Telecom Regulatory Authority of India aka TRAI's new regulations for TV subscribers came into effect a while back and this has resulted in service providers offering new plans and offers for subscribers. The likes of Tata Sky have come up with custom plans and packs, and Airtel too has done something similar. If you are an Airtel DTH subscriber, read on to find details about the channels and plans that are on the table, complete with the pricing and conditions of the Network Capacity Fee (NCF) associated with them.
Airtel's[1] DTH offerings[2] can broadly be divided into three categories – FTA Bouquets comprising of free-to-air channels, A-la-carte for handpicking individual channels, and 'Broadcaster Bouquet' for selecting channels offered by a single broadcast network.
But before we go into the details and list out the channels as well as the pricing structure, it is important to first lay down the Network Capacity Fees i.e. NCF rules. Following TRAI's regulation, Airtel DTH subscribers will be charged a total Rs. 153.4 (inclusive of taxes) for the first 100 channels in their library. Once the number of channels in the library has exceeded 100, subscribers will have to pay Rs. 23.60 (inclusive of taxes) for every 25 new channels added to the library. Note that this is just the NCF — you'll have to pay over and above the channels themselves.
In case multiple TV connections are availed under the same Airtel DTH account, an NCF charge of Rs. 80 (plus taxes) will be charged for the first 100 channels (standard definition) in the library, while an additional Rs. 20 (excluding taxes) will be levied for every new slot of 25 new channels.
With that out of the way, listed below are the...