‘Implement New Tariff Order Or Face Blackout, License Cancellation’: TRAI Warns DTH, Cable Operators

The distribution platform operators (DPOs) that are not implementing the new tariff order in letter and spirit have been given a clear warning by the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) to toe the line or get ready to face consequences, reports Television Post.

The regulatory body, in a meeting with operators on Monday (21 January), warned that DPOs failing to transition their customers to the new framework will face disconnection from 1 February.

It added that it would ask the broadcasters to black out channels for DPOs who are not implementing the new tariff order and may advice the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting (MIB) to cancel their licences.

“The TRAI has made it clear that DPOs that don’t implement the new tariff order will face black-out,” a source was quoted in the report as saying.

DPOs barring Airtel Digital TV and Tata Sky had received the choice of roughly 40-50 per cent of their consumers, another source was cited in the report as saying. The regulatory body had directed the DPOs to collect the choices of all their customers by Monday (21 January).

“The consumers are not very proactive in submitting their choice to the DPOs which is delaying the process,” added one of the sources.

According to the report, TRAI, earlier this month (January), had asserted that there will be no postponement or modification of the implementation of the new regulatory framework for the broadcasting sector.