[cr-india] TRAI Open House in Delhi - first impressions

[sajan venniyoor]

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On Tue, 19 Oct 2004 Arun Mehta wrote :
>Mr. Baijal explained why he needed a clear definition of community >radio: they are charging license fees, entry fees, spectrum fees etc >to the private sector. In order not to charge community radio these >fees, a clear distinction is needed. 

1. 	Do we object in principle to paying any sort of fee? In our 'consensus document' (draft CR policy), we had proposed a token license fee (Rs.5000) and spectrum fee, as befits a low-power, not-for-profit, public service channel. If commercial advertisements are permitted on CR, can we legitimately expect the Govt. to waive all such fees?

>Now, what kind of definition can >we live with? 

2. 	The Amarc definition of CR is excellent, and we could certainly use it to define the purpose of community radio. But Pradip Baijal wants us to back it up with hard figures. So, what kind of figures can we live with? Let’s take some of the parameters we discussed yesterday, to which we can actually put some figures: 

1.	License fee
2.	Spectrum Usage Fee
3.	Bank Guarantee
4.	Transmitter power
5.	Antenna height
6.	Permissible coverage area of CR station
7.	Quantum of advertisements per hour of programming
8.	Permissible limit of advertisement revenue per CR station
9.	Number of licenses per CR licensee
10.	Frequencies to be allotted for CR / Maximum number of CR stations per location
11.	Period of license / period of extension
12.	Time limit for clearances
13.	Period for preserving audio logs

This is not a definitive list, and there are a number of other licensing and funding issues that will also have to be addressed. Could we work out some figures for the above that will serve our purpose, without giving CR all the advantages of a commercial operator and none of the responsibilities?

Sajan.