MUMBAI: As a proactive measure for enabling the use of digital technologies towards bringing efficiencies in providing and managing services to the subscribers, the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) has asked distribution platform operators (DPOs) like direct to home (DTH), multi-system operators (MSOs), Headend-In-The-Sky (HITS) and IPTV companies providing TV broadcast services to use Electronic Customer Application Form (e-CAF). 

The CAF is required to be filled up by customers mandatorily before subscribing to TV services. The information captured in the CAF is then transferred to the Subscriber Management System (SMS) of the DPO for managing the services availed by the subscriber.

The authority said that presently, use of CAF in paper format is prevalent and manual process is followed for updating information in the SMS, which involves processing millions of physical CAFs and their storage creates operational difficulties.

"The e-CAF can be easily accessed and integrated with the SMS of the DPO eliminating the manual feeding of information and also provides customers a simpler method for subscribing to services; improve customer relationship, and management of their subscription and services. The e-CAF will bring efficiencies in the process of providing and managing services to the subscribers," TRAI said in an advisory. 

It went on to add that the adoption of e-CAF is an environment friendly measure and is likely to benefit all stakeholders.