Cable TV Deadline: Delhi High Court Orders TRAI To Explain The Extension Till March 31, 2019
Delhi High Court and all consumers are confused over TRAI's deadline extension
Recently, the Telecom Authority of India or TRAI ordered an extension of new Cable TV rules.
Now, March 31st is the deadline for migrating to the new cable TV regime.
Delhi High Court is confused, so are DTH operators and Cable TV companies, along with consumers.
And Delhi High Court wants some answers.
Delhi High Court To TRAI: Explain The Extension
Right now, TRAI is fighting a case filed by Tata Sky, Discovery Communications, Airtel Digital TV and Sun Direct in Delhi High Court. Tata Sky and others have challenged TRAI over the implementation of new regulations and profit sharing with local cable operators.
During the hearing of this case, Delhi High Court noted the new deadline extension announced by TRAI, and have asked them to respond.
Chief Justice Rajendra Menon, who is heading the bench, have ordered TRAI to file an affidavit, and explain the reasons why the deadline have been extended to March 31st, despite the previous deadline of February 1st.
The next hearing on this case will happen on February 23rd, and before that, TRAI needs to respond.
Why Delhi High Court Wants Affidavit From TRAI?
The reason is confusion.
TRAI’s latest notification regarding deadline extension has induced more confusion than ever.
Initially, the deadline for implementing new Cable TV regulations was December 28th, 2018.
When TRAI saw that very few cable consumers are even aware of the changes, the deadline was extended to January 31st, 2019.
Days before this 2nd deadline, TRAI triggered  massive awareness campaigns, and refused to extend the deadline anymore.
When February 1st came, there was mass chaos and confusion, but still, TRAI refused to extend the deadline.
Now, after 65% of Cable users, and 35% of DTH users have migrated to the new plans, this sudden announcement of deadline extension by TRAI has raised eyebrows.
Besides, there is also confusion over Best Fit Plans, which the DTH operators and Cable firms are free to implement for the user, in case new plans are not chosen.
We are awaiting more details on this news, as the story is still developing.
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