The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai) introduced a new mandate which governs the pricing of channels and channel packs broadcasted by channel providers. This new regime ensures that subscribers of DTH subscribers and cable providers pay for the channels which they subscribe to and not anything additional. The new system has also put a max cap on other prices which include installation charges, monthly rental basic fee and more. However, a big hurdle which the DTH providers, subscribers and Trai is concerned about is the migration of subscribers to the new regime which seems to be going on with a snail speed. Some DTH providers like Tata Sky have been late in charting out their channel pricing which has worried the subscribers that they will face black screens when the January 31 deadline approaches.
New Network Capacity Fee Under Trai Regime
However, in its latest move, Trai has decided to introduce a new application which will help the subscribers in making their channel selection. The subscribers will be able to use this tool to calculate their monthly rental which they will be required to pay after transitioning to the new regime. It is worth noting that Trai has set the Network Capacity Fee (NCF) at Rs 130 per month under which the subscribers will be entitled to 100 SD free to air (FTA) channels.
Also, Trai has set two types of channels under its new regime, the first type will be the FTA channels and the second type will be pay channels. If the subscribers want to subscribe to more than 100 channels, then they will be able to do so by paying an additional slab fee of Rs 20. For example, if you want to subscribe to 110 channels, then you won’t have to pay more than Rs 150 per month which will involve Rs 130 of network capacity fee and Rs 20 as an additional fee. On top of this, subscribers will have to pay for the pay channels which they opt for.
Trai Channel Selector Application Details
The new Channel Selector Application released by Trai will help the users in calculating the MRP of their channel package. As the users go on with adding channels on the application, the app will update the total pricing which will be payable by the subscriber. The channel selection process will be much similar to adding products to your shopping cart where users will be able to see their entire selection after they are done choosing channels from the list. The application will also optimise your bill by checking if there are bouquets on offer which will reduce your total monthly bill without reducing the channels you have selected. The application will also allow the users to download or print their channel selections easily.
When you open the Trai channel selector app, you will be prompted to enter necessary information like your name, languages, state, interested-genre and more after which you will be able to proceed with the channel selection process. It is noteworthy that with the use of this application subscribers will be able to ensure that they are paying the right amount and the most optimised price for the subscribed channels. They can also estimate how much they will need to shell out per month for their choice of channels and plan their subscription likewise.
