Tata Sky Offers Discount on NCF to Subscribers Adding 'Lite' Packs: Report

Tata Sky subscribers can now cut down their Network Capacity Fee (NCF) by adding a language pack, according to a report. The DTH operator is reportedly allowing up to Rs. 300 discount on NFC charges for availing its curated "Lite" languages packs that are available for as low as Rs. 67.50 per month. The new move appears to contradict TRAI's tariff order that affirms the fact that the NCF charges "cannot vary based on the channels subscribed by a subscriber".

Subscribers purchasing one of the Lite packs from Tata Sky in addition to their existing channel selection get reduced NCF, reports Ultra News. So for instance, if a subscriber who would pay a monthly NCF charge of Rs. 245 for 40 HD channels and 100 SD channels can cap the charge at Rs. 99 by adding the 'Hindi Lite HD' pack to the existing bouquet.

The Lite packs available from Tata Sky carry a fixed NCF charge that reportedly overcomes the existing monthly network fee. It is also said that the subscribers can avail the capped NCF after adding one of the available Lite packs to a collection of as many as 500 channels.

Tata Sky is offering its Lite packs for various languages, including Bengali, Gujarati, Hindi, Kannada, and Odia among others. Each of these packs a range of entertainment and news channels.

TRAI in an official gazette dated 03 March, 2017, defined that NCF should be the same for all channels subscribed by a subscriber.

"Distributors of television channels are free to fix Network Capacity Fee below this ceiling," the regulator noted. "However, the Network Capacity Fee will be agnostic to the type of the channel carried over the network. It cannot vary based on the channels subscribed by a subscriber."

However, Tata Sky's latest move appears to bring changes to NCF for subscribers picking up its curated Lite packs.

We've reached out to Tata Sky for a comment on the development and will update this space when we hear back.