TelecomLive January-2019

New Broadcasting Regime Telecom LIVE January 2019 30 www.telecomlive.com which will cost me Rs 339 or Rs 360. The Rs 339 pack, which is called “HSM DEL MP Value Sports SD 2 Bundle”, has only 100 channels which includes 19 DD and 10 other free to air channels. The Rs 360 pack, which is called “HSM DEL MP Value Sports SD 2 Bundle”, offers only 125 channels which includes 19 DD and 10 other free to air channels. So, if I choose between these two recommendations, I need to pay 50 per cent more than the price I am paying now. Also I went through the rates of various bun- dle packs and a-la-carte channels, I found that even if I make my own pack, I will be spending over 50 per cent of what I am paying now. Secondly, according to Trai regulation, an operator has to offer a base pack consisting free to air channels. But Airtel is not offering such type of pack. It is good that consumer has the power to choose between the chan- nels but the price of a-la-carte channels is too high.” This is what a customer of Airtel DTH told us. This is not just one DTH customer, we have been getting similar feedback from several other users. Trai's contrary view On the contrary, on Dec 18, 2018, Trai chairman RS Sharma asserted that the implementation “ For the last few weeks, there have been many news reports about Trai's new regulation on cable television and DTH. For many years now, I have been an Airtel DTH user. I have received no communication (like phone or SMS) from Airtel regarding this. After seeing few ads from Star, Sony and Zee, I visited my account on Airtel's web portal. There I found a notice to upgrade my connection as per Trai guidelines. Currently I am paying Rs 219 per month (including all the taxes) for the plan called “My Plan 219 Super” which has 268 channels. Now, based on my current pack Airtel is recommending two plans New Broadcasting Regime Come Feb 1, 2019, your channel prices will go up by 50 pc despite Trai chief’s assertion that it will lower price for TV viewers