the TRAI Act apart from the Government as a service provider and the licensee, even broadcaster, multi-system operator, cable operator or distributors of TV channels will have to be construed to be service providers and if so construed, any dispute between them will be a dispute that has to be settled by this Tribunal under section 14 of the Act. Therefore, the contention of the respondents that the petitioner is not a service provider will have to be rejected. In this context, it may be of some use to note the nature of role played by the various players in the cable sector. At the top there is a broadcaster who broadcasts his TV channels through signals. This he can do by either supplying the signals through a designated agent or intermediary or can do the same by directly giving connection to the distributor or MSO who in turn would re-transmit the signals to the cable operators or the consumers, as the case may be. The ultimate consumer, i.e. the subscriber, who ultimately views the programme of the broadcaster. Therefore, even in common parlance, all these persons, viz., the broadcaster, the agent or intermediary, the distributor, the MSO and the cable operators, if they are involved in providing signals to the ultimate subscriber, will be providing service as contemplated in the objects and provisions of the TRAI Act. For all these reasons, we will have to negate the contention of the respondent that the petitioners is not a service provider, whose dispute could be entertained by this Tribunal.”
