The Hindu : CAS & controversy

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Thursday, Jun 05, 2003

Opinion

Opinion - Letters to the Editor

CAS & controversy

Sir, — The Editorial `CAS and controversy' ( June 3 ) misses some essential points. It states that the boxes will solve the problem of massive under-declarations of subscribers by cable operators and that they will also help the Government by improving the collection of the entertainment tax and the service tax by cable operators. So why should subscribers be asked to pay for something that is of benefit to the Government/or broadcasters? The burden of providing the boxes should be either on cable operators, Government or both.

In the United States, when you subscribe to a cable service, the provider brings the box, attaches it to your TV set and charges you monthly for the service. If you move or want to discontinue the service, the provider takes his box back. The box is as much a part of provider's equipment as is the length of the cable that he lays to your house.

Feodor Starcevic,
New Delhi

* * *

Sir, — It is disheartening that there exists such a dilemma in the implementation of such an advanced and transparent system, which might be very economical and friendly to the consumer. This also assures the citizen to pay only for what he wishes without pulling out much unnecessarily from his pocket.

If muddy politics enters into this and tries to stay back its implementation then it is against the individual's fundamental right. Hope at least this would never be deferred from its introduction in mid-July, putting an end to all the false propaganda.

S. Lakshmi Priya,
Tiruchi, T.N.

* * *

Sir, — Your Editorial rightly reflects the fears of cable TV subscribers. The unhealthy competition that prevails among cable TV operators, if left unchecked, will lead to law and order problems in which the subscriber will be at the receiving end. The only remedy is that the Government should strictly implement the CAS as scheduled, without falling a prey to the machinations of ``populist politics and vested interests''.

T. Raghavan,
Chennai

* * *

Sir, — Your Editorial concludes that some needless fears are raised about the implementation of CAS.

In spite of the fact that the imported set-top-boxes are going to be available to the consumers at almost half the originally expected cost because of the slashing of the import duty, the conditional access system is still going to cost the TV users more than what they are paying now. If a family has more than one TV set, each should have a set-top-box.

And the popular channels that are now being viewed heavily by most of the users are outside the 30 free-to-air channels offered for Rs. 72. The pay channels come in about seven to eight bunches, each package cost ranging approximately from Rs. 30 to 60. This means if a user is interested in six additional channels, each one from a different package, he may end up shelling out an additional Rs. 200.

R. Thiruvengadam,
Chennai

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