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TRAI RECOMMENDS HALVING CHANNEL SPACING FOR FM: INDUSTRY OPPOSES MOVE
NEW DELHI: In a move that will increase the number of FM radio channels in the country, content variety and business viability, Trai has recommended that the minimum channel spacing between FM radio frequencies can be halved to 400 KHz within a licence service area.
When implemented, it will immediately double the number of FM channels in each major market in the country and naturally the variety of content. With more channels available for auctions, the government will also be in a position to make more licence fees through auctions.
In its recommendations, Trai has stated that FM channels operating with channel spacing of 400 KHz should be radiated from effectively co-located sites and transmitted with equal power. The co-location of transmitters had already been previously recommended by Trai.
It stated that reducing the minimum channel spacing would lead to “the efficient utilisation of the scarce resource of spectrum” apart from generating additional revenue for the government, buttressing its point by the fact that a minimum channel spacing of 400 KHz (or even less in some cases) is the benchmark in many countries including the UK, Singapore, US, etc.
Industry sources said the recommendation ought to be implemented in Phase III policy rollout – which plans to extend FM radio’s reach to 294 cities, thereby meeting the government’s target of covering 85% of the country – so as to enable its success. The move is especially necessary to enable the release of more frequencies in A+ and A category cities, they added.
Radio operators had told Trai that unless more channels are allowed by way of reduction in channel spacing, the auction for channels in Phase III would not be rational and would likely result in unrealistically very high channel prices. Since highest price in the auction/bidding process is generally taken as the reference price for future auctions, this will have a perpetual aberration effect.
Courtesy: Times of India
| DAVP RAISES AD RATES FOR CRs
In what is good news for CRs, the government has increased advertisement rates from Re 1 to Rs. 4/second.
Currently, community radio stations are paid only Re.1 per minute to carry advertisements from the Department of Advertising and Visual Publicity (DAVP).
Minister of Information and Broadcasting Ambika Soni had termed the Re 1 rate 'shameful' and had promised that this would change.
Community radio stations that have completed three months of broadcasting can now apply for empanelment on the DAVP website.
On registration the CR stationwill be issued a username and passwordby DAVP.
Detailed guidelines for empanelment can be downloaded from the website. DAVP will consider CR stationsfor which government advertisements can be released.
| CRF ELECTS NEW GOVERNING BOARD
Elections were held to the Governing Board of the Community Radio Forum of India on 21 February 2012, at the annual general body meet held in New Delhi. The following CRF members were elected to the Board.
1) Mr. Stalin K
2) Mr. Ram Nath Bhat
3) Mr. N Ramakrishnan
4) Ms. Arti Jaiman
5) Mr. Debarun Dutta
6) Mr. Vasuki Belavadi
7) Ms. Anujaa Shukla
8) Mr. Hemant Babu
The office bearers of CRF Executive Committee are:
1) Mr. Stalin K- President
2) Mr. Ram Nath Bhat- Vice President
3) Mr. N Ramakrishnan- General Secretary
4) Ms. Arti Jaiman- Treasurer
The elected board will co-opt two women community broadcasters into the executive council from the general body.
| UNESCO CHAIR ON COMMUNITY MEDIA
Prof. Vinod Pavarala, Dean, Sarojini Naidu School of Arts & Communication, University of Hyderabad has been chosen to be the first ever UNESCO Chair on Community Media.
An agreement to this effect has been signed by the Director-General, UNESCO and the Vice-Chancellor, University of Hyderabad. The Chair being set up at the University for an initial period of four years will serve as a knowledge and resource centre for the study and promotion of community media, including such things as community radio, participatory video, and other citizen-driven initiatives with media and communication technologies.
The prestigious Chair, which is the first of its kind anywhere in the world, comes in recognition of Prof. Pavarala’s work in the last decade on community radio. His research and writings, including the book, Other Voices: the struggle for community radio in India, has contributed to the opening up of airwaves in India. He has also been the founder-President of the Community Radio Forum of India, a collective of civil society organizations, activists, and other advocates of community radio in the country.
The Chair would operate as a liaison among the communities, media activists, academia and policymakers while, simultaneously undertaking research and documentation of best practices in the country and capacity sharing with the community members. UNESCO link on the chair.
| CR NATIONAL CONSULTATION
WORKING PAPERS
 UNESCO, in partnership with the Indian Ministry of Information and Broadcast (MIB), the Community Radio Forum (CRF) and the Ford Foundation, convened the 3rd Indian National Consultation on Community Radio. The event took place from 13 to 15 December 2010 at the Indian Institute of Mass Communication (IIMC), New Delhi.
Here are the working papers & the agenda (pdf format):
Keep checking this space for a detailed report on the consultation.
| SEND IN UPDATES
Community Radio Stations that are already in operation are requested to please send in:
a) Contact updates
b) Website URLs
c) An MP3 file of their Station Signature Tune
This is also an invitation to subscribe to the free quarterly newsletter CR NEWS. Experiences, on the ground stories etc are welcome from the stations. Please mail in your updates to commradioindia@gmail.com
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