Good News TRAI wins the tariff order case against Star in Supreme Court

[Gopi27]

"TRAI has capped Rs 500 as installation and activation charges for cable and DTH services.
The amount of Rs 350 will be charged as an installation charge while Rs 150 as an activation charge under the new tariff regime beginning from December 29."

If this rule is followed correctly by DPOs then Rs.500 wont be a huge amount. User can take their own DTH or Cable depending on their QOS. This rule mainly helps for customers who want to shift from their current operators.

 

[Basil]

"TRAI has capped Rs 500 as installation and activation charges for cable and DTH services.
The amount of Rs 350 will be charged as an installation charge while Rs 150 as an activation charge under the new tariff regime beginning from December 29."

If this rule is followed correctly by DPOs then Rs.500 wont be a huge amount. User can take their own DTH or Cable depending on their QOS. This rule mainly helps for customers who want to shift from their current operators.

Rs 500 doesn't include CPE charges.

 

[Rajkumar]

Means what, If im taking ADTV now, what will I pay to them.

 

[Ashok Varma]

"TRAI has capped Rs 500 as installation and activation charges for cable and DTH services.
The amount of Rs 350 will be charged as an installation charge while Rs 150 as an activation charge under the new tariff regime beginning from December 29."

If this rule is followed correctly by DPOs then Rs.500 wont be a huge amount. User can take their own DTH or Cable depending on their QOS. This rule mainly helps for customers who want to shift from their current operators.

DTHs didn't charge installation for new connection purchase.

 

[RLOA]

Also migration to other operator is not easy as we have to again invest on hardware which is the main reason I still use ts though costly and I believe there are many people out there like me.

This. No matter how one calculates, it is always going to be heavy on the pocket to switch the DPO. I mentioned this before somewhere already, the new regulations will have the intended effect in my opinion only if:

1. 15% cap on the bouquet discount is enforced and/or
2. Pay channels are not allowed to air adverts and
3. Technological interoperability is put in place

Point 1: In the current situation TRAI has assured that it "will step in, in case, it sees any distortion in the market" while asserting that "the discounts on bouquets are generally more than 50% which is unreasonably high and prone to distortion". Wait-and-watch seems to be the only option.

Point 2: I doubt whether TRAI has or ever will consider this. I'm not sure whether this goes against the essence of a capitalistic market or something like that.

Point 3: This in my opinion is an absolute necessity and is long overdue (and that is an understatement!). Forget about the interoperability across the standards (DVB-S2 vs C), TRAI hasn't even enforced the interoperability within the DTH operators! What is the point of mandating DVB-CI slots if they are going to sit there doing nothing? Hardware mismatch is not a convincing argument. Interoperability does not force anyone to switch the operator, it merely gives one an option to continue using the same CPE (if possible). A not so popular comparison is with the telecom market. Understandably it is a different scenario, but Jio services cannot be availed without a device supporting 4G VoLTE. This does not stop other operators from being interoperable!

Various TRAI representatives have assured in the past month that the work in this regard is ongoing and they will soon bring it out. Now whether this was said just to dodge a bullet in front of angry cable operators or a factual statement is anyone's guess at the moment.

 

[Sarkar]

This. No matter how one calculates, it is always going to be heavy on the pocket to switch the DPO. I mentioned this before somewhere already, the new regulations will have the intended effect in my opinion only if:

1. 15% cap on the bouquet discount is enforced and/or
2. Pay channels are not allowed to air adverts and
3. Technological interoperability is put in place

Point 1: In the current situation TRAI has assured that it "will step in, in case, it sees any distortion in the market" while asserting that "the discounts on bouquets are generally more than 50% which is unreasonably high and prone to distortion". Wait-and-watch seems to be the only option.

Point 2: I doubt whether TRAI has or ever will consider this. I'm not sure whether this goes against the essence of a capitalistic market or something like that.

Point 3: This in my opinion is an absolute necessity and is long overdue (and that is an understatement!). Forget about the interoperability across the standards (DVB-S2 vs C), TRAI hasn't even enforced the interoperability within the DTH operators! What is the point of mandating DVB-CI slots if they are going to sit there doing nothing? Hardware mismatch is not a convincing argument. Interoperability does not force anyone to switch the operator, it merely gives one an option to continue using the same CPE (if possible). A not so popular comparison is with the telecom market. Understandably it is a different scenario, but Jio services cannot be availed without a device supporting 4G VoLTE. This does not stop other operators from being interoperable!

Various TRAI representatives have assured in the past month that the work in this regard is ongoing and they will soon bring it out. Now whether this was said just to dodge a bullet in front of angry cable operators or a factual statement is anyone's guess at the moment.

I am sure Hardware mismatch is definitely an issue in dth. They implement Port in mobile so if no hardware issue then there would definitely be Port in dth also. Last time I heard it was encryption. Issue was there even in telecom space for example if you have any BSNL CDMA phone you cannot use GSM network and vice-versa.

 

[Raja]

Then there are the more expensive HD combos. For instance, Airtel's Magic HD ROI Topup is priced at Rs 93 per month while Hathway's Royal HD pack is priced at Rs 466.10 per month. "This is a great framework which has been validated by the highest court of the land, but there are certain stakeholders who are trying to create misconceptions that consumer bills are going to rise. It is bogus," Sharma said, adding that the "hyperbolic fear" that consumers will have no choice under the new structure is baseless

TRAI's new framework for cable services: Will watching TV get costlier? All you need to know


Basically I don't know, how come the price will be less than what I'm paying presently. That means Mr. Chairman is a bogus. Shame on Trai and shame on GOI.

 

[RLOA]

I am sure Hardware mismatch is definitely an issue in dth. Last time I heard it was encryption.

Can you please elaborate? (At least a part of) Europe enjoys the interoperability without issues in my experience.

Issue was there even in telecom space for example if you have any BSNL CDMA phone you cannot use GSM network and vice-versa.

Exactly my point! Even though CDMA operators were not interoperable with GSM, it did not hamper the interoperability within the GSM operators. Moreover, phones with GSM and CDMA compatibility were introduced in the market in due course.

 

[Basil]

Can you please elaborate? (At least a part of) Europe enjoys the interoperability without issues in my experience.

16. Why Set top box interoperability is not mandated in new regulations?

The STB provided by a service provider is tightly coupled with conditional access system (CAS) deployed by the service provider. Most of the CAS systems are provided by foreign entities as Indian CAS has been developed very recently and its installation is picking up.

The interoperability of STBs is a complex issue involving the issue of probable piracy of content. It primarily needs to take care of disparate requirements such as technical neutrality,
innovation, flexibility and low cost of STB etc.

STBs in the market used different compression technique, Coding technique, Encryption
system, Middleware and operating system. These technical options make it unique and complicate technical interoperability.

Further, the nature of broadcasting networks being unidirectional, they are prone to piracy of signals of TV channels as point of piracy is relatively more difficult to identify. Piracy adversely impacts broadcasters’ revenue and stakes are high. However, TRAI is working together with various stakeholders to find out an acceptable and implementable solution.

Source : TRAI FAQs

 

[Sarkar]

Can you please elaborate? (At least a part of) Europe enjoys the interoperability without issues in my experience.



Exactly my point! Even though CDMA operators were not interoperable with GSM, it did not hamper the interoperability within the GSM operators. Moreover, phones with GSM and CDMA compatibility were introduced in the market in due course.

I am not a technical person bhai so I cannot comment on it.

But like open market handset where if some manufacturer make stb which works with all dth then that stb will cost definitely more than current subsidised boxes but that option should be there for consumers