TRAI App For TV Subscribers Finds No Subscribers

Telecom regulatory authority in an attempt to facilitate, TV viewer’s subscription check and also modification has introduced a Channel Selector App. The app introduced by Telecom regularity authority raised a concern saying that there are not even 1% users who have subscribed to the app and the probable reasons behind it maybe half of the customers may not be aware of the app and the other half have faced a technical issue while downloading the app. 

The app becomes more difficult to access owing to the availability of only major DTH operators and Multi-System Operators. “We were not notified about the app. If we don’t know about it, we are not in a position to get the customers to acclimatize to the app. Ideally, for any such new developments that concern the MSOs, there should be a meeting to help us understand what the new product is all about, only then can we tell our customers about it. This is just another set of confusion added to already confusing NTO 2.0 rules and regulations,” said Roop Sharma, President, Cable Operators Federation of India.

TRAI brought out a new regulatory framework for broadcasting cable services in March 2017. The regulation was effective from December 29,2018. The regulation stated that customers are now free to select television channels of their choices, on the other hand, the new tariff order for broadcasting services made it difficult for the customer to opt for their preferred TV Channels on web/portals from their concerned Distributed Platform Operators (DPOs). Under this situation the authority came forward with an app as a part of the solution, the app will fetch data from DP use through APIs and it has been developed by TRAI

“The fact that cable television viewers are not good with apps to select packages is evident from the fact that not even 1% of the total viewers are on the app. Cable TV networks still connect with their customers at an interpersonal level, be it in terms of helping them choose channels or collecting their subscription fees. And those good with apps, are already on the apps of their DTH operators and MSOs,” said Patrick Raju, President, Karnataka State Cable TV Operators’ Association.

Since most popular DTH operators as well as MSOs have their own apps, the TRAI Channel Selector App is redundant, said experts in the sector.
“The app will ultimately lead you to your DTH packages or your MSOs deals, so why to go through a long process through an external app,” said Raju.
DTH players too, find little meaning or purpose of the Channel Selector App.
“Our Tata Sky customers can manage their packs very easily through the Tata Sky website or the Tata Sky app. The TRAI channel selector app will simply allow the customers another channel of access,” a Tata Sky spokesperson said.

From the customer’s point of view some of them complained that the app has technical issues and bugs, while for some others it is difficult to sign on to the app, also there exists a problem of display in the app. 

One of the customer Jayatosh De, who gave a 1-star rating to the app on Google Play, raised an issue that while he was trying to redo his Tata Sky subscription plan, he got a pop notification on the app saying that ‘Tata Sky is not currently offering bouquets /individual channels which are part of his subscription request’.
“I was asked to continue with my selected subscription only. This is totally incorrect and misguiding as I found that there are still Tata Sky bouquets and individual channels on offer but the price showed is much more than the actual price and NCF. Thus this app is useless,” De said in his review.
However, there are many customers like De, who are not satisfied with the app.
Consumer groups authorized by TRAI also have their own set of complaints about having no knowledge when it comes to the Channel Selector App. “Firstly, we were never informed about the app which is apparently made to help us. The few people who read about it online tried to use the app but the app in its present state doesn’t have the bandwidth to handle over 80 million cable television households across India. If you have to keep installing and re-installing an app to just login into the app, then it is anything but user friendly,” said Arun Kumar, Founder Chairman of TRAI-authorized Dignity Restoration and Grievance Settlement Association.