SC asks Trai to fix DTH tariff by June 30

The Supreme Court today asked the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai) to fix the tariffs for direct-to-home (DTH) services by June 30 and place the plan before it.

Earlier, it was thought that the exercise for the non-conditional-access-system (non-CAS) cable sector would be concluded by May 31. However, Trai moved an application today for further time. A Bench headed by Chief Justice K G Balakrishnan, therefore, extended the time.

The court also asked Trai to hear all parties concerned, including the broadcasters, before fixing the tariffs. These have to be considered in the light of the entire distribution market.

There are six DTH providers in the country, which cater to more than 10 million subscribers, compared with around 80 million subscribers of cable television. So far, there has been no proper regulation on tariffs for DTH by Trai. In this situation, the broadcasters are providing content to DTH operators at 50 per cent of the tariffs at which these bouquets are being offered to the non-CAS cable TV platform. Therefore, a comprehensive regulation regime was thought necessary.