(18 January 2008 5:25 pm)

NEW DELHI: The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India has placed today on its website (www.trai.gov.in) the filings by the broadcasters regarding the a-la-carte rates and bouquet rates of their pay channels in non-CAS area.

This comes at the end of piling grievances from MSOs who reported that the prices offered by the broadcasters could not be accessed easily at all from their own websites, though the regulation clearly said that the prices have to be mentioned prominently on broadcaster websites.

MSOs had been requesting Trai to put up the prices on the regulator's website so that it becomes easy for smaller MSOs and LCOs to get to know what these are, to allow them to do their own bundling as per the majority interests of the communities they service.

The Trai press note says precisely that: "In order to ensure that the MSOs and cable operators get the content in a non-discriminatory manner, it is necessary for them to know the rates declared by the broadcasters.

"Accordingly, the scanned copies of these filings (excluding the confidential portions) made by the broadcasters are placed on the website for information of the stakeholders.

Several pay channel broadcasters have filed the information with Trai indicating the a-la-carte rates and bouquet rates of their channels.

Earlier, Trai had issued the Telecommunication (Broadcasting and Cable) Services (Second) Tariff (Eighth Amendment) Order, 2007 on 4 October, 2007.

This Amendment Order has already come into effect from 1 December, 2007.

As per this amendment order, broadcasters are required to provide all their channels on a-la-carte basis also in a non-discriminatory manner and declare the a-la-carte rates to the multi system operators (MSOs)/cable operators for such channels in non-CAS areas.

Bouquets of channels can also be offered by the broadcasters.