'Cable TV expenditure higher after CAS'

NEW DELHI: Nearly every second subscriber feels the expenditure on cable TV viewing has increased after the introduction of to CAS (conditional access system) in Delhi, a survey has claimed.

Based on 'detailed interviews' with 1,000 subscribers, the survey by a voluntary organisation Consumer Voice also claimed that 40 per cent of consumers said that reception quality has not improved after CAS.

"CAS by itself is not bad. But there has hardly been any environment and infrastructure to smoothen rollout of the new system," Bejon Misra of Consumer voice said today, adding CAS was 'thrust upon' the cable TV subscriber, who knew little of the new system.

The government and the regulator (TRAI) made no effort to educate people on how to use CAS, where to go in case of complaint and how to calculate bills, etc," Misra told here.

The survey claimed as many as 70 per cent of the consumers 'prefer to go back' to the earlier system than opt for CAS.

Nearly 35 per cent told the survey that they were 'not satisfied' with the complaint redressal system and as many found the set top boxes to be defective.