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Mumbai/ New Delhi: With the Conditional Access System (CAS) being implemented in parts of Delhi, Mumbai and Kolkata over the weekend, many television watchers have had a bad start to their new television year. But it's not completely their fault.

"I'm restricted to watching what the cable guy gives me," said a resident of Mumbai, Rohan Joseph.

"We made inquiries about the set-top boxes because we didn't want to miss the New Year celebrations on television. But the guys there said they didn't have enough boxes for us to buy," said another Mumbaiite, Susie Joseph.

While more than 1 lakh set top boxes have been sold, a majority of people in Mumbai still don't have them. Cable operators say consumers woke up too late to the issue. Each of them takes at least half an hour to install.

Meanwhile, things are not much better in Delhi, where 4 lakh households are now under the CAS umbrella.

"We weren't aware that it would be put into action so fast. I have been watching only news channels for the past two days because that's all that's there," said a resident of New Delhi, Sonam Gulati.

But the demand for set-top boxes is gradually picking up, and cable operators are likely to see more calls from harried consumers in the days to come.

“We thought only 10 per cent will take it up. But there have been many more who have taken it,” said the President of Cable Operators' Federation of India, Roop Sharma.

And with both cable companies and DTH (Direct To Home) providers trying to outdo each other's offers, hopefully the viewer will, eventually, have the last laugh.