By IANS
New Delhi : A consultation paper inviting comments and suggestions to better regulate the cable television service business in the country and help its orderly growth was circulated by the telecom watchdog Tuesday.
“An appropriate regulatory framework to enable the orderly growth of the sector is need of the hour,” said the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) that issued the paper among industry stakeholders.
“The provisions for registration, information systems for monitoring of cable TV industry, customer grievance redressal and quality of service etc need immediate attention,” the watchdog said in a statement.
“There is a scope for growth in the cable TV sector in view of new technologies available today. The investment opportunities in the sector have also increased. A supportive regulatory environment will facilitate the constructive growth.”
Indian cable TV space is currently dominated by cable TV operators, who transmit their signals from various platforms – such as the direct-to-home (DTH) companies, the state-run terrestrial broadcaster and TV through the Internet protocol, among others.
With easy access and availability to modern technologies, the growth of cable TV can be exponential, provided issues such as its regulation, service quality and consumers grievances are handled properly, the watchdog said.
The consultation paper seeks to identify issues such as effective implementation of a regulatory body and transparency in all segments of cable TV services such as registration, service quality monitoring and extension of an appellate panel.
It has also sought the industry’s views on setting up an effective system that can redress consumer grievances and create a new set of rules and regulations for multiple service operators.