DTH operator, Independent TV has been caught in a troubled situation ever since it faced disconnection from Antrix Corporation and discontinued its services to the subscribers. Now in the series of tough conditions for the company, the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai) has asked Independent TV to provide the required information pertaining to the refund of the amount to the subscribers due to non-provision of services. Trai has also given a deadline of five days to Independent TV to provide the requested information. To recall, Independent TV subscribers have been facing disruption in their services for a few weeks now, and there have been a lot of complaints against the DTH service provider.
Trai Asks Questions from Independent TV
In a new notification which also came from Trai, the regulator has directed Independent TV to ensure the compliance of various provisions of the new Trai tariff regime for the broadcasting and cable TV industry. The Telecom Regulator has asked Independent TV to submit the information of up to six months on the issues noted further leading up to June 30, 2019. In its response, Independent TV will have to answer questions like How many connection requests are pending beyond seven days after receipt of payments/subscription from the consumers, how many complaints are still pending regarding refund not provided.
More points from Independent TV which Trai will require the company to answer will include the number of cases in which the refund has been provided to the consumer due to non-provision of services despite collecting the money in advance along with the number of cases in which the amount has been refunded. Some more areas of answer for Independent TV will include, Whether any channel has been removed from your platform without giving prior intimation to the consumer, Whether any rebate has been provided to the affected subscribers during the blackout period. If yes, how much rebate has been provided.
Trai Receives Many Complaints Against Independent TV
In its direction to Independent TV, the authority informed that it has received numerous consumer complaints wherein the subscribers have complained that Independent TV has discontinued channels opted for by the subscribers and that the operator is neither providing services to the consumers despite collecting the money in advance nor any refund has been made to the consumers.
It is worth noting that Independent TV was launched 2018 and it was only functioning the state of Uttar Pradesh. In the Meerut and Saharanpur division, the company had 26 distributors, and it boasted of more than 90,000 subscribers in the region. Also, as per the company’s statement, it was supposed to resume services on July 3, and it has a pending case in TDSAT. Trai has already ordered Independent TV to pay off its dues to Antrix by June 12 or to face disconnection.
