The Ministry of Information and Broadcasting has decided to modify the 30th of June deadline for a complete switch over of the existing analogue Cable TV networks to Digital Addressable System (DAS) to 31st October 2012 for all four Metros- Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai and Kolkata. In an official statement issued in New Delhi says the installation of Set Top Boxes has not picked up necessary pace for the completion of the process of digitalisation by 30th June, 2012.

The Task Force constituted by the Ministry in April last year has been monitoring the progress made by various stakeholders towards digitisation. The release said that the regulations on Tariff and Interconnection were issued by the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India, TRAI on 30 th of April this year instead of being issued in January, 2012, as expected. The Quality of Service Regulations and the Consumer Complaint Redressal Regulations were issued on 14th of May, 2012 by TRAI. As per these Regulations, every Broadcaster and Multi Service Operators, MSO was required to publish its Reference Interconnect Offers (RIOs) within 30 days of issue of the Regulation.

The second order of TRAI of 14th May, 2012, has mandated that every MSO or its linked Cable Operator has to put in place a Consumer Complaint Redressal System consisting of a complaint centre with toll free consumer care number, web based complaint monitoring system as well as appoint or designate one or more nodal officers and publish consumer’s charter for DAS. Both these orders of TRAI have not yet been substantially implemented.

Therefore, keeping in view public interest and after intensive and extensive consultations, as well as written commitments from all the stakeholders, for fully implementing the regulations of TRAI, the Ministry has decided to modify the deadline. Now All the TRAI regulations for DAS will come into effect from 01st of November, 2012.

The Cable Television Networks (Regulation) Amendment Act, 2011 has made it mandatory for switchover of the existing analogue Cable TV networks to Digital Addressable System (DAS) by December 2014, in a phased manner. In the first phase four metros of Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata and Chennai, the digital switchover was mandated to be completed by 30th of this month.