TRAI complies with judicial mandates; sets timeline for new regulatory framework

Today, The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) issued a statement that confirmed that the tariff order for the broadcasting and cable sector will come into effect from 3^rd July 2018.

In the statement the regulatory authority said “Having complied with the judicial mandates in the matter, the Telecommunication (Broadcasting and Cable) Services (Eighth) (Addressable Systems) Tariff Order, 2017 and the Telecommunication (Broadcasting and Cable) Interconnection (Addressable Systems) Regulations, 2017 as upheld by the Hon'ble Madras High Court and the Telecommunication (Broadcasting and Cable) Services Standards of Quality of Service and Consumer Protection (Addressable Systems) Regulations, 2017 come into effect from 3rd July 2018.”

Furthermore the regulatory authority stated that all timelines mentioned in the original order must be adhered to immediately. This development began when Star TV and Vijay TV moved to the Madras High Court against the TRAI tariff order in late 2016. The court gave its final judgement earlier this year after which the concerned parties decided to escalate the matter to the Supreme Court. Meanwhile, other players such as TATA Sky, Air Digital TV, who had filed petitions regarding the order in the Delhi High Court, have yet to see their cases resolved.

TRAI is confident that the implementation of the new regulatory framework will bring transparency, enable provisioning of affordable broadcasting and cable TV services for the consumer, and stabilise the growth of the sector.

Few of the activities mentioned in the framework are presented below:

• The Telecommunication (Broadcasting and Cable) Services (Eighth) (Addressable Systems) Tariff Order, 2017: Declaration of MRP and nature of Channels by Broadcasters within 60 days; Declaration of Network Capacity fee and Distribution Retail Price (DRP) by Distributors (DPO) within 180 days; Reporting by Broadcasters within 120 days;
• The Telecommunication (Broadcasting and Cable) Interconnection (Addressable Systems) Regulations, 2017: Publication of Reference Interconnect Offer (RIO) by Broadcasters within 60 days; Publication of Reference Interconnect Offer (RIO) by Distributors within 60 days; Signing of the interconnection agreements within 150 days;
• The Telecommunication (Broadcasting and Cable) Services Standards of Quality of Service .and Consumer Protection (Addressable Systems) Regulations, 2017: Migration of the subscribers to the new framework within 180 days; Establishment of Customer Care Centre, Website, Consumer Care Channel and Publication of Manual of Practice within 120 days.