DTH has to offer subscribers instalment schemes: Trai

Direct-to-home (DTH) operators will now have to offer subscribers rental or hire purchase schemes on hardware equipment.

This is the latest regulation on Quality of Service (QoS) issued for the DTH sector by the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai).

Trai says that any DTH operator must from now give the prospective subscriber all three options, contrary to the outright purchase practice so far. The operators will have to mention clearly on every application form the three options, schemes and prices.


This makes the DTH initial connectivity more akin to that of Cas (conditional access system), bringing down the entry barrier for consumers as they can now go for instalments on the hardware equipment including set-top boxes (STBs).

Subscribers who wish to give up the DTH services, would also be refunded the amount due to them.

The Regulation also says that the operators will levy no charges payable towards repair and maintenance of DTH Customer Premises Equipment acquired under the hire purchase or rental scheme. This facility will be valid during the period of hire purchase or rental scheme.

Trai has even said that while subscribers would be able to change their schemes at any time they wanted, the operators would not be able to hike the prices for a scheme opted for by a subscriber within six months of the person getting the connection.


Quality Control Measures

Customer empowerment also includes strict quality control measures, including attending to problems and solving them within a given timeframe, and also severe restrictions on disconnections.

Trai regulation says that the operators would neither be allowed to discontinue any channel, or the entire service, nor be allowed to disable the STBs without sufficient reason and proper notice.

The regulation says that DTH operators would refund the security deposit or advance payments, if any, after appropriate and reasonable adjustments in case of return of DTH Customer Premises Equipment by a DTH subscriber. This, too, has to be made clear in the application form.

"In case the equipment made available to any subscriber before the commencement of this regulation does not conform to the BIS as applicable, the operator shall within seven days of the commencement of these regulations replace at no extra cost equipment that conforms to the BIS," the regulation says.

However, this will not apply to those pieces of equipment that have been tampered with by the subscriber, the regulation says.

A person seeking connection, disconnection or shifting of DTH service connection will now have to make an application in duplicate to the operator in a format specified by the latter, and the application shall be provided to such person by the DTH operator.

The application form shall contain name, address and telephone number of the applicant; details of schemes for provision of DTH equipment; details of subscription package indicated by the person; the number and names of all the channels and value added services.

The operator will then have to give a unique customer identification number and provide a copy of the Manual at the time of subscription. All information furnished by the applicant would have to be kept confidential.

The operators will have to evolve procedures for handling requests for shift in the place of installation of the service, transfer the service from one subscriber to another, as well as for disconnection or re-connection of the DTH service.

"No DTH operator shall take off the air or discontinue exhibition of any channel without giving prior notice to the DTH subscribers, says Trai and adds that the notice shall have to be published widely.

Besides, no operator shall discontinue the service to its 'direct to me' equipment made available to any DTH subscriber before the commencement of these regulations, if it does not conform to the Indian Standard set by the Bureau of Indian Standards.

In case DTH service is required to be interrupted for the purpose of facilitating preventive maintenance, the subscribers shall be given a prior notice indicating therein the expected date of resumption of service.

If the home subscriber does not owe any dues (including any arrear towards instalments of hire purchase scheme or arrears of rent for equipment of such operator) the operator shall not be able to disable the STB of that subscriber.

"No DTH operator shall increase the charges for a subscription package offered by him to the disadvantage of the DTH subscriber, or change the charges to the disadvantage of the DTH subscriber for a minimum period of six months from the date of enrolment of the subscriber," the regulation says.

However, this regulation does not stop any operator to reduce the price of the subscription package within the period of six months.

Besides, from the commencement of the regulations, a subscriber can opt, during the period of six months, for any other subscription package offered by that particular operator or any other DTH operator.

Billing Issues

On the billing issue, Trai has said that every operator shall issue bills on post-paid basis specifying the charges for such package; the charges for the value added services availed by such subscriber; the charges for equipment; and the nature and rate of applicable taxes.

The operator shall supply to the subscriber, at a reasonable cost, the information relating to the itemised usage charges showing actual usage of DTH service.

Call Centres

The operators shall have to, on or before the date of commencement of these regulations, establish one or more Call Centres for the purposes of registering of requests, answering queries, registering of complaints and redressal of grievances of its subscribers.

Such call centres will have to made accessible to subscribers round the clock during all days in a week.

No call charges are levied upon, or payable by its DTH subscriber, for calls made to the "toll free number" or "consumer care number" or "help line number" or special number, as the case may be.

Redressal of Complaints

The operators will have to take steps to address all requests or queries or redress all complaints by the subscriber as early as possible. The regulation lays down clearly the time frame of reddressal of specific types of complaints.

In case the operator fails to redress the complaint within the period specified in sub-regulation, it shall give proportionate rebate to the DTH subscriber for the period during which such complaints had not been redressed.

Every complaint relating to billing of DTH service shall have to be redressed within seven days of receiving such complaint from the DTH subscriber and refunds, if any, due to him, shall be made to such subscriber within 30 days of making of such complaint by him.

What is important also is that the operators would have to appoint a Nodal Officer in each state, whose contacts would have to be made known to subscribers and the latter would have the right to complain to him either in writing or through phone or Internet.


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