Cable operators and consumers are in a state of quandary over the new TRAI-regulated tariff regime.

While migrating the huge consumer base is a daunting task for the operators, the consumers find it hard to cherry pick the channels they want from the bouquets and staying within their budget.

Confusion galore

M Jithender Reddy, President of Telangana Cable Operators Association, said, “We are struggling to resolve the issue as we have more than 30 lakh consumers in Hyderabad alone. And the consumers, who were earlier managing to get various channels from the pool at lower price, are now a confused lot.”

“Over the years, the cable operators’ business has never been a settled one. We have had to address innumerable challenges. Now we have the task of migrating all consumers to the new regime and also offering what they chose.”

Budget worries

“From the consumers’ point of view, we were able to offer them 200-300 channels for about ₹200 per household. But now they have to shell out about ₹600 if they want all that they were getting earlier,” he said.

In rural areas, cable services were being offered for as low as ₹150 per household. Now they are confused and not sure how to select a bouquet within their budget, Reddy said.

The consumer has pay the basic Network Capacity Fee of ₹130 a month for a bouquet of 100 channels. The pay channels cost extra. In addition, the 18 per cent GST adds to the overall tariff for the end consumer.

The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India has set March 31 as deadline for the migration.

“The process of selection is challenging and confusion prevails as even some free channels are not available. My kids are worried about their channels. Meanwhile, they continue to charge ₹250 and some have already made it ₹300 a month,” a journalist said.

“We request the government to bring down GST and address our concerns too, including those of small operators,” Reddy said.