Editing Telecommunications in India (section)

==Television broadcasting==
{{Main|Television in India}}
{{further|Direct-to-home television in India}}
{{see also||List of Indian television stations}}
[[File:STS008-44-611.jpg|thumb|right|INSAT-1B satellite: Broadcasting sector in India is highly dependent on [[Indian National Satellite System|INSAT]] system.]]
Television broadcasting began in India in 1959 by ''[[Doordarshan]]'', a state-run medium of communication, and had slow expansion for more than two decades.<ref name="Kaminsky2011">{{cite book|last1=Kaminsky|first1=Arnold P.|last2=Long|first2=Roger D.|title=India Today: An Encyclopedia of Life in the Republic: An Encyclopedia of Life in the Republic|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=wWDnTWrz4O8C|access-date=12 September 2012|date=30 September 2011|publisher=ABC-CLIO|isbn=978-0-313-37462-3|pages=684–692|archive-date=29 March 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240329131407/https://books.google.com/books?id=wWDnTWrz4O8C|url-status=live}}</ref> The policy reforms of the government in the 1990s attracted private initiatives in this sector, and since then, satellite television has increasingly shaped popular culture and Indian society. However, still, only the government-owned ''Doordarshan'' has the licence for terrestrial television broadcast. Private companies reach the public using satellite channels; both cable television as well as DTH has obtained a wide subscriber base in India. In 2012, India had about 148 million TV homes of which 126 million has access to cable and satellite services.<ref>{{cite web|title=India overview|url=http://www.tamindia.com/tamindia/Images/Overview_TV_Universe_Update-2012.pdf|publisher=TAM Media Research|access-date=11 July 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120814162810/http://www.tamindia.com/tamindia/Images/Overview_TV_Universe_Update-2012.pdf|archive-date=14 August 2012|url-status=live|df=dmy-all}}</ref>

Following the economic reforms in the 1990s, satellite television channels from around the world—[[BBC]], [[CNN]], [[CNBC]], and other private television channels gained a foothold in the country.<ref name="Raju Thomas"/> There are no regulations to control the ownership of [[satellite dish]] antennas and also for operating cable television systems in India, which in turn has helped for an impressive growth in the viewership. The growth in the number of satellite channels was triggered by corporate business houses such as [[Disney Networks Group Asia Pacific]] group and [[Zee Entertainment Enterprises]]. Initially restricted to music and entertainment channels, viewership grew, giving rise to several channels in [[regional language]]s, especially [[Hindi]]. The main news channels available were CNN and [[BBC News (international TV channel)|BBC News]]. In the late 1990s, many current affairs and news channels sprouted, becoming immensely popular because of the alternative viewpoint they offered compared to Doordarshan. Some of the notable ones are [[Aaj Tak]] (run by the [[India Today]] group) and [[ABP News]], [[CNN-News18]], [[Times Now]], initially run by the [[NDTV]] group and their lead anchor, [[Prannoy Roy]] ([[NDTV]] now has its own channels, NDTV 24x7, NDTV Profit and NDTV India). Over the years, Doordarshan services also have grown from a single national channel to six national and eleven regional channels. Nonetheless, it has lost the leadership in market, though it underwent many phases of modernisation in order to contain tough competition from private channels.<ref name="Raju Thomas"/>

Today, television is the most penetrative media in India with industry estimates indicating that there are over 554 million TV consumers, 462 million with satellite connections, compared to other forms of mass media such as radio or internet.<ref name=mruc>{{cite web|url=http://mruc.net/irs2012q1-topline-findings.pdf|title=Indian Readership Survey 2012 Q1 : Topline Findings|at=Growth: Literacy & Media Consumption|publisher=Media Research Users Council|access-date=12 September 2012|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140407092737/http://mruc.net/irs2012q1-topline-findings.pdf|archive-date=7 April 2014|df=dmy-all}}</ref> Government of India has used the popularity of TV and radio among rural people for the implementation of many social-programmes including that of mass-education. On 16 November 2006, the Government of India released the [[community radio]] policy which allowed agricultural centres, educational institutions and civil society organisations to apply for community based [[FM broadcasting]] licence. Community Radio is allowed 100 watts of [[Effective radiated power|Effective Radiated Power]] (ERP) with a maximum tower height of 30 metres. The licence is valid for five years and one organisation can only get one licence, which is non-transferable and to be used for community development purposes.