With three days to go for the introduction of conditional access system (CAS) in Calcutta, confusion reigns over the procurement of set-top boxes (STBs). The boxes are necessary for watching pay channels.

Alipore resident Bimal Mukherjee, who gets his signals from multi-system operator (MSO) Manthan, was told by his cable operator that hiring an STB was not allowed.

“I approached my cable operator after seeing the advertisements in the newspaper. He said if I did not buy an STB, I would have to go without pay channels from January 1. Though the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI)’s message is loud and clear, we are left without a choice in our area,” complained Mukherjee.

Several people have had similar experiences. According to cable operators, the MSOs are to blame. Manik Saha, an operator in New Alipore, claimed: “The agreement is between the subscribers and the MSOs. We are only acting as middlemen. If it continues like this, we will lose customers to the direct-to-home (DTH) service providers like Tata Sky and Dishtv.”

Such complaints have poured in from areas serviced by SitiCable. “I have known my cable operator for 10 years. He has been thoroughly professional and helpful. He is, however, jittery about CAS,” said Nikhil Roy of Tollygunge.

The agreement Roy signed with SitiCable reads that the STB will always remain a property of the MSO. According to the advertisement brought out by TRAI, the rented STBs will become the property of the subscriber after five years.

A spokesperson for both SitiCable and Manthan termed the incidents unfortunate and blamed the cable operators for lack of communication skills.