Tags: Tata

Telecom Regulatory Authority of India wants to regulate DTH services

The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) has said that they want to regulate the DTH services present in the country.

TRAI said that it wants to keep a check on interconnection, set-top boxes and quality of DTH services so as to ensure that the customers get what they are paying for.

They have now issued a consultation paper on the subject and have asked the stakeholders to send in their comments not later than March 20.

TRAI added that problems are likely to come up related to services provided by DTH providers as it becomes popular around the country.

The paper released by the authority said: “It has been seen in the recent past that there has been some competition between the two DTH service providers as well as between DTH and cable. Competitive packages and offers have been made by all the service providers one year back when the consumer had virtually no choice and options. Considering these developments, it has been decided that these issues should be looked at after some time when the impact of the competition in general, and the impact of the CAS (conditional access system) roll-out for cable TV in particular can be assessed. Accordingly, the tariff issues have not been posed for consultation at present.”

We surely need some authority to keep an eye on this industry. Consumers are suffering due to locked Set Top Box supplied by the DTH providers in the country. They are not allowed to buy a third party STB and a unit provided by Tata Sky is unlikely to work with Dish TV services.