The
telecommunications and broadcasting industry's tribunal
Telecom Dispute Settlement Authority (TDSAT) has asked
channel distributors like Star and Zee to follow Telecom
Regulatory Authority of India's (TRAI's) disconnection
norms of serving a 21-day notice prior to disconnecting
signals to hotels.
The
ruling was in response to a petition filed by the
the apex hospitality trade body Federation of Hotel
and Restaurant Association of India, (FHRAI) against
TRAI's decision not to fix channel prices for hotels
and asking them to negotiate with broadcasters.
Justice
Arun Kumar, who presided over the TDSAT bench has
also asked Star India, ESPN Softwares, Zee-Turner
and Set Discovery, to file their replies before it
within two weeks. It also allowed TRAI more time to
file its reply.
FHRAI
has been locked in battle with TRAI and broadcasters
over channel pricing and had filed a petition before
the tribunal.
In
its notification on 21 November, 2007, TRAI had said
that hotels
with three star and higher ratings, heritage hotels,
motels and inns having 50 or more rooms would not
be treated as ordinary cable consumers and thus could
not be protected by TRAI.
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