TRAI tariff order has reduced monthly TV bills: RS Sharma

TRAI tariff order has reduced monthly TV bills: RS Sharma

He says 90% of people watch less than 50 channels.

TRAI

MUMBAI: TRAI chairman RS Sharma has said that the implementation of the new tariff scheme has reduced monthly TV bills. This is because people have the power to choose channels of their choice. 
Speaking to news agency ANI, Sharma said that TRAI is collating data which will demonstrate that monthly bills do not increase. "On average, 90 per cent of people watch less than 50 channels. Even my monthly TV bill has come down from Rs 700 to Rs 236 per month."

He also said that TRAI is getting complaints against some service providers for not activating select channels for viewers, or taking too much time in doing so."We show cause defaulting service providers once we get a complaint against them. Customers can register their complaints on our call centre as well," he said.

Viewers will get to pay only for the channels they want to watch from 1 April, as TRAI’s new rules to curb the practice of bundling unwanted channels into bouquets come into effect.

According to new pricing regime by TRAI, broadcasters, distributors and cable television operators must price each channel separately with the rate capped at Rs 19 each. The deadline was extended thrice to create awareness among subscribers.