The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai) on Tuesday extended till March 31, 2019, the deadline for broadcasters and cable operators to migrate their consumers to the new regulatory framework.
The new regulatory framework for broadcasting and cable services came into effect on December 29, 2018, but in order to provide sufficient time to subscribers for exercising their options, the regulator had provided time till January 31, 2019. All the Distribution Platform Owners (DPOs) were required to migrate subscribers as per their choice with effect from February 1, 2019. Now, the regulator has extended this period till March 31, 2019.
There are around 100 million cable service TV homes and 67 million DTH TV homes as so far around 65% of the subscribers of the cable services and 35% of the DTH services have exercised the options, Trai said in a statement adding that it was brought to the notice of the Authority that as the system of selecting channels has been introduced for the first time in the country, some subscribers were facing difficulties in selecting the channels of their choice.
“In some cases, local cable operators (LCOs) have not been able to reach out to subscriber to create awareness among them and collect the options. Many subscribers may be required to go to nearest Point of Sale (PoS) for exercising their option as they did not have access to IT facility or have not comfortable in using IT system to exercise their options. A few cases have been reported recently where pay channels of the subscribers who have not exercised the options have been deactivated. Such incidences are causing hardship to the subscribers,” Trai said.
Trai, on Monday, met all the DTH operators and major Multi-system Operators (MSO), who informed that implementation of migration was in full swing and subscribers who have exercised their option have been migrated to a new framework.
Trai has requested all the DPOs to create a ‘Best Fit Plan’ for their subscribers who have not exercised their options yet. The plan shall be designed based on consumers’ usage pattern, language spoken and popularity of channels. While designing the plan, DPOs should ensure that payout per month of generally does not exceed the payout per month of existing tariff plan of the subscriber.
“In view of the larger public interest, the authority directs all DPOs that those subscribers who do not exercise their options shall be migrated to a ‘Best Fit Plan’. The subscribers’ old plan shall continue till either subscriber exercise his/her option, or he/she is migrated to the ‘Best Fit Plan’. The authority hereby extends time up to March 31, 2019, for exercising the option by such subscribers who have not exercised option yet,” Trai said.
It added that subscribers will be free to change their ‘Best Fit Plan’ at any date and time on or before July 31, 2019, and DPOs shall convert their plan into the desired pack (channel/Bouquet) within 72 hours from the time the choice is exercised by the subscriber. There will be no lock-in period for the subscribers till March 31, 2019, who has been migrated to the ‘Best Fit Plan’ by DPOs, it added.
I have paid Rs 320 in advance to my local cable operator ( Das Entertainment ) on 26. 12. 2018 including my individual choice for pay channels but still my local cable operator are not providing the channels .
Govt should needful step against this cable operator as they are taking the money in advance but not providing the channels .
This is nothing but cheating and prevails everywhere. In my case I faced similar situation with Airtel dth in which my service was abruptly cut for 5 days without notice. After taking up strongly it got resumed. Still people caught unaware about channels selection and no information available to the customer on what channels they have selected since not getting displayed against their DTH account. I&B ministry thinks that everything goes well in their dept but what is happening is simply cheating.
Same with me with Insat King /Siti Cable.
Please report this under grievance cell to TRAI with proper details of your cable operator.
As per instructions received from the cable operators most of the the subscribers switched over to new rules and had to pay more than they used to pay before. As you have extended the date of exercising the new rules till 31/03/2019 , it is requested to instruct the cable operators to
provide us with all the channels that we viewed before switchover to the new system , because now even after making payment of higher amount we are provided with less number of channels than earlier .
How housing for all ,I am not eligible by Government norms ,as I don’t have personal income,I am senior citizen,Even if I pay 40 to 50 ℅ upfront It’s secured to Banks,but they denied due Government rules , what a joke
There is no clarity about free channels list for Bengaluru . If we are made to select the best fit plan by the operators, they will misguided us (like if you take this “x” channel list, then only you get this “y and z” channels or something like that) only to collect almost the same money as we have paid all these days, in which there are plenty of unwanted channels. So what is the use of giving us an opportunity to select and pay only for the channels that we view.
