Tata Play and Dish TV, two of the top direct-to-home (DTH) service providers in India, are not happy with the discrimination they face from the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) with regards to providing services with the way over-the-top (OTT) platforms do. The DTH operators want a level playing field for the competition and replied to TRAI’s consultation paper, saying the DTH industry has been struggling because of undue licensing while the OTT platforms are basically offering the same service and are growing fast as they are unregulated.
Tata Play Wants Regulations on OTT
Tata Play told the regulator that the OTT platforms are rising fast without having the need to follow any regulatory framework or policies. India’s number one DTH operator further said that the DTH sector provides employment to a large section of the society but is now finding it hard to thrive in recent years because of the unregulated fast-growing OTT platforms. The licensing fee that is put on DTH services is creating a discriminatory environment in the market, said Dish TV. Tata Play has called for the regulator to create a level playing field for the DTH and the OTT players. This is a topic and a concern that has been echoed by the DTH players for a long-time now. The DTH players have asked the regulator to either put the same kind of regulatory framework for the OTT platforms or remove the licensing regime for the DTH sector. The downfall of OTT players is evident in the last two to three years. More and more people are shifting towards OTT platforms, and it is irking the DTH players as there’s no licensing regime for OTT. OTT platforms can act however they want, and that is something that a lot of users really like as the content there is uncensored and not liable to any restrictions.
