Companies can't charge TV viewers more than current monthly sum under 'best fit plan': Trai

New Delhi: The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) on Wednesday asserted that operators cannot charge television viewers more than their usual monthly outgo under the 'best fit plan' to be offered during the transition period, and cautioned that the regulator will take action on any such complaint.

"Trai has clearly asked distribution platform owners (DPOs) to ensure that for consumers, the monthly outgo under the best fit plan should not exceed the payout per month of existing plan of the subscriber," said Trai Secretary SK Gupta.

Gupta said that Trai is monitoring the situation and will take action on consumer complaints, if any, on the issue. "TRAI has directed DPOs to give best fit plan to customers who have not exercised their option as of now, in order to protect their interest and ensure that they do not face any inconvenience," Gupta said. Trai had said that the best fit plan should be designed based on consumers' usage pattern and language spoken.

The regulator had said that subscribers would change their best fit plan and the distribution platform owner will convert their best fit plan into a desired pack (opted by the consumer) within 72 hours of subscribers making their channel preferences known.

Earlier, on Tuesday, Trai announced that consumers would get time till March 31 for to opt for the channels of their choice under the new framework for broadcasting and cable services. In a statement, it also said that it has asked all DPOs to create 'best fit plan' for its subscribers who have not exercised their options yet.

There are about 100 million cable service TV homes and 67 million DTH TV homes in the country and approximately 65 per cent of the subscribers of the cable services and 35 per cent subscribers of the DTH services have already exercised the option of selecting the channels of their choice, it said.Our Correspondent

New Delhi: The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) on Wednesday asserted that operators cannot charge television viewers more than their usual monthly outgo under the 'best fit plan' to be offered during the transition period, and cautioned that the regulator will take action on any such complaint.

"Trai has clearly asked distribution platform owners (DPOs) to ensure that for consumers, the monthly outgo under the best fit plan should not exceed the payout per month of existing plan of the subscriber," said Trai Secretary SK Gupta.

Gupta said that Trai is monitoring the situation and will take action on consumer complaints, if any, on the issue. "TRAI has directed DPOs to give best fit plan to customers who have not exercised their option as of now, in order to protect their interest and ensure that they do not face any inconvenience," Gupta said. Trai had said that the best fit plan should be designed based on consumers' usage pattern and language spoken.

The regulator had said that subscribers would change their best fit plan and the distribution platform owner will convert their best fit plan into a desired pack (opted by the consumer) within 72 hours of subscribers making their channel preferences known.

Earlier, on Tuesday, Trai announced that consumers would get time till March 31 for to opt for the channels of their choice under the new framework for broadcasting and cable services. In a statement, it also said that it has asked all DPOs to create 'best fit plan' for its subscribers who have not exercised their options yet.

There are about 100 million cable service TV homes and 67 million DTH TV homes in the country and approximately 65 per cent of the subscribers of the cable services and 35 per cent subscribers of the DTH services have already exercised the option of selecting the channels of their choice, it said.