All India Digital Cable Federation (AIDCF) has moved the Telecom Disputes Settlement and Appellate Tribunal (TDSAT) against DD Free Dish for allegedly not abiding by TRAI’s regulation that requires the channels to be provided in an encrypted manner.

A reliable source told e4m that the Tribunal has issued notice to Prasar Bharti on the plea of AIDCF, which has nine cable networks under it.

“Broadcasters have been providing the channel decoders to DD Free Dish without charging them for the pay channels. DD Free Dish is not abiding by the QoS regulations that require the channels to be provided in an encrypted manner,” sources said.

“TRAI has defined the category of channels as Pay Channel or FTA (i.e., Free to Air) channels as per its regulations and all the broadcasters define their channels as Pay or FTA. However, some channels, which are declared as pay channels by broadcasters are available as free-to-air (FTA) on DD Free Dish platform which is resulting a non-level-playing field between DD free Dish and MSOs,” said Peeush Mahajan, President, AIDCF.

The petition, filed by AIDCF and GTPL Hathway Ltd, which was accessed exclusively by e4m, sought compliance with the Telecommunication (Broadcasting and Cable) Services Standards of Quality of Service and Consumer Protection (Addressable Systems) Regulations, 2017 applicable to Broadcasting Services in India and in particular that the Prasar Bharati provides all private television channels through encrypted signal for DD Free Dish Service.

The plea has alleged that broadcasters have been providing TV channel decoders of certain pay channels to the DTH platform DD Free Dish, without charging any tariff for the pay channels.

“For the same pay channels, the broadcasters have been charging relevant tariffs from the constituents of the Petitioner (AIDCF) as well as other DPOs under the regulatory framework of TRAI,” it said.

Apart from Prasar Bharati, the other respondents named in the petition are the Indian Broadcasting and Digital Foundation (IBDF), the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) and many broadcasters.

“Declare that channels that are telecast as Free to Air on Respondent No.1’s (Prasar Bharati) network cannot be pay channels under the Telecommunication (Broadcasting and Cable) Services Interconnection (Addressable Systems) Regulations, 2017,” the plea sought.

It also sought that all agreements between Prasar Bharati and private broadcasters, which are contrary to TRAI regulations, be declared null and void.

The cable federation urged the tribunal to ensure that all private television channels are broadcast to the end consumer in encrypted form through digital addressable systems.