Telecom Engineering
Broadcasting as I look Back and at the Present
Dt: 26/11/12
Broadcasting as I look Back and at the Present
Dr T.H.Chowdary*
We have come a long way since radio broadcasting was started by private companies in Mumbai and Calcutta in 1923. These were later on taken over by the British government of India in 1932 and was named All India Radio, AIR for short. The first Indian Director General of the AIR, a Mr.Bukhari migrated to Pakistan in Aug 1947. Sardar Vallabhai Patel was India’s first Minister for Information and Broadcasting; he was also the Dy Prime Minister and Home Minister. The importance attached to public information, education and instruction for nation- building by the great leaders of our struggle for freedom from British rule can be seen by the most powerful and nationalist Sardar Patel holding these two important ministries. Sardar Patel’s foresight and prestige helped to launch a vigorous programme of expanding the broad-casting network rapidly. To this day, AIR and its later sibling Doordarshan remain the providers of wholesome, programmes of un-matched content and quality constantly reminding us of the unity of our nation-state.
2. Our state-owned broadcast network has been well-served by patriotic and forward-looking engineers from the beginning. During the second world war when imports were restricted and uncertain, Indian engineers designed, fabricated and commissioned a medium wave and short wave transmitter in Delhi and an extensive short-wave antenna farm in north-east Delhi, appropriately named Radio Colony.
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3. Soon after my graduation in telecommunication engineering from the College of Engineering, Guindy, Chennai, I joined the AIR. I had an exciting participation in the projects for the installation and operationalisation of broadcast studios in Delhi and full scale broadcast stations in Ajmer, Indore, Jullundur and Bhuj. My first years in government service, under strict disciplinarian seniors ( the late Sri Chamanlal in the Central Project Circle in Delhi was one such) have taught me the essential values of teamwork and dedication. Engineers used to work in different project sites; their families were in Delhi. Children’s education; home maintenance, bill payment, bank transactions, travel to home towns had to be arranged by the wives of engineer-husbands who were at project sites for long periods. I then, organized a service, “Odd Jobs Ltd” (OJL). By consent of our Chief, one peon was detailed by the OJL to contact the homes of al officials on projects, ascertain what was to be done for them (drawal of money from banks ; payment of school fees, electricity and water bills, rail reservations, purchases form shops and so on) was this odd job’s man’s duty. I used to supervise this work. It gave so much satisfaction to all of us. After a few years in AIR, I shifted to the Department of Telecoms (DOT).
4. The NDA government vigourously completed the demonopolisation of broad-casting, besides telecommunications . From late 1980s, tens of thousands of small scale, individual entrepreneurs strung cables on whatever poles were there on the streets and across trees and started distributing TV programmes received from satellites. It was all private enterprise and initiative and investment . It was on such a scale and with such rapidity that the government (of India) could just not stop it; zealots in the Department of Telecoms (DOT) wanted to invoke the ancient Indian Telegraph Act (1880s vintage) to impose licences and levy fees. Such an intervention would have retarded the roll-out of cable TV services and growth of related industry producing equipments for cable TV services. Government had to “grandfather” the cable TV business. T he Telecom regulatory of India, the later construct had done a good job in the last 12 to 15 years to bring order and regulation into the chaotically grown cable TV services throughout the length & breadth of our country.
5. In a remarkable move to exercise jurisdiction and power, the TRAI extended its jurisdiction to cable TV. This move is questionable but it is an accomplished and operating fact and therefore, there is no point in adversary criticizing it. The TRAI has ruled that all cable TV should move from analogue to digital. It is again questionable as to why it should determine the technology. Change over to technology necessarily means lot of capital expenditure for the cable TV companies which will ultimately be passed to subscribers. TRAI should have prevailed upon the government that the latter should meet the cost of digitisation. Government is getting revenues from cable TV companies as service tax and perhaps as licence fees too for operating the earth stations. Part of those revenues should have been given to the cable TV operators for changing from analogue to digital. Government should also financially help indigenous enterprises to design and produce the related equipment, especially the millions of set top boxes that are required. It should also be good if a multi service (technology) set top box is developed and mass -produced to avoid imports from our Panch-Sheel bhai bhai, China.
