Vowing to protect consumers' interest, the new broadcasting regulator Telecom Regulatory Authority of India on Wednesday said it will strive to end the monopoly of cable operators by creating an atmosphere for entry of more players while regulating industry tariffs in the interim.
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"We will examine cable operators' monopoly...we created competition in the telecom sector to end monopoly and the same philosophy should work in broadcasting sector...all networks suffer from monopoly," Trai chief Pradip Baijal told PTI in an interview.
About the modus operandi to eliminate monopolies, he said the regulator would strive for creating competition in the sector. "May be we will consider allowing three operators in an area...and till such time that there is no competition, we can regulate tariffs."
He, however, did not get into the nitty-gritty of charges by the cable operators saying, "We are very new to the subject and have started the consultation process to understand it better."
"Our focus is consumers and we will take all decisions keeping them in mind," he asserted, but did not give a time frame for completion of the consultation process.
Baijal said cable business could suffer heavily if the operators kept increasing tariffs arbitrarily. He also said the sector should be regulated since this was being done in almost all countries.
"Perhaps India and Taiwan are the only nations where the cable and broadcasting industry is not regulated...we will study the rules and systems followed in other countries," he said.
Baijal gave the example of the telecom sector, where he said Trai got out of tariff regulation by successfully enforcing competition.
"This will create unbundling and create more and more competition in the cable and broadcasting industry," he said.
While denying that Trai had any role in content regulation, Baijal said the regulator was only empowered to regulate carriage and tariff issues besides setting standards on the quality of service being provided to consumers.
On whether it could scrap the conditional access system, he said: "There is no question of quashing CAS till the three-month trial period mandated by the court is over. In any case, the power to scrap CAS rests with the court."
Baijal said Trai will seek opinions of all stakeholders to CAS before taking a final view.
While he declined to confirm whether the task of regulating the cable and broadcasting industry could be completed within the stipulated three months, he said all efforts would be made to meet this deadline.
He said as part of the consultation process, Trai has elicited views of both the Delhi government as well as the Centre on the various issues it raised in its consultation paper last week.
Amid reports that cable operators were planning yet another hike in tariff, Trai had frozen cable TV rates at the December 26 level as per that paper.
Kicking off the consultation process to resolve contentious issues including CAS in the cable and broadcasting services last week, Baijal said there was no bar on operators to lower the rates.
Noting that there were no standard rates or conditions at which cable services were being provided, Baijal said, "We have frozen the rates at December 26 level...If someone breaches the ceiling, we can take action under the Trai Act and this may lead to prosecution."
The freeze would be applicable to both, CAS and non-CAS areas and to all stakeholders under CAS.
In the consultation paper, Trai has asked for suggestions and views on issues of duration and rates for advertisements on cable services, compensation to subscribers in case operators were not able to provide uninterrupted service, sale and rental for CAS boxes and various other industry, operators and consumers issues.
The regulator has asked the respondents, which include viewers, industry and cable operators, to submit their views by January 30 to enable it formulate the policy at the earliest.
About regulation of advertising on pay channels, Baijal said Trai has raised the issue of maximum advertising time to be permitted per half hour on FTA channels and further regulation of advertising on pay channels but again, what ads are shown on television is not under the regulator's purview.
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