CAS â??unsatisfyingâ??, says survey conducted by VOICE

Sep 19 : The subscribers in Delhi, with CAS in their home are not happy with its introduction. VOICE (Voluntary Organisation in Interest of Consumer Education) has urged government to hold the system back till the problems linked with it have been resolved.

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A study conducted by an NGO ‘VOICE’ showed that 70% of subscribers in South Delhi are unhappy with CAS and would prefer to go back to the earlier cable television regime.

VOICE is an NGO working on consumer rights and has appealed the government to make CAS user friendly before making it mandatory for the entire country, and supported its claim with the study it has conducted.

Bejon Misra, executive director of VOICE while releasing the survey said, “Based on detailed interviews with 1,000 subscribers, 15 cable operators and one multi-system operator (MSO) across South Delhi, the survey gave some interesting insights into the problems being faced by the subscribers in the CAS-mandated region. More than half (53 per cent) of the subscribers feel that their expenditure per month on cable television has increased”.

Misra said, “Forty per cent of the subscribers admit that the reception quality has not improved post implementation of CAS. The complaint redress system also leaves a lot to be desired with 35 per cent subscribers not happy with the existing mechanism. Almost 35 per cent of the cable TV viewers have unauthorised subscriptions and are getting pirated signals.”

“The main objective of CAS was to introduce technology to improve picture quality and make it more affordable to the subscribers. However, the study has revealed that the regulator is always pro-active to frame rules and regulations but least interested in its effective and efficient enforcement”, informed Misra.

36% subscriber complaint the billing problem as the set top box was not working properly.

“If one of the objectives was to reduce the burden of subscribers, this has definitely failed…. The survey also found that many subscribers were not fully aware of the workings of CAS”, the study revealed.

Misra told that TRAI and Government did not make any effort to educate people on how to use CAS, and also that 35 % subscriber are not satisfied with the Redressal system

Misra hoped that the government would delay its extension based on their study.

He said that DTH has entered in the homes because of the improper implementation of CAS. TRAI is also studying the quality of infrastructure provided by the cable operators, whom had come under the scrutiny of TRAI after several complaints.

By Conditional access system transmission of satellite television signals through cable is provided to the authorised subscriber. The encrypted signals are unavailable for the unauthorised reception. A set containing conditional access module is required in the customer premises to receive and decrypt the signal.

CAS is facing opposition from the stakeholders in Delhi, Mumbai and Kolkata seeking more time for its implementation. The information and broadcasting ministry had envisaged that CAS would be extended to the remaining metro cities by beginning of 2008.

CAS is going to be one of the main issues to be discussed in the Conference of State and Union Territories ministers of information started on Tuesday. The proposed Broadcasting Service Regulation Bill, role of state government, appointment of district level monitoring committees on broadcasting content, measure to curb piracy, and rationalisation of entertainment tax are on the agenda.