The Hindu : 'It will be Rs. 500 without Set-Top-Boxes'

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Wednesday, Jul 02, 2003

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'It will be Rs. 500 without Set-Top-Boxes'

By Our Special Correspondent

NEW DELHI JULY 1. Already under fire from various quarters over the Conditional Access System (CAS), the Information & Broadcasting Ministry today lost its lone ally the with the cable operators rejecting the `dual feed' option — mooted as a transitory provision — and threatening to hike monthly subscription charges to Rs. 500 for accessing pay channels without Set-Top Boxes (STBs).

The `dual feed' system was suggested by the Union Minister of State for I&B, Ravi Shankar Prasad, on Monday after his meeting with broadcasters. Under this, people can continue with the existing system till adequate boxes are available in the market without attracting the threat of the penal provisions in the CAS legislation while those who have opted for CAS can switch over.

Though the cable operators had rubbished the proposal soon after it was suggested, they formally communicated their position today at a meeting with Mr. Prasad; arguing that it was not technically feasible. According to the operators, a parallel network would have to be set up in areas using analog technology — a point conceded by the Ministry — and such an investment was pointless for a transitory phase.

The cable operators warned that the monthly cable bill for those who opt to continue with the existing regime would be about Rs. 500.

This, despite broadcasters assuring the Ministry that they would freeze the rates of their channels at current levels for the next six months if the `dual feed' system was implemented. Presenting a table of the existing rates in a memorandum to Mr. Prasad, the cable operators calculated a bill of Rs. 530 for Delhi; complete with Entertainment Tax and eight per cent service tax.

In this package, the operators have priced the basic tier at Rs.180 instead of Rs.72 as mandated under CAS for free-to-air channels as it was applicable to those who do not opt for STBs.

In a related development, the Union Minister for Consumer Affairs, Sharad Yadav, today indirectly accused the Information and Broadcasting Ministry of ignoring his suggestion that CAS advertisements should mention that viewers could go to consumer courts for problems relating to CAS.

The advertisements only mention that viewers can approach DMs, SDMs or Police Commissioner with their complaints; he said adding that he was yet to see an STB.

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