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MUMBAI: The government today issued a notification setting 31 December, 2006 as
the deadline for the three metros of Delhi, Mumbai and Kolkata to be be fully
"CAS delivered". The notification honours a commitment made to the
Delhi High Court which on 20 July had ordered that CAS (conditional access systems)
should be introduced in all three metros on or before 1 January 2007. The court, in its order had
also made clear its resolve not to allow further delays in the matter, declaring
that all pending and any new issues related to CAS raised by the government would
be taken up only after the CAS' implementation deadline of 31 December 2006. Accordingly,
it set the next date of hearing on the matter for 10 January 2007.The notification
states: "In exercise of the powers conferred by sub-section (1) of section
4A, read with section 9 of the Cable Television Networks (Regulation) Act, 1995
(7 of 1995), the Central Government, having been satisfied that it is necessary
in the public interest so to do, and having regard to the aforesaid order dated
the 20th July, 2006 of the Hon’ble High Court of Delhi, hereby notifies 31st
December, 2006 as the date from which it shall be mandatory for every cable operator
to transmit or re-transmit programmes of every pay channel through an addressable
system in the areas notified by the Government of India in the Ministry of Information
and Broadcasting vide number S.O. 792(E) dated the 10th July, 2003." The areas that fall under
the CAS notification are the Kolkata Metropolitan areas, the areas covered by
the Municipal Council of Greater Mumbai and the National Capital Region of Delhi.
MSOs and independent cable operators will have to work out commercial agreements
with broadcasters including fixing of channel rates. Said SET Discovery Ltd president
Anuj Gandhi, "Now the focus will be on MSOs to show their preparedness for
CAS. We hope to be ready with our rates in the next three months. By setting 1
January as the deadline, we will have to compress the time frame a bit."
Also
Read:
HC sets 1
Jan '07 deadline for CAS implementation | 