6. Government is auctioning spectrum for FM stations. There are already 245 stations in 86 cities and 839 stations in 227 more cities are expected to be licenced in Phase III auctions. The licence period for new stations is 15 years. The existing 10-year licencees will be migrated to 15 year period. Instead of outright sale of spectrum through auctions and upfront payment for it, government should make the highest revenue share offered by bidders as the criterion for allotment of the FM spectrum. This would be beneficial to the company and government because only if the companies get revenues, government gets a share of them. Government and companies should co-operate in making FM broadcasting a blessing and not a bleeding affair. Also, government can have a special purpose vehicle (SPV) company which could invest in all the FM broadcasting companies, not huge amounts but say 5-10 % of their capital. The health of the companies and their policies could be influenced so that there is maximisation of benefits -financial as well as instructional, informative and educational.
7. The content and presentation of the FM broadcasts is almost vulgar. It is idiotising listeners and not inspiring and instructing. Also, 24 hr broadcasts do not conduce to health of the listeners. There should be a condition in the licence for restriction of hours of broadcast. Government should assist the emergence of media - monitoring societies. They should be encouraged to interact with broadcasters to continuously improve the quality and content of the broadcasts, especially to stop the vulgar presentation and idiotising content.
8. Satellite based TV broadcasting channels are proliferating. There are over 800, 24 hr broadcasting TV channels in different languages and a few hundred more are waiting to be licenced. Government is getting a lot of revenue from these companies just as from FM private radio. ISRO is not able to provide the required number of Ku-band transponders for the DTH services for which many broadcasters’ requests are pending. When we can have unlimited imports from China, why can’t we allow foreign transponder use for DTH?
9. The private TV channels are not presenting wholesome content which will ignite the intelligence and add to the sum total of knowledge of viewers. Listeners’ associations or societies proposed in a previous paragraph should also be monitoring the TV channels and interact with the companies in the same fashion as proposed for the FM stations. TV viewing can be very harmful for the viewers, more dangerous than vulgar FM radio. Restrictions must be placed on the hours of broadcast and content. It should be made obligatory for all these channels to carry specified programs of Doordarshan which alone is presenting many wholesome programs.
10. Just as the BSNL is holding Telephone Adalats, the FM as well as TV broadcast companies should be required to hold audience adalats. Proper guidelines and regulations may be drawn to facilitate their birth and work. I am normally opposed to much government involvement, but I am now pleading for some government control because the private broadcasters are not promoting culture and ennoblement of the audience. Trivial things are being aired. They have a tendency to debase the tastes of listeners and viewers. Unbridled freedom is destructive of social good. That is why government must step in when self -control is not evident among the producers.
11. I cannot refrain from commenting upon the governments shortsightedness and reactionary policy until the late 1990s. TV broadcasting by private companies was not allowed . However, entrepreneurs were producing programs and recording them and sending the tapes/discs to Nepal and to Sri Lanka for uplinking from their earth stations to communication satellites. A large number of them are owned by international private companies. The uplinked programs were being received by India’s cable operators and distributed to homes. Indian companies were paying in foreign exchange to companies in Nepal and Sri Lanka for their uplinking services. The government just could not block the reception of these broadcasts. It is with great pleasure that I recall my interaction with the NDA government, especially with Smt. Sushma Swaraj when she was holding the Broadcasting portfolio. On my pleading, she took the bold step of permitting private TV channels to operate from India- based earth stations. NDA government demonopolised satellite TV broadcasting. But there is no moderation and that is why we are having increasing number of hundreds of unbridled TV broadcast channels.
12. Government shied for a long while to allow commercial broadcasts over All India Radio. However Radio Ceylon was having commercial broadcasts beamed to India and it was most popular. They could not be jammed. So finally wisdom dawned upon the Government of India. In 1957 AIR launched the commercial channel, Vividh Bharati to compete with radio Television. Imaginative and wholesome broadcasts of Vividhabharati compete with Radio Cylon. The later almost went out of popularity in India. What has been characteristic of our governments had been delayed reactions, but immoderate indulgence finally. Now the pendulum has swung too much for unfettered private activity in broadcasting . This requires to be rolled back to some extent. Bhagavad Gita’s message of moderation is very apt.
Yuktahara viharasya yukta chestasya karmasu
Yukta swapnavabodhasya yogo bhavathi dukhaha B.G 6.17
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