We do not have to entirely depend on imported set top boxes for conditional access system now.

Telenext Convergence, a Mumbai-based media solutions company, has announced the launch of an indigenously designed and manufactured STB which will enable conditional access in cable television networks. The Telenext STB has been designed by researchers from IIT, Bombay.

Allaying fears that STBs have to be imported and are not manufactured in India, Telenext claims that most STBs worldwide have also been designed in India.

"We have the technology and the installed capacity to meet the requirement for the switch over to conditional access regime," says Deepak Khanolkar, director, Telenext Convergence.

They are looking at pricing their STB at about Rs. 3,000 to Rs 4,000 though the final price would depend on the quantity the operator orders.

Telenext says it is in the process of talking to major MSOs about their product and hopes to clinch orders soon. But, Telenext finds problems with the tax structure.

"We have to pay an excise duty of 16.5 per cent, whereas importers do not have to pay any countervailing duties," said a senior company executive.

The easy availability of set top boxes gains significance as the government is firm on sticking to the July 14 deadline for implementing the CAS.