The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai), the country’s apex broadcast industry watchdog, will hold a meeting with the relevant stakeholders tomorrow to discuss how to speed up implementation of the much delayed Controlled Access System (CAS) in the metropolitan cities of Delhi, Mumbai and Kolkata. CAS, a digital content delivery model, has already been fully implemented in Chennai since 2003 and has been rolled out in specified areas of Delhi, Mumbai and Kolkata from December 31, 2006, following orders from the Delhi High Court.

“The meeting will be held tomorrow with the major Multi-System Operators (MSOs) and government officials of Delhi, Mumbai and Kolkata to discuss the feasibility to how to go forward in non-CAS areas,” a TRAI official said. “Keeping in view the confusion among MSOs and consumers in the first phase on installation of Set Top Boxes (STBs) to watch satellite channels through CAS in specified areas, they will this time be asked about their preparedness to implement it.”

At the meeting, Trai will ascertain how many STBs have been installed on the ground and identify the problems that consumers and MSOs are facing due to the new system implemented four months ago. In Delhi, MSOs have been able to penetrate only 70 per cent of households against an estimated 4-5 lakh TV sets in notified areas, a Delhi Government official said.