Telecom regulator Trai has asked the information and broadcasting (I&B) ministry to specify the dates on which the conditional access system (CAS) will become mandatory in 55 of the country’s top cities, which include all state capitals.
“The dates of roll out of CAS for these identified cities must be notified in advance by the Government of India in one go. The 55 identified cities may be covered in phases over a time frame spread over three years from October 2008 to September 2011,” Trai said in its report on Digitalization and Introduction of Voluntary CAS, which was submitted to the I&B ministry on Thursday.
For consumers, the implementation of CAS implies that all cable TV viewers will soon have to shell out minimum of Rs 2,000 for Set-top-Boxes (STB) or take them on rentals ranging from Rs 50 - Rs 150. The other option is to pay a higher sum for a DTH connection such as Dish TV and Tata-Sky.
Earlier this year, as first reported by ET, an expert group, set up by Trai, and consisting of members from the authority, I&B ministry, Prasar Bharti, consumer organisations, broadcasters, MSOs, DTH operators, cable operators, distributor associations and technical experts, in its report had proposed that CAS be extended to 55 cities in the country, which had a population in excess of one million. This group had submitted its report to Trai on June, 07, and the regulator in turn finalised the report and submitted it to the I&B ministry today.
Trai in its report has also said that households and commercial households in these cities will voluntarily begin adopting CAS only if the government specifies the date on which this will become mandatory. “Voluntary CAS would be a non-starter unless the date from which CAS is to be implemented is mandated by the Government. Voluntary efforts towards digitalization and introduction of CAS ahead of the mandated date for roll out of CAS must be facilitated by extending the existing CAS regulatory framework,” the Trai report added.
Source @ Trai wants CAS dates specified for 55 top cities- Media-Media / Entertainment -News By Industry-News-The Economic Times
“The dates of roll out of CAS for these identified cities must be notified in advance by the Government of India in one go. The 55 identified cities may be covered in phases over a time frame spread over three years from October 2008 to September 2011,” Trai said in its report on Digitalization and Introduction of Voluntary CAS, which was submitted to the I&B ministry on Thursday.
For consumers, the implementation of CAS implies that all cable TV viewers will soon have to shell out minimum of Rs 2,000 for Set-top-Boxes (STB) or take them on rentals ranging from Rs 50 - Rs 150. The other option is to pay a higher sum for a DTH connection such as Dish TV and Tata-Sky.
Earlier this year, as first reported by ET, an expert group, set up by Trai, and consisting of members from the authority, I&B ministry, Prasar Bharti, consumer organisations, broadcasters, MSOs, DTH operators, cable operators, distributor associations and technical experts, in its report had proposed that CAS be extended to 55 cities in the country, which had a population in excess of one million. This group had submitted its report to Trai on June, 07, and the regulator in turn finalised the report and submitted it to the I&B ministry today.
Trai in its report has also said that households and commercial households in these cities will voluntarily begin adopting CAS only if the government specifies the date on which this will become mandatory. “Voluntary CAS would be a non-starter unless the date from which CAS is to be implemented is mandated by the Government. Voluntary efforts towards digitalization and introduction of CAS ahead of the mandated date for roll out of CAS must be facilitated by extending the existing CAS regulatory framework,” the Trai report added.
Source @ Trai wants CAS dates specified for 55 top cities- Media-Media / Entertainment -News By Industry-News-The Economic Times
