Case for CAS

CAS is back! The Delhi High Court says Conditional Access System should be implemented in the three metros in four weeks. This means, if you are living in Delhi, Mumbai or Kolkata, you would need a set-top box to view pay television channels from April 1. In Sept 2004, when CAS was introduced, Chennai was the only city in India then that complied with this regime. The other State Govts protested and refused conditional access for television viewing in their cities.

While the pros and cons of CAS, as a concept, has been debated to death, the HC order now brings the issue of implementation sharply into focus. A few pertinent questions - Will CAS get entangled in a legal mess yet again? Will broadcasters (like Star did last time) throw a spanner in the works? Most MSOs/last-mile cable operators, that I spoke to in Mumbai, cite the Chennai example as a model for emulating. However, the fundamental difference between Chennai and the rest of India, in terms of television viewing, is that popular mass entertainment channels are Free-To-Air… therefore, CAS was easier to enforce. This is not the case in the rest of the country. So will there be consumer resistance to CAS? Are MSOs/Last Mile Operators ready for a rollout in a month? This would mean sourcing STBs, offering reasonably priced schemes for rental/schemes for STBs etc. And who regulates implementation? The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India is toothless body without executive powers and unless the respective State Govts are willing to play ball, there is a hurdle there as well. Net net - a system that is designed to give the consumer the right to choose – once again runs the risk of becoming a casualty of vested interests and flawed implementation.