TRAI is doing its job just unprofessionally.
DTH & TATA SKY better be asked by TRAI to prepare MATRIX of TV Channels for approval / editing suitably & judiciously
this is truly LOOT from the government, initially they show a Carrot of saving, but if you see their form and if you want the channels as per your wish, then you have to spend more than Rs.750/-. how poor people can afford this??
This is just because of Ambani, they owned big network company and government has started loot from common people.
We were happy with earlier subscription, earlier we have to pay max 400 but now you can see the change. Also, cable operator are harassing us, they have disconnected all lines though due date is 31st March.
Cheers!!!! same experience like 500/1000 note banned. enjoy bhakt
Note : i am not fan of Pappu. I am a common man,who is suffering now.
YES now watching tv channels is too costly for us these days they are looting money from people , Now every month i should pay 350 rs instead of earlier i used to pay 250rs . Now they are giving 100 free channels all channels are useless channels and again we should pay money for different channels again waste GST also every where waste GST . These govt is corporate govt .
This is worst decision for the common man, we are suffering because earlier we have to pay max 400 but now we have to pay more than Rs. 750. Also, we have to face harassment from the cable operator. Our lines have been disconnected because we have not filled the form yet. Though the due date is 31st March.
Government has shown us a big CARROT initially but their actual MOTTO is to give benefit to the AMBANIS, because the owned big company in this field.
Note: I am not fan off Pappu, I am a common man.
Now Dish TV consumer are did not see a odia FTA channel Prameya news7 (CH NO- 1363) through out India . they are call to customer care after one hour calling result is zero.
I am a Air Tell Dish TV consumer ID NO-3007033251 are did not see the Ch No-703/719/723/724 etc. I choice my channel plan code no=TVCHGDTB3L27Z5T1WJ1 and send to customer care several time in different way and mail to digitaltv@airtei.com but no result.
I request to authority please look in this matter and resolve the problem.
I have a connection from DISH TV but i must say the customer service is very poor. i m trying to connect them from long However i m unable to connect, they have a option for missed call as well but no body calls from front. and the retailer also doesn’t help.
I m not getting to whom i should call and register my channel as per TRAI.
It seems TRAI is biased towards Channels and against the consumers. The minimum amount fixed for SD channels itself is Rs. 154 which is not justified. New rule is big burden for consumers. TRAI should review the plan and go back to original plan. Further now there will not be any competition among various DTH operators. As TRAI is forcing DTH operators and consumers to change the plan which clearly indicate that there is some fishy deal.
I hope TRAI will change its mind and modify its decision.
I am Videocon D2H customer willing to select and provide the detail of selective Channels to Videocoan D2H but their website is not working properly it shows error even its customer care no. is not reachable. How can we make the contact to Videocon D2H?
TRAI should review its decision as it is huge burden on customers.
Videocon d2h service very 3rd class
Customer care services not available in this company,
Sabhi no band kiye he company ne
Chutiya banate he sale videocon wale
Pls don’t purchase anyone videocon d2h
This is organised loot .when everything goes smoothly and choice of channels in your remote control in your hand where is the need for exersing choice of channels.This is a new way of public loot in the name of supreme court. this will pave way for Ambanis single net work for TV,computers .and likely create market advantage.. Soon subsidies will come for white card holders for channel subscription. Salute the great finance ministers which ever party may be in power.
I have a connection from DISH TV but i must say the customer service is very poor. i m trying to connect them from long However i m unable to connect, they have a option for missed call as well but no body calls from front. and the retailer also doesn’t help.
I m not getting to whom i should call and register my channel as per TRAI.
I am already complain about channel pack Some channel not showing dish tv chit to customer .
I am not using 100 FTA channels , i dont thing nobody using this much. only using 22 regional channels and 25 DD channels which is compulsory. Balance all pay channels. Then why should i pay 150 rupees as NCF for this much channels. This not make any sense, in this case my NCF should be reduced. You have to think,otherwise we all have to pay higher amount for the channels.
