DTH operator TataSky, which has removed some channels from its basic package has come under the scanner of fair trade regulator MRTPC for 'monopolisation of price and imposing unjustified cost on the subscribers' after it issued notice to the company.
Admitting a petition filed by a consumer organisation, the Monopolies and Restrictive Trade Practices Commission (MRTPC) today issued notice to TataSky directing it to file its reply.
In its petition, Voluntary Organisation in Interest of Consumer Education (VOICE) alleged that the Direct-to-Home (DTH) operator by misleading its consumers arbitrarily increased the price.
The consumer organisation said though TataSky claimed to reduce the cost, it removed prime channels such as BBC, Ten Sports, ESPN, STAR Sports, STAR Cricket etc from its base packs.
"Action of TataSky in blacking out the said channels and removing it from the base pack enjoyed by the subscribers was clearly a monopolisation of price and imposing unjustified cost on the subscribers and to deprive the viewer ship of the said channels unless the subscribers pay more," said VOICE.
VOICE, which is also an approved organisation with MRTPC, further alleged that in order to maintain the price reduction, TataSky removed some of the prime channels from its basic tier.
It demanded that the cost of the base pack must be maintained without altering the existing bouquets of channels as on June 2008.