DTH providers told to publish tariff plans by Friday
31 Dec 2018
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The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai) on Friday issued a directive to all the DTH providers, including Dish TV, D2h, Tata Sky, Hathway, Den Networks, Airtel Digital and Sun Direct, to publish their new plans and channel prices by the end of the day.
Trai had, on 3 July, asked all DTH providers to put up new channel packs and plans within 180 days and had asked all service providers to strictly adhere to the timeline published by Trai.
“The Authority once again emphasise that all the provisions of the Interconnection Regulations 2017, the QoS Regulations 2017 and the Tariff Order 2017 are in force, and the regulatory provisions contained therein may be strictly complied with while implementing the prescribed schedule of activities,” the regulator said again on Friday.
“Accordingly, distribution platform operators (cable & DTH companies) shall declare the Distributor Retail Price (DRP) and Network Capacity Fee (NCF) as per the timelines given in Trai press release dated July 3, 2018, ie, by 29 December 2018,” Trai added.
Also, Trai has charted out a new migration strategy for the consumers and DTH providers to the new tariff regime, with the DPOs also playing an active role. Subscribers have been given 34 days to switch to the new scheme, ie, before 31 January.
The new transparent tariff regime, however, is being opposed by major DTH providers like Tata Sky. Tata Sky is reported to have approached High Court and Telecom Disputes Settlement and Appellate Tribunal (TDSAT) to quash the new tariff regime laid out by Trai. The regulator, however, has approached the Supreme Court after the Madras High Court asked for modifications in the tariff rules.
It all depends on the Supreme Court now as orders on all other pleas will follow the apex court’s directive.
