Misinformation in Cable Ad

I believe the ad titled “What’s the real price of ‘free’ cable?” that appeared in a recent Valley Business section, deserves a response. As an electronic engineer with a long association with the cable industry, I found most of the claims in the ad to be misleading at best. And while I don’t condone theft of service, I find it curious that a company like CableVision Industries would engage in deceptive advertising in order to get others to be “honest.”

For example, the claim that unauthorized use of service “can cause dangerous interruptions in air-traffic-control communications” is a half-truth. While it is true that RF leakage from cable systems can do so, cable operators themselves are notorious for violating FCC leakage rules with sloppy installation practices and deterioration of main cables and amplifiers. I challenge CVI to present a single documented case of a subscriber having caused this type of interference with a purchased converter or owner-installed outlet.

CVI also would like us to believe that purchased converter boxes and owner-installed outlets are “illegal and detectable.” They are neither. Furthermore, I challenge CVI to electronically “detect” a purchased converter (or an owner-installed outlet or even an illegal de-scrambler) from outside the home. They just can’t do it.

They want us to believe we are illegal or causing problems so they can charge $2 or more per month for an F connector that cost them 15 cents, which is what my cable company (not CVI) charges for a connector on a subscriber-owned second outlet. This is plain highway robbery.

KEITH H. LARSON, Newbury Park