(12 February 2008 9:00 pm)

NEW DELHI: The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai) is presently studying the issues plaguing the last mile cable TV operations and if necessary, will come out with a regulation on that.

The study would take some time as it has just begun, say officials, adding that there are primarily three key issues that need to be understood before taking any regulatory step forward.

Stressing that the study is not an automatic step towards regulation, officials say that the first issue is the fragmentation of the sector, which is not allowing it to grow on more solid foundations.

"There are just too many small operators and this is not allowing them to have a good business model that is sustainable," the officials say.

Though officials had no further comment, it is possible that the rampant under-declaration of subscriber bases that LMOs have been accused of, could be related to this lack of a good business model.

However, Trai has no answer to this problem until the issue is studied in depth.

The second problem is that the way the cable operator setup works at the moment, the subscribers have no one to turn to when their grievances are not redressed.

This is obviously for the non-Cas (conditional access system) areas, where the last mile operators (LMOs) are not accountable to anyone at the moment, and there is nothing in the existing regulation to take care of the subscribers.

The third major issue that Trai is studying is the fact that in each area, the last mile has complete monopoly.

Though the officials refused to expound any further, the fact is that for some time there has been a concern that if a subscriber in any given non-Cas area is unhappy with his cablewallah, he has no choice but to get his television signals from the same last mile operator.

This is because last mile operations are bread and butter to these small players and each protects his turf ferociously. Physical violence is not unheard of, the sufferer in the end being the subscriber.

However, regarding price differentials that LMOs function with, officials said that this would remain. LMOs charge vastly different prices for the same service in the same area, depending on the economic status of the household.

"Demanding that the differential be removed and uniformity ushered in means one is denying television to the economically challenged classes. Hence this business model will not be changed," the officials explained.

However, they cautioned that these issue will really have to await formulating a consultation paper. It will happen if Trai actually feels there is a need for regulation after a serious study of the situation, sources said.