TV viewers write to TRAI, express concern over high DTH tariffs

In September 2017, Dhiraj Wala, a 62-year-old retiree, bought an annual DTH subscription of Airtel TV for Rs 2,850. In the following year, with increased competition in the sector, the subscription cost him only Rs 2,408.

But thanks to TRAI’s new tariff order for cable TV and DTH operators, Wala now has to pay nearly 75 per cent more for watching just 26 paid channels, as against 400 channels he was subscribing to earlier.

“After the implementation of TRAI’s order, the cost of subscription has increased by at least Rs 100 to 150 per month per subscriber. TRAI has stated that there are 20 crore cable / DTH subscribers. i.e. Rs 2,000 crore to Rs 3,000 crore per month or an additional burden of Rs 24,000 crore to Rs 36,000 crore on the Indian public,” says Wala in a letter to TRAI.