Here’s a bit of an introduction, how Tata Sky DTH works:
Issue #1 Hardware Ownership: what am I paying for?
You don’t own the dish, Tata Sky does
That’s correct. They will never advertise this, nor will the dealer tell you
about it when you make the purchase. The dish belongs to Tata Sky, if you
deactivate they take back the dish and the digicard.
You do own the Set-Top-Box(STB) but it’s worthless without the dish
The purhcase you make is only for the set-top box. You will get a receipt
for the set-top box and the renewal card. The Tata Sky engineer will bring
the dish with him at the time of the installation. The dish transmits the
signal from the satellite to the set-top box, also called satellite
receiver, or in Tata Sky’s case - the digicomp. In UK, it’s called the
digibox. The set-top box by itself is of no use without the dish.
In fact, if you deactivate tomorrow, they may take away both the dish AND
the set-top box
This was the most shocking bit of information in the contract that Tata Sky
wanted me to sign at the time of installation. Clause 11.3 of the contract
explicitly states that Tata Sky can remove all the "hardware" from my place
at the time of deactivation of service. It doesn’t define what hardware is
or makes any distinction between dish and digicomp.
If you are a Tata Sky customer and you wish to stop the service tomorrow, by
signing that contract, you have permitted them to take away the set-top box
for which you paid in full. Don’t believe me? Call up customer support and
ask them to read out clause #11.3.
Issue #2 User Privacy: what about my rights?
They store all your usage information - how you watch your TV, what you
watch, for how long and when
The contract states that Tata Sky may store every aspect of how you use
their service. This allows them to create your detailed profile which will
include your TV watching habits, how you order their premium services and so
on. They already have all your contact information. Can you see where it’s
going?
They can profit from that information by selling it to third parties(read
advertisers)
That’s correct. By signing the contract you have agreed to let them use that
information in any way they choose including making good money from it by
selling it to "third parties". You, of course, get no share in this revenue
stream. You get something else.
Be prepared to receive lots of very targeted ads(read spam)
This is the obvious implication of giving up your rights. Tata Sky knows
which shows you’ve set as your favorites, they know what kind of movies you
like, the channels you watch or don’t watch, how many times you’ve ordered
movies in the last three months. With this wealth of information,
advertisers can draw up a pretty good picture of you so don’t be surprised
to get mailers online or offline that seem to be designed just for you.
Issue #3 Restrictive trade practices: locked away till eternity
You shall remain locked to receive Tata Sky forever, no Dish TV or another
DTH service for you
If you buy a cell phone you expect it to work with any SIM card. Except when
you get the phone for a discount, in which case, you can only use it with
one particular SIM. You’d think that the same would be true for DTH, but no.
With Tata Sky or Dish TV for that matter, even after paying for the
equipment in full, you are not allowed to access the other’s services. As a
Tata Sky customer you are forever locked to receive only their services.
This is clearly a restrictive trade practice.
TRAI, the regulatory authority that monitors DTH in India, is apparently
working on the interoperability issue. But so far the players can behave the
way they wish until the rules come into being. However, even if they allow
inter-connection, it will be of little use with Tata Sky as you will lose
the dish if you deactivate and perhaps even the set-top box.
You shall remain devoid of even Free-To-Air channels if you don’t renew
subscription on time
Free-to-Air channels are supposed to be, well, Free-to-Air. Not so with Tata
Sky. If you don’t renew the subscription on the due date, by 12 midnight,
all your channels will be inaccessible including FTA.
You shall remain locked to the direction in which the dish is positioned
I called up customer support to ask whether one can somehow receive FTA
channels broadcasted by other countries. Turns out, I’m not allowed to move
the dish and in fact, it is not movable in the first place since it needs to
be pointed at a very specific angle and has no tolerence for error.
You shall remain locked to the settings of the set-top-box
The user interface of Tata Sky does not permit one to setup alternative
settings. There are no explicit options to change settings although a hidden
menu springs up if you press the right combination of buttons.(see below
for more)
You shall remain locked to the amount you carry in renewal voucher
Even the prepaid renewal voucher of Tata Sky is designed to get the most out
of you. It only comes in the denomination of Rs 550 - which is more than
what you need for a month’s subscription(Rs 300) but not enough for two
month(Rs 600). So at any given time you have Rs 250 always locked up in the
voucher whether you want it or not. Perfect for Tata Sky because they want
you to pay for their premium services. Not for someone who has no intention
of paying for those services.
Not coincidentally, the renewal voucher is the only way to make payment with
Tata Sky while Dish TV allows you to pay using several modes of payment.
To sum up all the above, buying Tata Sky digicomp and services was like
buying a car which I cannot run on any fuel except the one supplied by the
car maker. I must keep buying the fuel from them because if I stop, they can
take away my car for which I paid in full!