SANTA ANA : Cable Company Will Not Scramble Signal

The city’s cable company has abandoned, for now, a controversial plan to scramble its signal, bowing to the City Council and subscribers who denounced the proposed change as too inconvenient.

David Barford, general manager of Comcast Cablevision, said Friday that the company has dropped the plan after a survey of subscribers showed significant opposition to it, especially from subscribers with cable-ready VCRs who would have to get a decoder box and use an additional remote control.

Although the company has decided not to scramble the signal anytime soon, Barford added: “We haven’t discarded the concept as a whole.”

Comcast Cablevision will review plans to scramble the signal within the next year to determine if new technology will permit the changeover without inconveniencing subscribers, he said.

The proposal was originally designed to revamp the selection of service packages offered and also thwart residents who receive the signal illegally. Company officials said the move would have forced 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 reducing the need for future rate increases.

Although it lacks legal power to regulate Comcast Cablevision, the City Council voted unanimously in January to oppose the plan to scramble the signal, echoing the Nov. 19 vote of the city’s Cable Television Advisory Board.

Councilman Robert L. Richardson hailed the decision as “sensible,” adding, “I think they’re taking the rational approach, instead of going for the jugular and harming customers. I appreciate it greatly.”