First On Net: Mass STB switch-offs in Bengaluru as CAF collection in 31 cities comes to a close
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04-02-2014, 12:44 PM
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Mass STB switch-offs in Bengaluru as CAF collection in 31 cities comes to a close
The process of collecting customer application forms (CAF) in 31 of the 38 cities has drawn to a close, barring Bengaluru where a large number of set-top boxes (STBs) had to be switched off due to non-submission of CAFs. In Bengaluru, Hathway Cable & Datacom had to take the extreme step of switching off a whopping 200,000 STBs due to non-submission of CAFs. Jadish KumarJustifying the decision, Hathway Cable and Datacom MD and CEO Jagdish Kumar said that there was little choice as TRAI had firmly stated that this was the final deadline.
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“We have switched off around 200,000 STBs in Bengaluru as we have not received the CAFs. TRAI had mandated to switch off the STBs of customers who failed to submit their CAFs before the deadline. We have to abide by the TRAI guidelines,” said Kumar. Overall, Hathway has switched off close to 250,000–300,000 STBs in the 31 cities where the deadline has ended, he added. However, Hathway’s decision did not go down well with the LCOs who protested outside its office to activate the STBs.Karnataka Cable TV Operators Association President VS Patrick Raju, who led the protest against Hathway, said that the STBs of some customers who had submitted CAFs had been switched off due to a system error. “We requested Hathway to activate STBs who have submitted their CAFs,” said Raju. Raju was quick to concede that many customers who had failed to submit their CAFs in time had to face blackout. A lot of these customers have multi televisions in their homes, he added. The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI), which has been rigorously pushing the multi-system operators (MSOs) to complete CAF collection, had set the final deadlines for DAS Phase II cities.The TRAI had given MSOs time till 27 January to complete CAF collection in 23 cities where 90 per cent of the forms had already been collected. Likewise, for eight cities, where the collection of CAF was 80 per cent, the deadline was fixed at 31 January. Most of the MSOs have stated that they have collected the remaining CAFs as per the TRAI mandate. Wherever CAF has not been received, the MSOs have not wasted any time in switching off STBs. Thankfully, barring Bengaluru, there has not been mass STB switch-offs, as local cable operators (LCOs) had managed to submit the CAFs to MSOs just in time. Anil-Malhotra-COO-SITI-CableSiti Cable COO Anil Malhotra affirmed that the MSO has switched off STBs wherever CAF has not been submitted. “We have switched off STBs for which we haven’t got the CAF. We have complied with the TRAI regulation,” he said. Fastway Transmission CEO Peeush Mahajan said that it has completed CAF collection. The MSO had started phase-wise switch-off to compel customers to submit their forms before the deadline. Mahajan also revealed that about 50,000 of its STBs have gone missing. In order to trace those STBs, the MSO had de-activated boxes and urged the customers to deposit unused STBs belonging to the MSO. To encourage customers to come forward and submit the unused STBs, Fastway is offering free subscription for two months. Despite facing difficulties in Phase I cities, the MSOs are confident of starting billing for Phase II cities beginning February. “We have to start generating bills for Phase II cities. This is a mandate from TRAI and we have to comply with it even if the LCOs are not cooperating,” averred Malhotra. Kumar explained that billing is not a simple process but is nevertheless doable if done in the right manner. “We are taking lessons from Phase I and are looking to putting those lessons to use in Phase II. We will take the cable operators along,” asserted Kumar. A proper billing mechanism can happen only when the MSOs and LCOs finalise their revenue share arrangement. Despite several rounds of negotiations, there has been no settlement yet. MSOs have been trying to increase the amount that they get from the LCOs to at least Rs. 100 per STB. In a market like Bengaluru where the recent mass de-activation happened, Hathway has already increased monthly subscription payout from a lump sum amount to Rs. 70–90 per STB. “We are looking to collect Rs. 70–90 from LCOs beginning the month of January,” said Kumar. The LCOs continue to be a worried lot. Despite cable bills having remained stagnant for a long time, the LCOs say the MSOs are forcing them to cough up more. “The MSOs have to pay the broadcasters. They are asking for more money from LCOs. But the LCOs will have to collect more from customers, which is not easy,” Raju bemoaned. Next, the deadline for Bhopal, Indore and Jabalpur in Madhya Pradesh is set to end on 7 February. The compliance levels in the three cities are comparatively low due to the state assembly polls that concluded last month, the authority had stated earlier. For the cities of Hyderabad and Visakhapatnam in Andhra Pradesh, Srinagar in Jammu & Kashmir, and Coimbatore in Tamil Nadu, TRAI had not set any deadlines considering the ground situations and other legal issues pertaining to DAS (Digital Addressable System) implementation. Read more at: http://www.televisionpost.com/cable/mass...o-a-close/ | TelevisionPost.com |
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