Lately, subscribers of every DTH operator or cable operator are scratching their heads because for most of the population the migration process to the new Trai tariff regime has got them confused about what they need to do. Without proper information and full knowledge of the TV channel selection process, the subscribers are facing troubles. In Kolkata, however, a new matter has surfaced where subscribers are dealing with a whole new problem. Even while the subscribers have chosen their pay channels and finalised their selections, they are not able to view these channels. The report comes from West Bengal, where many people said that until February 1 they were able to access their a-la-carte channels but post the date, they were not able to view them.
Subscribers Facing Trouble Post Migration
There were also reports which highlighted that in a home with two TVs, both of which were subscribed to the same packs were showing different combination of channels. This issue brought into light the cable operators’ struggle with the migration process to the new Trai tariff regime. However, the only ones who are dealing with the problem are the consumers as even though they are paying for the services promptly, they are facing various issues even after the migration process.
To recall, the date of migration to the new Trai packs was extended from December 28, 2018, to January 31, 2019, seeing the situation with the MSOs, DTH operators and the subscribers alike. Even after the extension, the migration process has paved the way for newer problems in the industry. As per a report by Telegraph India (epaper), only 30% migration could take place in the region by the deadline, and even after the date passed a cable operator had informed its subscribers that only three packs from Zee, Sony and Star were available for subscription. This situation was even beyond explanation for the industry officials.
MSOs and Cable Operators Experience High Traffic on Websites
Many subscribers said that they were not getting the channels which they had selected in their channel packs. Even after the selection process, if they got the channels, they were nowhere to be seen after an hour or two. One of the subscribers said, “Nobody seems to know what is going on.” Local cable operators, on the other hand, blamed the websites of MSOs which kept on crashing. These operators said that because of the high traffic which the sites were experiencing it was hard to make the selection for even one subscriber. Some early migrators were also forced to fill their choices again because of technical problems. One MSO operator said that the chaos could have been avoided if the local cable operators had distributed the subscription form earlier to the subscribers instead of resisting the new mandate.
Even D2h and Dish TV websites seem to have flooded with traffic as we were unable to access while writing this article.
