Cable tv blackout from Monday

Last weeks downpour in Kolkata has led to an unofficial extension of cable blackout.

Multi-service operators (MSOs) have been given extension till Monday by which they will have to submit the Subscriber Application Form (SAF) and Channel Application Form (CAF), a senior TRAI official said,adding that even after Monday,there will not be a complete blackout. Signals will be switched off in phases. For example,around 10,000 set top boxes will be deactivated. The intention is not to trouble consumers,but to prod them to follow rules, he said.

Suresh Sethia,director,Siti Cable said,We are expecting TRAI officials to come on Monday for inspection. Only signals of certain subscribers will be switched off, he said. Another MSO said consumers should now get into the habit of following rules.

There has been a 20-year analogue legacy. It is not like a local operator is operating everything anymore. Now that TRAI and I&B are framing rules. It is more like an electricity or a telephone connection which can be switched on and off at will. If you want to watch digital signals,you better play by rules, he said.

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