The number of set-top boxes seeded in CAS areas stood at 681,000 in June.
The contentious cable distribution platform, CAS, or conditional access system, found nearly 74,000 more subscribers in the quarter ending June 30 in areas of Delhi, Mumbai and Kolkata where it has been in force since January 1, 2007. This resulted in over 13 per cent growth in the number of set-top boxes seeded in these areas since March 31, 2008, even better than the previous quarter (ending December 31, 2007), which saw growth of about 11 per cent.
This is significant as various stakeholders in the cable industry term CAS a failure saying it has no takers. The broadcast regulator recommends CAS as a replacement for the outdated analogue cable distribution platform. The government is yet to decide on the further rollout of the system.
According to the latest quarterly review released by the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai), the total number of set-top boxes (hardware which receives the signals) seeded in CAS areas of the three metros stood at 681,000 for the quarter ended June, compared with a little over 600,000 boxes in the previous quarter. Trai releases its report on the cable and broadcasting sector with a special mention of CAS.
There has been over 35 per cent rise in the number of CAS subscribers since July 2007.
CAS enables consumers to access and pay for only the channels that they opt for. It was enforced by a Delhi High Court order in select areas of the three metros.
Consumer subscribing to CAS pay only Rs 5 per pay channel in addition to a flat fee of Rs 77 per month. This gives them access to about 60 free-to-air channels.
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CAS has been a bone of contention among pay channel broadcasters, cable operators, multi-system operators and the government over issues like pricing of the pay channels, transparency in billing, piracy of pay channels and rollout in other parts of the country.
While the distribution companies are in favour of an expansion, several pay channels are against any further rollout of the system in its current form.
The Ministry of Information and Broadcasting (I&B), the nodal ministry for implementing CAS, has been consulting all state governments. Therefore, there has not been any meeting to discuss the expansion of the system since the past five months, say sources. Sources say West Bengal and Maharashtra governments have given a positive feedback.
“At a recent meeting with Trai’s nodal officer in Mumbai, it was discussed that CAS should be expanded to other parts of Mumbai. If that happens, it will be a positive move,” said a senior executive of a leading cable distributing company.