The cable contortions

Trai's tariff order raises old questions with new convoluted answers

What will this Friday bring?  That is the deadline for the implementation of the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India or Trai’s tariff order of March 2017. “It will create a lot of turmoil, it is too elaborate and convoluted for consumers”, reckons Dinyar Contractor, editor and executive director of Satellite & Cable TV magazine. That is, not surprisingly, the first immediate impact that almost everyone predicts. 

The order details the dos and don’ts of every aspect of the complex relationship between broadcasters such as Zee and the people who distribute TV signals. These could be multi-system operators or MSOs such