MUMBAI: The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) has extended the deadline for the receipt of comments and counter comments on Consultation Paper on "Tariff related issues for Broadcasting and Cable services" till 23 September and 7 October respectively.

The Authority had issued a consultation paper on "Tariff related issues for Broadcasting and Cable services" on 16 August 2019 inviting written comments from the stakeholders by 16 September 2019 and counter-comments, if any, from the stakeholders by 30 September 2019.

In its release TRAI said, “On request from the stakeholders, the last date for receipt of written comments and counter-comments, if any, from the stakeholders, has been extended up to 23 September 2019 and 7 October 2019 respectively. No requests for any further extension of time for submission of comments shall be entertained.”

TRAI issued the consultation paper to discuss the issues that have come up post implementation of the new regime. The authority also had extensive interactions with stakeholders including consumers and consumer organisations, at various forums, wherein stakeholders have also raised certain issues such as variable NCF for different regions, NCF for multi TV home, discount on long term plan, DD channels as part of one hundred channels etc.

TRAI has observed that too many bouquets are formed by the broadcasters/DPOs and many of them contain very similar set of channels, with very few changes. This, according to the sector regulator, is not only creating confusion among consumers but also becoming a hurdle in choosing the channels.

With too many bouquets of broadcasters and DPOs, consumers get confused and as a result are forced to adopt some suggested packs of TV channels, killing the freedom given to consumers to choose desired TV channels, feels the sector regulator.