New Delhi, Feb. 23: The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai) today said the controversial conditional access system (CAS) may be put on hold for three months.

This would give the National Democratic Alliance at the Centre a breather since it would not have to take a decision on the matter until elections.

In its interim recommendations to the government, the telecom regulator said CAS may be kept in abeyance for at least three months and necessary action should be taken keeping in view Delhi High Court’s directions.

Last year, the high court restrained the information and broadcasting ministry from implementing CAS on the ground it was based on an arbitrary exercise of power and extraneous considerations.

But the court declined to restrain the government from implementing CAS in Delhi, opting to review the situation after three months.

The cable operators of the notified areas partially withdrew pay channels from the midnight of December 15 last year.

The court order said: “There has to be some regulatory body in terms of the synopsis of comments which have been filed by the respondent to see the implementation. We would like the respondent to enlighten this court of the steps taken in this direction before the next date of hearing.”

Last month, the Centre appointed Trai as the regulator for the broadcasting and cable sector.

The regulatory authority today said: “Studies of the cable sector in various countries have shown that the sector needs regulation till effective competition can be introduced. The authority would take about three months to finalise such a regulation.”

The regulatory authority said CAS in its present form needs to be modified since state governments have requested a rethink and cable operators are flouting rules by showing pay channels without set-top boxes.

It added that states were not fully implementing provisions of the Trai Act.

The authority said CAS or any other system should be implemented only after Trai, in consultation with the state governments, issues regulations. The changeover can be effectively monitored then.

Trai’s interim recommendation springs from its assessment of the inputs it has received from state governments and stakeholders and is part of the move to take remedial measures to address the CAS issue.

The regulatory authority has begun a consultation process, obtained comments from stakeholders and examined the views of the Delhi, Bengal, Maharashtra and Tamil Nadu governments which are to implement CAS in their capitals.

It has also studied how other countries regulate the broadcasting and cable sector.

The regulator said it had “obtained substantial information and views, and is in a position to take the process forward with a more detailed consultation paper”.

The regulatory authority’s statement says chief ministers and chief secretaries of the four states agree that CAS should not be implemented in its present form.