[Satellite TODAY 07-02-10]  The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) has made recommendations to the Indian government that international companies play more of a role in the country’s DTH sector, according to a TRAI report released June 30.
    One of the key recommendations made by TRAI is that the government set its foreign investment limit for the broadcast carriage services at 74 percent. Under current regulations, an international company can take only a 49 percent share in an Indian DTH operator. The same applies for teleports in India. TRAI said a new limit would benefit Indian DTH, IPTV, mobile TV, HITS, teleport and MSO companies that are upgrading to a digital and addressable environment and enable international operators to gain significant shares of growing satellite businesses in India.
    The DTH sector in India holds fierce competition among service providers such as DishTV, Tata Sky, Reliance Communications, Bharti Airtel and Videocon. Both DishTV and Tata Sky have launched HD services into the market to herald new demands for satellite capacity in the country.