Hundreds of illegal set-top boxes seized by StarHub

Hundreds of illegal cable TV set-top boxes were seized by StarHub in a raid earlier this week, two weeks after SingTel complained about unauthorised access to its English Premier League (EPL) broadcasts.

On Friday, StarHub announced that it uncovered the bootleg set-top boxes at a storage facility in an unnamed location here. It also said the raid was not in response to SingTel's complaints.

These boxes can decode StarHub's signals sent to homes through a round, angled cable TV point, allowing users to view all its 100-plus channels without paying for them.

Bootleg cable TV set-top boxes became an issue for SingTel as its EPL content, available since Aug 17, is also carried on StarHub's platform as required under the Media Development Authority's cross-carriage rule.

Earlier this month, SingTel urged StarHub to upgrade to a more secure system of signal transmission to prevent the unauthorised access to the EPL content.

In a statement on Friday, StarHub said that its raid came about after it had tracked a syndicate that was distributing fliers for the sale of illegal set-top boxes for months this year.

"StarHub takes a very serious view of content piracy and the sale of illegal boxes," said Ms Jeannie Ong, StarHub's chief marketing officer. "Consumers who purchase these decoders are doing so at their own risk," she added.

Under the Broadcasting Act, buyers and sellers of these bootleg boxes can be fined up to $40,000 and jailed for up to three years. To combat illegal access, StarHub started upgrading the encryption standards for its content at the end of last year.

The upgrade is slated for completion by the end of this year.

As part of the upgrade, a proportion of its 530,000 subscribers will have their set-top boxes swopped with new ones, while others will get a new smart card to use with their existing boxes. StarHub is also looking to switch to an Internet-based technology for home users.

This technology is similar to SingTel's mioTV platform, which requires a subscriber's box to be authenticated before content is streamed. SingTel claimed that its mioTV content can only be accessed by its set-top box. When contacted, a SingTel spokesman commended StarHub for the enforcement action.

"We hope that they will continue these efforts as piracy hurts the industry and drives prices up for consumers who access content via legal means," she said.

itham@sph.com.sg

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