MUMBAI: The   Intemational  Telecommunication Union (ITU) and the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) are jointly organizing an Intemational Training Program during 9th -11th October 2019 in New Delhi on "Emerging Trends in Broadcasting".

This training program was  inaugurated today by the Chairman TDSAT, Hon'ble Mr.  Justice Shiva Kirti  Singh, in  a well  attended opening session. Delivering the inaugural  address, he emphasised the importance &  benefits of  converged networks  and  emerging technologies in   broadcasting  sector. Dr.   R.S.   Sharma,  Chairman TRAI  while   delivering his  keynote address, presented an   overview of  the  existing broadcasting sector, new   trends & technologies and the challenges arising out of  convergence. The  inaugural function was  graced by Shri Amit  Khare, Secretary, Ministry of Information & Broadcasting   (MIB)   besides   Authority   and   senior   officers  of    TRAI. Shri Amit  Khare, Secretary, MIB gave  his  perspective on  the  main theme of the event. Shri Sunil Kumar Gupta, Secretary, TRAI delivered the welcome address. He  spoke about  the  training programme and  on   joint initiative between ITU & TRAI in organizing such events. Shri Sameer Sharma, Regional Director of Asia Pacific Region,  ITU spoke about the  mandate of ITU in conducting these training programmes and he also thanked TRAI for hosting this in  New Delhi,  India.

This  training  programme  is   being attended   by   delegates  from  17 countries,  mainly from   Asia-Pacific region. Besides,  there  will  be  a large number of  domestic participants at this programme, representing various stakeholders such as government departments, broadcasters, distributors of DTH & cable industry, variou s OTT players, academia etc

With advent of new  technologies and imminent convergence of devices & service provisioning, the broadcasting sector in India is  in  a high growth phase.  The  broadband penetration is also on  the  rise in  the  country.  With more private players rolling out their OFC  networks, the availability of Triple Play and Quadruple play services is becoming a reality. Stakeholders such as

Broadcasters,  TSPs, ISPs, Multi  system Operators, DTH  operators etc. are adopting innovative business models to  enhance their service offerings. The emerging convergence and new  services are   presenting new  regulatory and policy  challenges for  regulators of telecom and broadcasting sectors. In  this context, this ITU-TRAI International Training Program 2019 aims to address the policy  and regulatory issues which are  emerging.

This  training program will  have several sessions spread over  3 days dealing with   technology related topics such  as 'Business Models for  OTT', 'Broadband over  Cable TV network', 'Broadcast off-load technologies', 'AI, ML and Cyber Security' etc.

The training programme will address several pertinent issues related to present  status,  trends,  new    technologies  in    broadcasting  sector,  ITU assistance in  the APAC region on  digital broadcasting transition. Also,  how broadcasters   and  telcos  could  embrace  OTT   while  carrying out  their traditional broadcasting over  the air  and IPTV delivery on  their networks respectively  while   deploying  or  offering  CDN  services and  their business model.

The  program will  also cover   the emerging trends and developments happening in  the  area of media consumption devices, how  it is effecting the delivery and pattem of consumption of media and also how  to introduce the latest developments in  the  field  of  rating and measurements of viewership delivered through different means and platforms.

This training programme will assist in building institutional capacity by sharing experiences and successful case studies for  potential collaboration in all   these emerging areas. The   Program  will  highlight  the   building blocks required to ensure that regulatory measures remains relevant and appropriate for the new  environment. It will bring together international experiences with a focus on  Indian's experience and the  lessons learnt.

TRAI has collaborated with  ITU in conducting many such international training programmes in  the past on  various telecom subjects.  However, this is the first of its kind of event on  emerging trends in  broadcasting by ITU and TRAI with  the focus on  the subject of OTT.