Rupert Murdoch's Star is apparently finalising its partnership with the Tatas and may launch its DTH service in March-April 2004.

Bludgeoned by complaints of high-handed cable operators and irrational tariffs, the government decided to implement the CAS-based cable distribution system.

Information and Broadcasting Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad had claimed he was confident of launching CAS in the four metros -- Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai, and Kolkata - by July 14. But the issue fizzled out when Delhi government decided to refer the implementation till after the assembly election.

Taking a cue, both Mumbai and Kolkata deferred CAS indefinitely. The service was, however, launched in Chennai. But for a city with 10.5 lakhs (1.5 million) television-viewing homes, the total number of set-top boxes sold was barely between 2,000 and 3,000.

Worst hit were the manufacturers of set-top boxes and the multi-service operators, both of who had invested millions of rupees. While set-top box manufacturers were all set to roll out both digital and analogue set-top boxes, the multi-service operators had made huge investments to upgrade their system.

And it was not just the Indian companies who were hit. US-based Arcom Labs' $3 million investment in designing and making set-top boxes in India was also stuck because of the uncertainty over implementation of CAS.

Interestingly, experts now point out that many countries have actually done away with both CAS and DTH, and consumers now access television channels and movies through the Internet.

Text: Nandita Mallik

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