The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) has reduced the Maximum NCF charges to Rs. 130 (Excluding Taxes) for 200 Channels. TRAI on Wednesday made amendments to the new regulatory frame work for Cable and Broadcasting services under which cable TV users will be able access more channels at low subscripton price, in a bit to protect consumer issues.
TRAI, in a statement, said it has decided that in case of multi-TV homes where more than one TV connection is working in the name of one person, it will charge a maximum of 40 percent of declared Network Capacity Fee (NCF) for the second and additional TV connections.
The Authority has also permitted Distribution Platform Operators (DPOs) to offer discounts on long-term subscriptions which are for six months or more.
The a-la-carte rates of each pay channel (MRP), forming part of a bouquet, shall in no case exceed three times the average rate of a pay channel of the bouquet of which such pay channel is a part, it said.
The regulator said it has also considered the concern of broadcasters regarding huge carriage fee being charged by DPOs.
Only those channels which have an MRP of Rs. 12 or less will be permitted to be part of the bouquet offered by broadcasters.
A cap of Rs.4 lakhs per month has been prescribed on carriage fee payable by a broadcaster to a DPO in a month for carrying a channel in the country.
The Statement says, The Authority has also considered giving more flexibility to DPOs to place the TV channels on Electronic Programme Guide (EPG) and mandated that channel of a language in a genre will be kept together while placing channels on EPG.
Such EPG layout is to be mandatorily reported to the TRAI and no change in this can be done without prior approval of the Authority.
The New Rules will be effective from March 1. The new rules are part of the changes the regulator has made to its 2017 tariff order for broadcasting and cable TV services.
