TDSAT pulls up MSO for demanding advance subscription as pre-condition to give signals to LCO

NEW DELHI: The Telecom Disputes Settlement and Arbitration Tribunal (TDSAT) has asked Sun Distribution Services to show cause as to why action should not be taken against it for denying signals to local cable operator (LCO) Prabhu Cable Network despite the Tribunal’s orders.

Listing the matter for 2 September, TDSAT chairman Aftab Alam and members Kuldip Singh and B B Srivastava said action was liable under Section 20 of the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) Act.

On 6 July as well as on 4 August, TDSAT had asked Sun to give the signals but the company had failed to do so.

The stand taken by Sun is that the areas covered by the LCO are presently in a non-digital addressable system (DAS) area and would come under the DAS ambit from 1 January, 2016. In view of this, the present arrangement would continue only for four and half months and Sun agreed to give signals on condition that the LCO pay the subscription fee up to 31 December in advance at the time of execution of the agreement. 

The Tribunal felt that “asking for subscription fee for four and a half months as the condition for giving signals clearly amounts to flouting the orders of the Tribunal.”

“Besides the condition being wholly unreasonable, it is also in contravention of the Interconnect Regulations,” the Tribunal added.