TRAI seeks views on issues related to platform services offered by DTH operators

The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) on Wednesday sought suggestions from stakeholders on issues related to platform service channels offered by Direct-to-Home (DTH) operators.

The consultation paper issued by TRAI came after the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting asked the telecom regulator to give its recommendations related to platform services on issues such as one-time registration fee to be enhanced to Rs one lakh per platform service channel as against Rs 1,000 recommended earlier.

Other issues on which TRAI's recommendations have been sought are -- maximum number of channels that a DTH operator can offer and platform service be sequenced separately from the regular channels.

"India has a large base of pay TV subscribers. Predominantly, the pay TV services are being delivered through cable TV and Direct-to-Home (DTH) systems. Other modes of TV broadcasting such as Internet Protocol TV (IPTV), Head-end In the Sky (HITS) have miniscule subscriber base as compared to the cable TV and the DTH systems," TRAI said in a statement.

All TV channels Distribution Platform Operators (DPOs) operate certain kind of programming services, which are specific to each platform and are not obtained from broadcasters, it said.

All these platform specific services being offered by DPOs but not obtained from broadcasters are referred to as Platform Services, TRAI said.

DPOs use PS to offer innovative services and product differentiation. It also acts as unique selling proposition (USP) for DPOs and also helps them in meeting the specific needs of their subscribers, it said.