Kolkata: The Mamata Banerjee government will request the Centre to reconsider introduction of new rules for DTH and cable operators by the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) that is set come into effect from February 1.
The state government is apprehensive about the step and believes that the move will not only hit the cable operators but also the consumers in the state.
"The Centre has come up with this new TRAI directive that will cause inconvenience to both the consumers and the cable operators. The cable operators have been asked to hold meetings among themselves and arrive at a consensus. Accordingly, we will take up the issue with the Centre," state Urban Development and Municipal Affairs minister Firhad Hakim said after holding a meeting with the cable operators at the Writers' Buildings on Monday. Hakim was accompanied by Minister of State for Health Chandrima Bhattacharya.
Hakim alleged that the Centre's move will lead to monopolisation wherein the common people will suffer. "We can't allow our cable operators and consumers to suffer," he maintained.
It may be mentioned that the TRAI had said the new DTH rules will bring down the cable television bill from its existing rate.
The initial deadline for migration was December 29, 2018, which was revised to January 31, 2019. With the new rules in place, the consumers will have to pay only for the channels they want to watch.
"Unlike the TRAI's predictions, the new DTH rules will compel consumers to cough up more for watching cable TV. It may happen that a consumer who currently views 150 channels would be able to view only four to five at the same amount later," said Suresh Sethia, director of SITI Cable, which has over 40 percent market share in cable TV viewing in the city.