DTH operators oppose suggestion to offer channels at a-la-carte rates

Prominent Direct-To-Home operators on Monday opposed any suggestion to offer television channels on their platform at a-la-carte rates.

Responding to Telecom Regulatory Authority of India’s supplementary consultation paper on tariff related issues, DTH operators have opposed the suggestion of offering TV channels on their platform at a-la-carte rates as against the current system of offering them in various packages or bouquets.

TRAI had floated the consultation paper in December last year, seeking comments of DTH operators and broadcasters on it (issue of a-la-carte rates is one of the issues listed in the paper) by January 18 this year.

Broadcasters like Star India and ESPN, though have called for rationalisation of the basic bouquets offered by DTH operators.

In their response to TRAI’s supplementary consultation paper on tariff related issues for DTH services, Dish TV said it is technically impossible to offer a-la-carte (individual rates of each channel on the DTH platform) channels to all DTH subscribers due to limited spectrum bandwidth.

“In cable networks the bandwidth is not a constraint unlike DTH, where there is a shortage of transponder space and the endeavour of the DTH operators is to optimally utilise the available transponder capacity,” Dish TV said in its response.