channel spacing between two adjacent FM stations in FM-III, the EGoM will take a decision on whether to adopt that suggestion or not.

There would be auction of 839 FM station across 294 cities, after the arrival of FM-III policy. The matter is already delayed by 14-months after the Cabinet gave its approval for the same in July 2011. The need for fresh Cabinet approval arose due to new technical and financial implications, and hence the need for Empowered Group of Ministers, since their decisions do not (usually) go for Cabinet nod.
The cabinet note about the constitution of EGoM has already been floated by the information and broadcasting (I&B) ministry and the Union Cabinet nod for the same is likely to arrive very soon. A government official has suggested the matter is likely to come up for deliberations in the next cabinet meeting.
As per the FM-III policy, it is necessary for the Information and Broadcasting ministry to get Cabinet approval if any changes are required. The three issues which will require urgent attention will be: The amount of migration fee from existing FM operators to FM-III? Also, changes in the request for proposal (RFP) for FM-III with respect to 3G and BWA auctions. Then, what should be done about the proposal to reduce inter-channel spacing between two adjacent FM stations in FM-III.
“These issues were not part of the FM-III policy approved by the Cabinet last year. Therefore, the I&B ministry wants the constitution of an EGoM in order to incorporate and clear the changes in FM-III norms,” a senior official in the ministry said, say the media reports.

Source: http://cablequest.org/news/broadband-and-iptv-news/item/203-empowered-group-of-ministers-egom-to-decide-the-fate-of-fm-iii-policy.html
Source: http://cablequest.org/news/broadband-and-iptv-news/item/203-empowered-group-of-ministers-egom-to-decide-the-fate-of-fm-iii-policy.html

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