Although broadcasters expect the FDI limit in the DTH platform to go up to 49 per cent from the present 20 per cent and also want the sectoral cap of 20 per cent to be lifted, the government is determined not to revise thenorms. In this context, the Information and Broadcasting Minister, Ms Sushma Swaraj, had recently ruled out making any changes in the DTH guidelines.

DTH norms within a day or two One of the hurdles in the way of introducing DTH in the country was removed last week when the government lifted the ban on Ku band signals. Since DTH refers to distribution of multi-channel TV programmes in Ku band by providing TV signals direct to the premises of the subscribers, removing the ban on Ku band was crucial for introducing DTH.

DTH will be a platform with a restriction of 20 per cent foreign direct investment (FDI). The total foreign investment in the DTH cannot exceed 49 per cent - 20 per cent FDI and 29 per cent through foreign institutional investors or NRIs. Also, there's a 20 per cent sectoral cap for broadcasters.To acquire the DTH licence, a company will have to pay Rs 10 crore as entry fee. Moreover, the company will have to share 10 per cent per year of its annual revenues with the government.

Once the final guidelines are issued, potential DTH players are expected to apply for setting up a DTH platform. So far, Doordarshan, Star, Zee, MTNL, VSNL and Sterling are among the major players who have shown interest in joining the DTH fray. Although DTH in India was earlier envisaged as multi-player platform, it may just move towards a monopoly, say government officials.