The news that has come out now is that TACTV or Tamil Nadu Arasu Cable TV Corporation has decided to set up an independent multi conditional access system or CAS to reach about 30lakhs subscribers in Tamil Nadu.
It is known that at present TACTV provides cable TV services with 99 to 100 channels. This included FTA channels, pay channels and private local channels etc with a customer base of 62.17lakhs.
According to a senior officer belonging to TACTV it was clear that the latest CAS would be capable of serving an estimated subscriber base of 30lakhs individuals. It is now said that the new CAS would be designed for seamless integration with a new subscriber management system or SMS to be procured as well as future acquisitions of HD set top boxes.
Through a proper and transparent bidding process, CAS would be installed after selecting a service provider. Information is that the new CAS would also integrate with the new SMS to be procured by TACTV. The compatibility of the proposed CAS solution with TACTV existing infrastructure including head end equipment and new subscriber management systems etc would be ensured by the selected firm.
Point to be noted is that the CAS would not have the facility to activate and deactivate the set top boxes directly from the CAS terminal. The commands of the subscriber management systems would be used for activation and deactivation of set top boxes. The presence of cable operating billing software in CAS would allow the online selection of channel packages.