SANTA ANA : City Against Plan to Jumble Cable Signal
The City Council on Monday formally opposed a controversial proposal by the city’s cable company to scramble its signal.
Comcast Cablevision is considering the action in an effort to revamp its selection of service packages as well as thwart residents who receive the signal illegally.
The council voted unanimously to oppose the plan, echoing the Nov. 19 vote of the city’s Cable Television Advisory Board.
Company officials said the move would force many of the estimated 3,500 signal thieves to sign up for service, possibly boosting income for the company by $1 million a year and reduce the need for future rate increases. But it also would require all subscribers to have a decoder box and would eliminate the advantages of owning cable-ready videocassette recorders, which are not equipped to decode scrambled signals.
However, General Manger David Barford said before the council meeting Monday that the plan is still “on hold” while the company researches whether it can be implemented without inconveniencing customers.
Although the company originally hoped to implement the plan as early as November, Barford said that was delayed after the company received letters of protest from more than 75 customers.
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