KOLKATA: Over 28 lakh subscribers in Kolkata
may hope to see the cable television mess being
cleaned up as the sectoral watchdog has geared
up against slack implementation of Digital
Addressable cable TV Systems (DAS) in the city. The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI)
on Thursday cracked the whip on the multi-
system operators (MSO) at a meeting in the city
by setting a final deadline for filling-up of
consumer application forms (CAF) - both personal
data and channel choice - of each subscriber beside owning a set top box, a must for DAS. "MSOs or local cable operators (LCO) will have to
either comply with the final deadline or face legal
consequences, including criminal cases. To get
things done in Delhi, we have made criminal
charges against 14 LCOs and one MSO. If a
particular subscriber's information is not sent to the Subscriber Management System (SMS) before
the deadline, he or she will not get the signal
after that," N Parameswaran, principal adviser to
Trai, said at a press briefing in city . The deadline, to be set on Friday following a
final discussion with the MSOs, would not be
beyond August 15 this year for a phase-wise
implementation in the city. According to TRAI, the city is lagging far behind
in sending customers' data to the Subscriber
Management System (SMS) of DAS - just 20% of
the total subscribers' data received as yet -
against Delhi (97%), Mumbai (80%) and Chennai
(80%) although the last deadline for DAS implementation for four metro cities was
November 1, 2012. Raj Narayan Roy Chowdhury of Srishti Cable
Network said, "We had asked for two months'
time. But TRAI told us to get things done by
August 10 or August 15. Srishti is ready with all
the customers' data and can join DAS from
tomorrow." Around 14 MSOs and 5,000 LCOs operating in
Kolkata are now on a last-minute effort to meet
the TRAI diktat and to propose a feasible date, all
the MSO officials in Kolkata will meet on Friday.
Sudip Ghosh, director, Manthan, one of the
biggest MSOs in city, said, "Now we will put pressure on the LCOs and consumers to fill up the
form as early as possible. At Manthan, we'll be
able to meet the deadline by August." According to Siti Cable director Suresh Sethia, "But
for all the MSOs, we will request TRAI to give us
15 days more in September." "Once all the subscribers' data get stored in SMS, a
lot of grass roots subscriber-level problems will
be solved. Trai can start making the most
important issues like tariff structure, channel
selection and complaint redressal system
transparent," said Parameswaran. The Trai officials stressed on new complaint redressal
system, through which subscribers can complain
against the LCOs or MSOs on issues like tariffs and
availability of channels etc. Replying on a question of rising subscriber's
rental following DAS implementation, he added,
"Earlier, in the analogue signal system, all
channels we used to see in a single package,
which was not channel-specific. Now, each
channel has a charge and taxes in either bouquet or a-la-carte format. With DAS, the subscribers
will get more advantages like 800-1000 channels,
clear picture-sound quality, computerized
subscriber management system, internet and
telephony, if MSOs are willing to provide." On the free-to-air channel issue, the advisor to
Trai told TOI, "After the full implementation of
DAS, the subscribers will get the freedom to pick
100 free-to-air channels, which is not happening
now." The deadline for second phase of DAS
implementation, which includes Howrah in
Bengal, falls on April 1, 2014.source
may hope to see the cable television mess being
cleaned up as the sectoral watchdog has geared
up against slack implementation of Digital
Addressable cable TV Systems (DAS) in the city. The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI)
on Thursday cracked the whip on the multi-
system operators (MSO) at a meeting in the city
by setting a final deadline for filling-up of
consumer application forms (CAF) - both personal
data and channel choice - of each subscriber beside owning a set top box, a must for DAS. "MSOs or local cable operators (LCO) will have to
either comply with the final deadline or face legal
consequences, including criminal cases. To get
things done in Delhi, we have made criminal
charges against 14 LCOs and one MSO. If a
particular subscriber's information is not sent to the Subscriber Management System (SMS) before
the deadline, he or she will not get the signal
after that," N Parameswaran, principal adviser to
Trai, said at a press briefing in city . The deadline, to be set on Friday following a
final discussion with the MSOs, would not be
beyond August 15 this year for a phase-wise
implementation in the city. According to TRAI, the city is lagging far behind
in sending customers' data to the Subscriber
Management System (SMS) of DAS - just 20% of
the total subscribers' data received as yet -
against Delhi (97%), Mumbai (80%) and Chennai
(80%) although the last deadline for DAS implementation for four metro cities was
November 1, 2012. Raj Narayan Roy Chowdhury of Srishti Cable
Network said, "We had asked for two months'
time. But TRAI told us to get things done by
August 10 or August 15. Srishti is ready with all
the customers' data and can join DAS from
tomorrow." Around 14 MSOs and 5,000 LCOs operating in
Kolkata are now on a last-minute effort to meet
the TRAI diktat and to propose a feasible date, all
the MSO officials in Kolkata will meet on Friday.
Sudip Ghosh, director, Manthan, one of the
biggest MSOs in city, said, "Now we will put pressure on the LCOs and consumers to fill up the
form as early as possible. At Manthan, we'll be
able to meet the deadline by August." According to Siti Cable director Suresh Sethia, "But
for all the MSOs, we will request TRAI to give us
15 days more in September." "Once all the subscribers' data get stored in SMS, a
lot of grass roots subscriber-level problems will
be solved. Trai can start making the most
important issues like tariff structure, channel
selection and complaint redressal system
transparent," said Parameswaran. The Trai officials stressed on new complaint redressal
system, through which subscribers can complain
against the LCOs or MSOs on issues like tariffs and
availability of channels etc. Replying on a question of rising subscriber's
rental following DAS implementation, he added,
"Earlier, in the analogue signal system, all
channels we used to see in a single package,
which was not channel-specific. Now, each
channel has a charge and taxes in either bouquet or a-la-carte format. With DAS, the subscribers
will get more advantages like 800-1000 channels,
clear picture-sound quality, computerized
subscriber management system, internet and
telephony, if MSOs are willing to provide." On the free-to-air channel issue, the advisor to
Trai told TOI, "After the full implementation of
DAS, the subscribers will get the freedom to pick
100 free-to-air channels, which is not happening
now." The deadline for second phase of DAS
implementation, which includes Howrah in
Bengal, falls on April 1, 2014.source
:tup.
