Comcast Corp. is again offering the olive branch to people in Maryland and
Delaware who are pulling down cable video signals illegally.
The program -- which started Tuesday and will extend through Sept. 16 --
comes on the heels of a well-publicized investigation that led to the arrest of
several family members living in Pikesville, Md. Given the publicity, the MSO
decided to offer the amnesty program to give others the chance to turn
themselves in without fear of prosecution before the next round of cases
begins.
Viewers who are now pirating signals can contact Comcast, sign up for pay
service and turn in their illegal cable receivers. In exchange, they will be
excused from the prosecution.
After the amnesty period, Comcast will conduct a house-by-house audit of all
of its cable systems in the region, and any residents found tapping cable
signals without paying will be turned over to authorities.
The communities involved in the program include the cities of Baltimore and
Annapolis; Baltimore metro’s Anne Arundel, Baltimore, Calvert, Cecil, Charles,
Harford and Howard counties; and outlying Caroline, Dorchester, Somerset,
Wicomico and Worcester counties.
In Delaware, the program is under way in Kent, New Castle and Sussex
counties.
The National Cable & Telecommunications Association estimated that the
cable industry loses almost $6.6 billion yearly from cable-signal theft, which
does not include unauthorized access to pay- per-view
programming.
