Entertainment had evolved with the recent development in Telecom sector with the advent of Internet.
People are indulging in Computers and Smartphone in the urban centers. But in the Rural and Suburban areas Television is still the prime choice of entertainment.
But We have seen a considerable rise in the Cable/DTH bills over the past few years with the new regulations introduced by TRAI.
If you are wondering what is the reason for the price hike and would like to reduce the bill read our review further.
TRAI had introduced New Tariff Order in 2017 regulating both Broadcasters and DPO’s. Although the regulation is created for giving a seamless experience to the customers, the Cable/DTH bill raised with the introduction of the Tariff Order.
But it does not mean the tariff order had a flaw, the real flaw is with the consumers. The unawareness of the consumers is the real reason for the bill hike.
Reading this Post completely will help you to reduce your DTH bill easily.
What is New Tariff Order?
Principle New Tariff order (NTO) was first introduced way back in March 2017 and came into effective from December 2018.
This Order is addresses and gives a framework for the Broadcasters as well as the DPO’s.
The order has lot of provisions but the core idea of the order is to give power to the consumers.
This order introduced the concept of consumer choosing the channels that they want. And the order also directed the broadcasters to declare MRP for each channel for subscription.
It also created provision for DPO’s in the monthly bill by NCF which is paid to the cable/DTH operator.
Thus it is important to understand the components of Cable Bill.
Components of Cable Bill
Thus the Any cable TV Bill consists of Three components
- Network Capacity Fee (NCF)
- Price of Pay Channel
Cost of each component will vary with the operator or the channel you select. Thus by choosing a right combination will reduce your cable bill.
1.Network Capacity Fee
Network Capacity Fee is the fee charged by the Distributers for carrying the TV channels on their platform.
As per TRAI the maximum NCF can be Rs. 130+Gst for 200 SD channels. For more than 200 channels the maximum NCF is Rs. 160+GST.
If consumer opts for HD channel one HD channel is considered as a 2 SD Channel for the NCF calculation.
2. Price of the Pay Channel
The second part of the Cable Bill is the Price of the individual channel and the Channel pack requested by the consumer.
The broadcasters declare the A la cart channel price as well as the price of a bouquets of pay channels.
Apart from broadcaster packs the DPO’s also provides curated packs to choose from.
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How to Reduce Cable Bill
NTO provides provision for customer to select individual channels or Channel Bouquets provided by broadcaster.
Network Capacity Fee (NCF) is capped at the maximum price of Rs. 130 for 200 SD channels. Even though it is the maximum price most of the DPO’s fixed the NCF at Rs. 130.
Though there are several DPO’s providing lower NCF rate, it is not possible to find all cable operators in your area.
Just try to bring the maximum number of channels within the limit of 200 SD channels unless you necessarily in need of more channel.
Hence we are looking on the Channel selection rather than DPO, if your DPO is providing lower NCF it will reduce your bill automatically.
You can find the NCF of Cable/DTH operator on their respective website under Consumer Corner.
Tips for Choosing a Channels
Choosing a channels pack wisely will surely save money by reducing the final bill amount.
But how to find a right channel pack for you? It is really simple once you understand your family need, you can accordingly fill your cart and pay only for these channels.
First find the current plan you are subscribed to from your Cable/DTH operator. You can ask for the same from your Local Cable Operator.
You can also login to the consumer portal in the Cable/DTH website and go to my plan section to view the channel pack selected.
Go through the channels available on the package and find the channels which you are not regularly watching or which you would not be watching for this month.
For example you might have a sport channel which you watch only for specific sports event, if you will not be watching this channel you can remove the same from the pack
If you are a single person watching the television you can opt for the channels with your favorite category.
If you only listen to music in TV channels you can remove the Movie and Entertainment channels from your bouquet.
If you are living with your family and watch all category of channel, you can opt for the broadcaster or DPO’s bouquets.
This will reduce the bill amount as the bouquets comes with a discount on the MRP of individual channels on the bouquets.
Also know you can change your pack any number of times, thus don't worry about removing or adding channel without intention.
Once you are selected the channels that are right for you just make an analysis whether it is economical to choose a La Cart Channels or the broadcaster to choose a better one for you.
Alternatively you can use a Channel Selector APP released by TRAI can help you find the better option.
Conclusion
Thus you can reduce the Cable/DTH bill with these simple step. It might seem a lot to do, but it will become a habit once you get a hold of the process.
In the end this will save your hard earned money, thus it is worth the work.
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