Dish TV gets one-year extension from Trai

Comes in absence of a policy only now being formulated

A little more than 10 million subscribers of Dish TV have managed to get a reprieve, after the information and broadcasting ministry gave the company a breather for a year more after its Direct to Home (DTH) telecast licence was to expire on the coming Tuesday.

Dish TV had a 10-year licence to operate the DTH business. It had been repeatedly knocking at the I&B ministry’s doors to decide on the renewal. In the absence of a policy on renewal of DTH licences, the ministry decided to grant an extension while one is prepared.

“Meanwhile, Trai (the telecom regulatory commission) is expected to come out with a policy (recommendation) on renewal of licences for DTH providers,” Jawahar Goel, managing director of Dish TV, told Business Standard.

Trai had recently told the ministry it would need more time to decide on a licence renewal policy; it was asked to prepare one only this month. “During the interim period, the DTH operator will be allowed to continue their existing services, provided they renew their bank guarantee. The DTH provider must also give a suitable undertaking that once the final policy in this regard is laid down, the DTH operator will comply with that policy,” Trai had said in a letter to the I&B secretary.

“Surely,” Trai added in its letter, “(you were) aware that DTH licences would start expiring from September 30, 2014. What is more, we are given to understand that Dish TV has been pursuing the case for renewal of their licences with the ministry since April 2013. However, MIB chose to refer the matter to Trai only in September 2013, with less than four weeks before the first licence is due to expire. MIB knows well that Trai has to follow an exhaustive public consultative process before giving its recommendations. The time left now is simply insufficient to conduct a full recommendation process.”

Digitisation of TV access is currently on across the country and the process is expected to be completed in 2014.

Following the process, various measures including a cap on advertisements per hour was also taken and is expected to come into effect from October 1, this year.