Consumers complain of violations as Trai’s new broadcast regime kicks in
Satyanarayan Iyer | TNN | Updated: Feb 3, 2019, 06:35 IST
Representative imagePUNE : Confusion has reigned after the new broadcast regime began on Friday.
With the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai) sending mixed signals on its pay-for-what-you-use mandate, and DTH operators obstinate in their refusal to play by the rules, subscribers are now stuck between a rock and a hard place.
Airtel has been sending e-mails and messages to its customers, thanking them for making the channel selection (when no such selection was made).
The operator has also been asking subscribers to switch to a new pack today to avoid “automatic change” to the “closest value pack”.
DishTV consumers claim that, even when fewer channels were selected, the final price was often higher. “I selected 111 channels and when I proceeded to recharge, I am getting 153 channels as best fit at a higher price,” Mohseen Khan, a DishTV consumer, tweeted.
“In case any customer has any problem, they can approach us through our call centre/e-mail, etc,” a spokesperson for DishTV said.
However, for the most part, call centres remained busy, while e-mails were not responded to. Websites have been down.
“All subscribers who have exercised their choice so far will get activated as per their selection. Others will be persuaded to migrate by a specific date … TataSky is not in favour of blackouts,” a TataSky spokesperson said.
Airtel has yet to respond to several e-mails that TOI had sent over the past week on selective reading of the rules, which state that undecided customers must be moved to a basic pack, while those who want to, be allowed to continue with long duration packs till expiry.
Confusion galore
On Thursday, Trai secretary Sunil Gupta had told TOI that they were looking into implementation, but did not respond to follow-up calls or WhatsApp messages till Saturday.
Also, on Friday, the regulator contradicted its own rules (clause 17) and even statements made by Trai chairman R S Sharma on the continuity of long-term packs. “All bouquets of channels made as per old regulatory framework ... will cease to exist in new framework ... no old package can be [supported] by service provider,” Trai said in a release.
One service provider, on the condition of anonymity, said they were waiting for clarity from Trai in this regard.
TRAI has not even established a cell to handle consumer grievances. “Trai does not handle individual consumer complaints,” the regulator stated in its official twitter handle bio.
With the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai) sending mixed signals on its pay-for-what-you-use mandate, and DTH operators obstinate in their refusal to play by the rules, subscribers are now stuck between a rock and a hard place.
Airtel has been sending e-mails and messages to its customers, thanking them for making the channel selection (when no such selection was made).
The operator has also been asking subscribers to switch to a new pack today to avoid “automatic change” to the “closest value pack”.
DishTV consumers claim that, even when fewer channels were selected, the final price was often higher. “I selected 111 channels and when I proceeded to recharge, I am getting 153 channels as best fit at a higher price,” Mohseen Khan, a DishTV consumer, tweeted.
“In case any customer has any problem, they can approach us through our call centre/e-mail, etc,” a spokesperson for DishTV said.
However, for the most part, call centres remained busy, while e-mails were not responded to. Websites have been down.
“All subscribers who have exercised their choice so far will get activated as per their selection. Others will be persuaded to migrate by a specific date … TataSky is not in favour of blackouts,” a TataSky spokesperson said.
Airtel has yet to respond to several e-mails that TOI had sent over the past week on selective reading of the rules, which state that undecided customers must be moved to a basic pack, while those who want to, be allowed to continue with long duration packs till expiry.
Confusion galore
On Thursday, Trai secretary Sunil Gupta had told TOI that they were looking into implementation, but did not respond to follow-up calls or WhatsApp messages till Saturday.
Also, on Friday, the regulator contradicted its own rules (clause 17) and even statements made by Trai chairman R S Sharma on the continuity of long-term packs. “All bouquets of channels made as per old regulatory framework ... will cease to exist in new framework ... no old package can be [supported] by service provider,” Trai said in a release.
One service provider, on the condition of anonymity, said they were waiting for clarity from Trai in this regard.
TRAI has not even established a cell to handle consumer grievances. “Trai does not handle individual consumer complaints,” the regulator stated in its official twitter handle bio.
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