There should be no hidden price or hidden charges between customer and instructions of trai. All these gaps between main operator and customer.if price advertised, availability of FTA channels And change of price only with permiSsion of TRAI .
Please apprise what is the ‘ Best Fit Plan ‘ so that we can take decision whether to switch over to the concerned plan or not . Though it is said that we are to pay as per the channels we choose , but the Cable Operator come out with package system which is why we have pay more even with less number of channels . Hope concerned authorities will look into the matter so that the consumers are not get affected due to introduction of the new rule which is detrimental to the interest of the mass consumers/subscribers .
My previous plan was 220 but now same plane available 300+ it’s not good. Need some changes in plan one plan will be comman like base pack which payble low cost
Earlier I was paying Rs.200/- per month to the cable operator (Dattatrey), in Mira Road, Mumbai suburbs & watching all the Main channels. ( Sony,ZEE,Star Plus, Sports, News,Kids Cartoon, other Movie Channels).
Now I have paid Rs.400/- for a for only 15 selective channels & still Mirror Now, Wion channels are not operational.
Dont understand by the advert says to watch only what you want to.
So in a way Govt has found another way to squeeze more than 100% from our ordinary citizens. Citizens are being fooled always one way or the other.
Ambani is blamed. Which cable company is owned by Ambani. We shouldn’t blame anyone without proof. How we ourself would feel if someone malign our name without our doing anything wrong.. It’s true that our cable bills have increased with the implementation of new Trai rules..
Previously I used to pay Rs. 300-315 in Airtel Dish, but now for the same channels I have to pay nearly Rs.400plus. What is the use? TRAI is fooling common people?
you give to 100 channel free on Air charges that 130+GST in Karnataka need only 20 to 25 channel, please its cost is more
Happy to pay as per channel rate but why Rs. 130 + GST ???
If u say free channels then give it for free, why Rs. 130 + GST is mandatory.
Ask people’s requirement instead asking company about profit. What benefit will get to end user ???
Channels get crores of money from advertisement and people pay to see this ad. It’s double income to TV channels.
There are 15-20 news channels. What is the need ? People didn’t ask for this. Already they get huge profit that’s why able to create new channels then why gov motivate them to earn still more.
What happens if the subscriber is unable to migrate to new plan before 31st March due to valid reasons such as the subscriber being away from the country?
Can the subscriber migrate to new plan after 31st March in such cases
Even though paying same amount of Rs 300 since many months, the cable operator has cut down Many regular channels which were being viewed . This is happening in Nagarbhavi , Bangalore. So please initiate action to restore , as we are continuing to pay same amount. In addition cable operator has taken extra money for HD , but not giving HD channels since last 2 years.
TATA SKY has given choice for selecting channels but the implementation is very poor. Technicians are coming and changing the set top box. Once asked for setting channels , they are refering to call centre. Problem is yet continuing
Whether it is hardship or somewhat cheating, the cable operator (DEN) is not giving even some free-channel to me. Some popular package like Zee-family pack bangla is missing in their list and forcing us to select individual channels costing more. Will TRAI help?
i have taken airtel d2h and save the “make my plan” as per my requirement. but as per TV advertisement, channel declared that they will take his rs. 130/- as per service charge. but after my create selection plan, the channel is take rs.212/-as service charge.This is not fair.
Worst service, TRAI. Making legal robbery from consumers thooooo???????????????
It is shear non sense that we are paying even for free channels. Then why it is showed as free channels? previously we use to pay Rs. 350/- for n number of channels but now we are paying Rs. 435/- for just 120 selected channels. who will stop this loot?
