For set-top boxes, the Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) will look into specifications for IPTV to help cable operators design IPTV networks, said a TRAI official.

This will give a boost to the two PSUs, Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd (BSNL) and Mahanagar Telephone Nigam Ltd (MTNL), which own close to 90 per cent of the country's total fixed telephone lines.

IPTV permits a telecom service provider to offer TV through telephone lines. A special modem is required at the customer's premises for transmitting TV signals. It uses Internet Protocol (IP) and is, thus, called IPTV. Aksh, Exicom and IOL are some of the leading IPTV service providers that have joined hands with BSNL and MTNL for IPTV services.

They are working on a franchise basis with the two PSUs.

Under this scheme, BSNL gets 10 per cent of revenue earned by the franchisee.

Now, with the government settling the regulatory issue, the two PSUs will be bullish on IPTV. Telecom operators with unified access service li cences and cellular mobile telephony service licences to provide triple-play services, as well as Internet service providers with a net worth of more than Rs 100 crore with permission from the licensor to provide IPTV, can provide the services.

Bharti Airtel started IPTV trials a year ago in 1,000 households in Gurgaon and is slated to launch its services in the first half of the next fiscal. RComm, too, plans to launch the service in 10 cities around the same time. State owned BSNL recently launched multi-play ser vices for broadband cus tomers in Pune. VSNL, too, is expected to launch IPTV ser vices soon.

India has one of the lowest average revenue per user (ARPU) in the world, both in mo bile and fixed line services. Fixed line service providers are looking at IPTV ser vices as a saviour for them. They believe that IPTV services will be able to increase their revenues.

However, the cable industry views IPTV services by telecom operators as an encroachment on their area of operations and a threat to their business model. The advantage of IPTV over cable TV is that it is a two-way medium and, therefore, more interactive in nature.

Since telecom service providers with UASL licences are permitted to provide tripleplay services, questions have repeatedly been raised on whether these operators need further regulatory clearances.