The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai) on Wednesday announced a TV Channel Selector App that aids users to view and modify their TV subscription. The authority said that the app enables users to check their subscription and view the packs and bouquets offered by their service provider. Additionally, the Channel selector app would enable the users to “check real time” status of the user’s subscription request. Trai said that the app fetches the subscriber data from the service provider through application programming interface (API) shared by the provider with Trai.
Trai Unveils Channel Selector App on iOS and Google Play
The app requires the user to select a service provider from the list and enter the registered mobile number or subscriber ID or Set-Top Box (STB) number. The users will receive a one-time password (OTP) to the registered mobile number. In the absence of a registered mobile number with the service provider, Trai said that the users will receive a OTP on the TV screen. The app provides a summary of the subscriber account including the number of bouquets and total number of channels subscribed by the user along with the individual channels. The app also highlights the date of activation and subscription charges per month for the user along with the account balance. The users can view the subscribed plan along with the list of channels and packs offered by the service provider. Further, the app enables the users to select channels of interest or remove unwanted channels from the subscribed packs. Trai said that the app provides an optimized solution feature that offers “best combination of user selected channels” in equal price or at a lesser price. The Channel Selector app is currently available on both iOS and Google Play. Trai said that the app is functional with select Direct-to-Home (DTH) operators and Multi System Operators (MSO).
Trai to Introduce Other Service Operators onto the Platform
The major operators currently listed on the Channel Selector app include Airtel, Asianet, D2h, Dish TV, Hathway Digital, InDigital, Siti Networks and Tata Sky. “However, efforts are being made to integrate other service providers also on the platform,” Trai said in a release. Trai said that the app was developed after it noticed that users were facing issues to opt for TV channels or packs of their choice on the web portal or apps of the service providers. Trai in August 2019, issued a draft amendment that mandated service providers to share their APIs with Trai. In October 2019, Trai issued the regulation after two months of consultation process which required service providers to share the APIs.
