The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai) has warned that signals to set-top boxes in Calcutta would be snapped if the subscriber application forms (SAF) aren’t submitted by August 23.

Given the lethargy demonstrated by the city’s multi-system operators and cable operators in submitting the filled-in forms, it is highly unlikely that they will be able to meet Trai’s “sunset deadline”.

This means most of the 28 lakh cable subscribers will have to do without TV from this month-end if Trai sticks to its guns.

“Trai will raid head-ends or control rooms of MSOs from August 23. If we find a connection without subscriber details (properly filled SAF), the set-top box will be switched off. Criminal proceedings will be against the MSO and the cable operator,” N. Parameswaran, the Trai principal adviser, told Metro from Delhi.

Trai figures reveal that Calcutta has managed only 34 per cent of the work against 97 per cent in Delhi and over 80 per cent in Mumbai and Chennai.

Of the 28,00,000 owners of set-top boxes in Calcutta, more than 18,00,000 still haven’t filled in or submitted the SAF.

Industry sources said the numbers would have to be recalculated because most of the forms submitted before the announcement of packages were incomplete and have to be filled in again.

To meet the deadline, almost one lakh forms will have to be filled in every day. Not an unachievable target given the fact that it comes to just 20 forms per day for each of the 5,000 cable operators in the city.

But the regulatory authority’s deadline has triggered a rash of excuses among the MSOs and cable operators — who instead should have been pushing the envelope.

Sample this.

Subscriber: Where’s the form. I haven’t got it.

MSO: Cable operators aren’t co-operating.

Cable operator: MSOs aren’t giving us the forms.

MSO: Operators can download (forms) from our website.

Cable operator: Not all MSO websites have forms.

Trai: Enough! The deadline is August 23. Fill in the form or face action.

If Trai sticks to its word, it is likely that you will end up staring at a blank TV screen from this month-end.

Fourteen cable operators and one MSO in Delhi have already been booked for defaulting on the SAF process.

Experts said Calcutta would never be able to meet the deadline because cable operators, the vital link between the MSO and the subscriber, have not been forthcoming.

Consumers blamed the local cable guy. “I can’t get through to my cable operator. He has stopped coming to collect the monthly subscription. I don’t know where to get the form,” said Subhash Sircar of Lake Market.

Cable operators put the onus on MSOs to give them the forms or make them available on their websites.

Though most MSOs have a downloadable SAF on their website, Manthan didn’t have one till July 29 evening despite being a major player in the Calcutta market.

“The exercise was initiated to ensure transparency so that one pays for only the channels he subscribes to. That cannot happen unless both the customer details and choice of channels are with the MSO,” Parameswaran said.

The SAF contains basic details such as a subscriber’s address, the set-top box card number and his/her choice of channels. The information, according to Trai guidelines, will help the MSOs provide a subscriber his choice of channels and bill him accordingly.