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I think, one consequential provision in the Bill would lead to a situation where a consumer would lose on the roundabouts what he gains on the swings. I agree with the conditional access system being introduced. I also accept that if you have to make a distinction between free to air channels and pay channels, you have to provide for what is called the ‘addressable system’ and I take it that this is the system, which in common parlance we call ‘set top box’. According to the definition - we would also understand it to be so - it is an electronic devise through which signals of cable television networks could be sent and decoded at the premises of the subscribers. It is all right but there are fears – this is where I would like the hon. Minister to kindly intervene – that the cost of these set top boxes could be exorbitant and prohibitive for an ordinary subscriber, thus denying him the benefit intended by this new provision. If the cost of the set top box were very high, it would mean a capital investment; maybe, for a particular person, it might not be difficult to pay Rs.200 or Rs.300 a month but he could find it extremely difficult to afford a set top box. We should visualise this kind of a situation also. Therefore, are we really giving the subscriber something or not? This is the assurance I would like to have from the hon. Minister because while we in the Bills reserve the right of the Government to regulate the maximum subscription rates in basic tier of free –to- air channels, there is no provision whereby we could force the manufacturer or the dealer of set top boxes to ensure that the prices do not rise above a particular level, or, in any case, to get the prices approved by the Government or any governmental agency. I would have wanted a provision like that in the Bill which, I think, is lacking. This gadget may become indeed very difficult for many people to afford.

"The cable operator shall not require any subscriber to have a receiver set of a particular type to receive signals of cable television network. "

 But a similar provision in case of an addressable system, that is, set-top boxes is missing. Now where is the guarantee that there will not be a captive market for one manufacturer or importer of this set. I understand that there are thirty three million cable houses in the country. People would like to have these. If you give some benefit that by only choosing one or two pay channels and by working out the economics thereof, if I find this to be more economical, maybe, I would like to go for a set-top box, but then, as in the free market, I should have the liberty to buy any set-top box and instal that, provided it is compatible with the system, as we do in the case of telephone instruments now. There was a time when the Telephone Department was issuing you a telephone instrument. Now you can go to the market to buy any one. Similar should be the provision here. That, I find, is specifically missing in this Bill. An amendment to that effect in this sub-section (8) should have been provided for.

After the set-top boxes are provided, the consumer would be required to pay money for the channels that he would wish to watch. The set-top box is an expensive gadget. It would initially cost around Rs.1500 to Rs.2000 and the cost would come down with volumes. The cable operators are now collecting their charges in cash. No definite record is maintained by them as to how much money they are actually collecting from the consumers. There is no transparent system. When the consumers install set-top boxes in the changed scenario, the system would become transparent. If money is collected by way of Demand Drafts and cheques, the details of income recorded properly and the Government would get more tax revenue. If duty on set-top boxes is reduced and the set-top boxes are made available to consumers at lesser prices, more number of people would start using them to get one or two free-to-air channels according to their interest and choice. This would attract huge investments. This is likely to lead to large-scale mergers between cable companies and content companies. The merger of international giants like AOL and Time Warner can be taken as an example for this.

श्री हन्नान मोल्लाह :सभापति जी, मैं एक बात जानना चाहता हूं।…( व्यवधान ). क्या वल्र्ड कप फुटबॉल टूर्नामेंट को टी.वी. पर दिखाया जाएगा? यह बात पूरा देश जानना चाहता है।…( व्यवधान )..

SHRI K. YERRANNAIDU : Sir, already, the pay channel charges were fixed in the month of December, 2001. If this Conditional Access System is implemented to save the consumers from harassment, immediately they cannot put this set top box even in the middle period. What is the view of the Government? Even for the set top box not only for the pay channels but also for the video and internet if you add the technologies for the set top box, it will be useful in future also. What is the Government’s view?