PUNE: The Pune Cable Operators’ Association (PCOA) will move the Bombay high court against a recent decision to introduce a per-channel or per-bouquet billing from January 1, 2019.The decision was taken earlier this year by the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai) to introduce per channel billing or per bouquet billing effective from January 1, 2019.PCOA representatives said the decision was anti-consumer and would finish off small cable operators, who provider channels at “cheaper” rates. “Though Trai has said that the bouquet system is in consumer interest, the opposite is the case as consumers will have to pay a higher price for fewer channels,” said Prachi Shah of PCOA.The association said that at least 2 lakh households subscribe to local cable operators, who provide 400 channels for Rs350 per month (inclusive of taxes). They said after January 1, consumers will have to pay substantially more for the same set of channels.PCOA also said consumers will have to pay a base price of Rs130 per month for 100 free channels. A subscriber that wants more channels will have to pay Rs0.10-19 per channel or a bouquet of channels.“The bouquets and the pricing have also not been declared so far by the broadcasters,” Shah said, calling it “a deliberate ploy to withhold information till the last moment”.

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