Cable TV subscribers are fighting shy of buying set-top boxes, which is necessary for viewing pay channels after the conditional access system is implemented from September 1 in the four metros.
With a little over 15 days left for the CAS rollout, the inadequate deployment of set-top boxes would mean that the government would not be able to deliver on its promise of a smooth CAS rollout.
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While multi-service operator Siti Cable said it had sold 4,000 set-top boxes all over the country, INCable, another MSO, said it was yet to launch its set-top boxes in the market.
Another MSO, Win Cable could not be contacted.
But it was clear that the number of set-top boxes deployed till now was woefully short of the 2 million that was being projected for covering a majority of the cable and satellite TV homes in the CAS-notified areas of New Delhi, Mumbai and Kolkata and the whole of Chennai.
"There has hardly been any enquiries for set-top boxes in the last month or so," Vikki Choudhry of the New Delhi-based National Cable and Television Association said.
Choudhry said people were refusing to invest in set-top boxes as they were apprehensive that CAS may be deferred again.
The government had earlier set July 15 as the deadline for the CAS rollout, but decided to defer it because of unavailability of an adequate number of set-top boxes.
Though this time around there are enough set-top boxes available, low demand has meant that cable operators are refusing to stock these gadgets fearing that they may get saddled with a huge inventory of unsold boxes.
At present, set-top boxes are available for around Rs 2,500-3,000. So even if a cable operator decides to stock a 1,000 units, he is looking at an investment of Rs 25 lakh (Rs 2.5 million).
The problem is more acute in Delhi which has a large number of independent cable operators.
"A cause for concern is the fact that in certain pockets cable operators have not made adequate preparations for the rollout of CAS," Vijay Singh, additional secretary in the information and broadcasting ministry, said.
Multi-service operators like Siti Cable, however, claim that there is an adequate demand for set-top boxes.
According to Rajiv Khattar, executive vice-president of Siti Cable, the MSO has sold 1,000 set-top boxes in Delhi till now and 4,000 boxes all over the country.
He said that sales are sure to go up after September 1. INCable head Ravi Vyas said though his company had placed a large number of orders for set-top boxes, they were yet to launch them in the market.