My local cable opreter Raj Cale netrwok he is befor 31st March all channel are close and also free channel are close so what can i do
Is there any email or contact number where we can raise a complaint against these cable operators. As they are charging more than what they used to charge earlier. TRAI should take a complaint and take necessary actions against these operators .
i WAS paying 234 pm for 207 channels before 1 Feb ( included SOny,Color, Star, Zee + Discovery )
Now to see those i have to pay 360/- with so called selection process which showed Rs 151/-
Why NCF rs 130 + GST+other unexplained charges for basic selection of Rs151 /- worth channels?(total 360/-)
Operators or Govt to revise this loot. Should continue the same channels with prior information to customers. Customer are not given any information on the BEST Plan which the AIRTEL selects themselves.
Though it is said that the consumers need to pay only for those channels they choose to view ; but reality goes otherwise . TRAI came up with PACKAGE SYSTEM which is why consumers are bound to pay more because if we opt for a single package we are unable to view all the channels of our choice and for that matter we are to pay around Rs 800-1000 , whereas earlier we were provided with all the channels viz News , Entertainment, Movie, Sports etc with meager amount which ranged between 180-250 . Hope TRAI will reconsider and review their decision to mitigate the hardship that we the consumers have to face due to imposition of the new system .
Who are those that complained to govt. about cable operators are not providing channels of their choice ? No, it is the making of the govt. to allow the cable,DTH operators to fool the customers.
Hi,
I am facing the serious concern of viewing the channels.
I am unable to view the channels as expected. Further my operator has decided the pack as they wanted and reshuffle the interesting channels in different groups, so as to force us to subscribe for different packs and thereby landing up in paying very higher amount compared to what I was paying before entering into this ill situation.
This is really frustrating and operator’s money laundering services which needs to be corrected on top level by I&B Ministry.
Government needs to take immediate and effective action against this.
Otherwise we have to complain about this in the court very soon…
This is not the time to wait to suffer the looses after paying our hard-earned money.
Trai said before PAY FOR WHAT YOU SEE. and the amount will be less compared to present payment. Now we need to extra amount with 18% GST what a joke. they are looting the middle class peoples.
SUN DTH has de-activated all my channels though I had paid annual premium valid upto mid-September 2019 for my existing package with them. No doubt they will be charging me for the de-activated period also,
I am paying channels to see the programmes not for advertisements. Why i have been forced to see the advertisements. If channels are earning from advertisements, why the burdone on customers. Let they be freed from payment. Is there anybody to think for this point ? A long back AIR used to charge a fee from customers but later on after introducing the advertisements, the fee from the customers was waived off.
THIS IS YET ANOTHER OPPORTUNITY FOR SERVICE PROVIDERS LIKE AIRTEL, DEN, HATHWAY & OTHERS TO CHEAT PUBLIC BY DISCONTINUING CHANNELS AT WILL – DOES TRAI HAVE THE MECHANISM OR CAPACITY TO SOLVE COMPLAINTS FROM LAKHS OF CONSUMERS ?
TRAI SHOULD WITHDRAW THIS RULE & LEAVE IT TO CONSUMERS & SERVICE PROVIDERS TO SETTLE BETWEEN THEM
18% GST IS ALSO TOO HIGH
I Think cable operators or the person who has made this scheme is just to cheat the common man. Initially we used to pay Rs. 325 for all channels to cable operator. Now as per the new scheme Rs. 130 is compulsory and thereafter when you select few channels the amount comes to Rs. 230 we were very happy but then to our surprise is the calculation of tax and the final amount was Rs. 450/-. Now please tell us how is this good for us. We were happy before and now its an extra burden come on our head. Please understand we are common people and even Rs. 10 has a value as it is hard earned not like Ministers and Government employees who has extra income source. Thank you.
Is it mandatory to take 100 FTA channels? TRAI regulation doesn’t mention the same. But local operator (in my case BCN in Barasat, Kolkata) forcing us for the same, yet I’m paying Rs. 130/- for FTAC, but I should have the option to reduce the no. of FTA channels, so that after adding pay channel, I can control the total no. of channels. to reduce further cost.
Where I can lodge my complaint against cable operator misusing TRAI rules.
Videocon d2h is collected more money not providing channels to us please take necessary action kindly do the needful