Operators, vendors and broadcasters have demanded that there should be no regulation on mobile TV services. The players also pointed out that there should be no restriction or rather compulsion for any particular standard and the concerned players should be able to select the technology/standard of their choice.

Airtel said that the choice of technology should be left with the service provider and not regulated by TRAI. The company also mentioned that additional license for mobile television should be mandatory only for non-telecom mobile television broadcasters. It called for sufficient spectrum to be made available for mobile TV and only a bare minimum be left for terrestrial broadcast.

COAI and Qualcomm differ on this aspect. COAI maintains that TRAI should only regulate spectrum allocation for the appropriate broadcast technologies like Media FlO as these technologies will need fresh allocation of spectrum. COAI said, “3G (MBMS, HSPA) is the fastest way of getting Mobile TV off the ground. In the Indian context expediting the 3G policy is a necessary step in the evolutionary path of Mobile TV.”

Qualcomm argues that mobile TV standards are in nascent stage and the standard which offers economies and spectrum availability should be adopted. It stated that since satellite transmission suffers from the antenna size (gain) requirement and the poor in-building coverage, any mobile TV service that uses satellite transmission will need to be supplemented by terrestrial transmissions.

Zee Network has recommended that the government should issue Terrestrial TV licenses. Such license should be automatic to DTH operators who already have permission to operate a platform.