The Hindu : National : CAS in three metros from next year

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Tuesday, Aug 01, 2006

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National

CAS in three metros from next year

Special Correspondent

NEW DELHI: The Conditional Access System (CAS) will be implemented in Delhi, Mumbai and Kolkata from January 1, 2007.

A notification to this effect was issued by the Government on Monday as per the directions of the Delhi High Court.

Earlier this month, the Court had ordered the Centre to implement CAS in these cities from next year.

Access to pay channels

Beginning January 1 television viewers in these cities will be able to access pay channels only through set-top boxes.

This regime in cable television was to be in place in these three cities and Chennai from July 15, 2003.

However, due to large-scale opposition from consumers and differences between various stakeholders, CAS could be rolled out only in Chennai as per schedule.

NDA rolled back decision

The decision to implement CAS in Delhi, Mumbai and Kolkata was formally rolled back by the National Democratic Alliance Government in February 2004 on the eve of the13th Lok Sabha elections after several attempts to implement it came to naught.

While the rollback was welcomed by consumers, it did not go down well with cable operators and multi-system operators who had invested in importing set-top boxes.

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