Consumers will have to pay up to Rs 250 plus taxes a month to watch a complete bouquet of channels on cable television, though operators have the option to charge lesser, says a proposal that is expected to get the government’s blessings as early as next week.
The proposal to cap cable tariffs was part of a broad consensus that emerged at a meeting between industry representatives and telecom regulator Trai on Wednesday, said people who attended the meeting. A plan to digitise all cable operations in three years was also debated, they said.
Trai, which also regulates the broadcast sector, will issue a tariff order early next week, the persons said. Barring certain areas in Mumbai, Delhi and Kolkata where conditional access system (CAS) or digital cable signals are available, all other cable operators will have to follow the new tariff order.
“There is no final conclusion and we will come out with a tariff order in some time,” said Trai chairman JS Sarma, adding that various suggestions were discussed in the meeting,
The new price ceiling was proposed after a survey of 22 non-CAS cities commissioned by Trai revealed that consumers are against paying more for better services through digitisation.
“As against 90% (of the sample surveyed) in 2007, only one-fourth in this round expressed willingness to pay more,” said the Trai survey report that was released last month. The survey said subscribers know from experience that paying more does not necessarily guarantee improved services. Instead, they prefer direct-to-home connections. Cable operators in many parts of the country charge more than Rs 300 a month. Shillong topped the list with consumers paying Rs 319 a month, said the survey.
Trai had last revised cable television prices in December 2008 after which maximum tariffs varied across cities between Rs 214-278 plus taxes a month. Under the new proposal, a consumer will have to pay Rs 100 to watch free-to-air channels and a maximum Rs 250 plus taxes to access paid channels across the country, said the persons.
Equally significant is the compulsory digitisation plan, which could lead to an overhaul of the cable industry. Small operators with analogue cable systems will be forced to either sell out to large operators or upgrade networks .
Large national cable operators such as Hathway, DEN Networks, Digicable, Incablenet and WWIL stand to benefit with a sharp gain in subscribers.
Ashok Mansukhani, president of MSO Alliance that represents large operators, said all the stakeholders have expressed their opinion and its up to Trai to come out with the final conclusion . He refused to share what was discussed in the meeting.
Another person who was present in the meeting said bringing parity in the price that operators with different technologies pay to access content from broadcasters also made its way to the meeting.
A long-standing demand of digital cable operators, this would mean DTH service providers, digital cable firms and IPTV service providers will pay the same price to television channels.
Trai caps cable tariff at Rs 250 for all channels-Entertainment-Media/Entertainment -News By Industry-News-The Economic Times
The proposal to cap cable tariffs was part of a broad consensus that emerged at a meeting between industry representatives and telecom regulator Trai on Wednesday, said people who attended the meeting. A plan to digitise all cable operations in three years was also debated, they said.
Trai, which also regulates the broadcast sector, will issue a tariff order early next week, the persons said. Barring certain areas in Mumbai, Delhi and Kolkata where conditional access system (CAS) or digital cable signals are available, all other cable operators will have to follow the new tariff order.
“There is no final conclusion and we will come out with a tariff order in some time,” said Trai chairman JS Sarma, adding that various suggestions were discussed in the meeting,
The new price ceiling was proposed after a survey of 22 non-CAS cities commissioned by Trai revealed that consumers are against paying more for better services through digitisation.
“As against 90% (of the sample surveyed) in 2007, only one-fourth in this round expressed willingness to pay more,” said the Trai survey report that was released last month. The survey said subscribers know from experience that paying more does not necessarily guarantee improved services. Instead, they prefer direct-to-home connections. Cable operators in many parts of the country charge more than Rs 300 a month. Shillong topped the list with consumers paying Rs 319 a month, said the survey.
Trai had last revised cable television prices in December 2008 after which maximum tariffs varied across cities between Rs 214-278 plus taxes a month. Under the new proposal, a consumer will have to pay Rs 100 to watch free-to-air channels and a maximum Rs 250 plus taxes to access paid channels across the country, said the persons.
Equally significant is the compulsory digitisation plan, which could lead to an overhaul of the cable industry. Small operators with analogue cable systems will be forced to either sell out to large operators or upgrade networks .
Large national cable operators such as Hathway, DEN Networks, Digicable, Incablenet and WWIL stand to benefit with a sharp gain in subscribers.
Ashok Mansukhani, president of MSO Alliance that represents large operators, said all the stakeholders have expressed their opinion and its up to Trai to come out with the final conclusion . He refused to share what was discussed in the meeting.
Another person who was present in the meeting said bringing parity in the price that operators with different technologies pay to access content from broadcasters also made its way to the meeting.
A long-standing demand of digital cable operators, this would mean DTH service providers, digital cable firms and IPTV service providers will pay the same price to television channels.
Trai caps cable tariff at Rs 250 for all channels-Entertainment-Media/Entertainment -News By Industry-News-The Economic Times
