Theft of Cable Service

If you think stealing cable is a victimless crime, think again. Each year cable theft costs the cable industry millions in lost revenue and ultimately results in higher rates to customers to combat theft. It is unfair for the responsible customers to pay for their service while others get a free ride. Also, tampering with cable lines often causes reception problems for paying customers.

The 1984 Cable Act, as amended by the 1992 Cable Act, was passed by the US Congress and created both civil and criminal penalties against manufacturers, suppliers and users of unauthorized cable devices. This federal theft of service law supplements any existing state or local laws. The federal law prohibits the interception or receipt of any communication service over a cable system, unless authorized by the cable operator. This includes the theft of audio, video, text, date or other service, including data transmitted to or from a customer over a system that has interactive capability.

The Cable Act provides a cable operator the right to seek substantial monetary damages with regard to theft of its cable services. In addition, if the violations are willful and for commercial advantage or private financial gain, the court may award damages of up to $50,000 in civil cases and a maximum of $100,000 for certain criminal violations, in addition to a maximum of five years imprisonment for subsequent offenses.

Please take time to report anyone you may be aware of that receives cable service without paying. The information you supply will be totally anonymous. We will follow up to ensure that the service you receive is not affected by someone else’s tampering. Call us today at (205) 426-3432 or email us at contact@alabamabroadband.net.