The Hindu Business Line : Set-top box owners aggrieved

WHILE a majority of the television viewers in Chennai, who have had to endure the Conditional Access System for about six months now, have reasons to be happy with the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India's (TRAI) recommendation to defer CAS for at least another three months, those who had bought set-top boxes face a situation of having, as an industry observer put it, "an idiot box over another."

Although exact numbers are not available, industry estimates put the offtake of set-top boxes over nearly a six-month period at 30,000-40,000, a mere 3 per cent of the potential market in the city. Nearly half of the purchase is expected to have taken place during the Indian cricket team's recent tour to Australia.

The numbers could have certainly been higher, said an official of a prominent media house, had the multi-system operators (MSOs) offered more customer-friendly schemes, and provided a favourable environment for the success of the new broadcast regime, the absence of which has been noted by TRAI in its recommendations to the Government on Monday.

In some cases, the buyer of the set-top box was not even provided with a receipt or an agreement paper, he alleged. Calls to MSOs — SCV and Hathway — were not returned, but a cable operator affiliated to the Sun Network-promoted SCV denied the allegations, and said the papers are being given on demand.

The Government's acceptance of TRAI's recommendations would only create more confusion, said the cable operator, adding that most of those who have opted for the set-top boxes have bought it outright, and thus have just reasons to feel aggrieved.

The media house official, however, said a space of three months, before CAS is re-implemented (in case it is scrapped, in the first place), could be used by the MSOs to "launch new services and premium offerings, which will mean that there are compelling reasons for the people to buy a box."

The Founder and Chairman of Exnora International, Mr M.B. Nirmal, the main petitioner in a case filed against the implementation of CAS last year in the Madras High Court, said all shortcomings of the new system should be thoroughly addressed, and only then it must be implemented simultaneously in all metros.