No cable TV for CAF defaulters after June 25

Cable TV subscribers in the National Capital Region (NCR) will face disconnection of services if they fail to submit the mandatory customer application form (CAF) giving personal details and choice of channels by June 25.

“If a customer fails to submit his CAF to local cable TV operator or multi-system operator by June 25, his services will be terminated and will not be resumed till the time form is submitted. This deadline is applicable for customers in the Delhi NCR area,” Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai) Principal Adviser Sudhir Gupta told reporters here.

Despite Trai’s repeated requests, only 20 per cent cable subscribers in the NCR have submitted the forms.

The form is available free of cost with the cable operators or MSOs. Those availing DTH services need not submit the application afresh as they would have done it at the time of getting the DTH connection.

Though all cable TV subscribers have got set top boxes installed during the first phase of digitisation, the maintenance of a subscriber management system was not effectively implemented as only 20 per cent people had submitted the CAF.

After the initial deadline of November 1, 2012, a fresh deadline was fixed to ensure subscribers fall in line, Trai Chairman Rahul Kullar told reporters here. If cable TV subscribers fail to submit the form, their television screen will go blank till they submit the same.

The strict application of the rule was to monitor the subscriber base and ensure they pay their mandatory taxes to competent authority without fudging documents.

The regulator also came up with a new provision last month that subscribers need not buy set top boxes. Instead, they could pay monthly rental. This is among the benefits accruing to subscribers under Digital Addressable Cable TV Systems.

Under standard tariff package issued by Trai, customer has the option to get cable TV set top boxes at a monthly rent of Rs 55.66 against refundable security deposit of Rs 400, or at a rent of Rs 50.66 against refundable security deposit of Rs 800.

Once subscribers submit the CAF,  Trai will know how many subscribers each operator has and the tax payable. There are complaints that despite cable operators collecting service tax and entertainment tax from subscribers, they are not remitting it to the authorities in the absence of a data base.