Last Friday I bought a Tata Sky set-top box. Today, I returned it to get a complete refund. This is my
story of why I did that and what I learned in the process. This isn't a rant, hopefully a bit of education for current and future Tata Sky owners and perhaps even a precursor to change.
I have three main issues with their service. But first, here's a bit of an introduction, how Tata Sky DTH works: You pay for set-top box, they install the dish and you pay for renewal vouchers
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 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!
In US or UK,
there's no contract when you sign up for a satellite TV service. The contract only comes in when you get the equipment for free.
Other things you perhaps didn't know about Tata Sky*
There are several other things I cannot write here because MouthShut doesn't allow a long review. **Please see my detailed blog post for the complete story and user comments:
https://tinyurl.com/26uo2o*
