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Rep. Markey Introduces 21st Century Communications & Video Accessibility Act of 2009 to Make Broadband More Accessible COAT in the News COAT Press Releases Progress of the Bill Before Congress adjourned on June 26, Rep. Ed Markey (D-MA) introduced the "21st Century Communications and Video Accessibility Act of 2009" (H.R. 3101). This comprehensive measure would modernize disability accessibility mandates in the Communications Act, bringing existing requirements up to date as TV and phone services connect via the Internet and use new digital and broadband technologies. COAT leaders say the following: "The time is now to safeguard an accessible communications future," say Jenifer Simpson of the American Association of People with Disabilities (AAPD). "We commend Rep. Markey for his leadership and look now to the U.S. Senate for a similar leader!" Karen Peltz Strauss of Communication Service for the Deaf (CSD) says, "H.R. 3101 puts people with disabilities squarely into 21st century broadband communications so we can take full advantage of Internet advancements enjoyed by everyone else." "Digital technologies make it possible for TVs and other video devices -- of virtually any size -- to receive, transmit and display TV programs and video clips with captioning," says Rosaline Crawford of the National Association of the Deaf (NAD). "Captioning is needed for video material shown on the Internet for the same reason captioning is needed on TV." Mark Richert, of the American Foundation for the Blind (AFB) stated," We are fed up with playing catch up whenever new technologies are released. People with vision loss will finally have access to everything from text messaging, watching TV and receiving emergency infromation, if this bill is enacted." Adds Eric Bridges of the American Council of the Blind: "Video description and accessible user interfaces on TV devices are essential for us. We've waited a long time for this." Thank Rep. Ed Markey today via Email Form for introducing the bill. Contact your Representative today to ask him or her to co-sponsor H.R. 3101! Contact both your Senators today to ask them to introduce a similar Senate bill!

AT&T U-verse TV Adds ShortsHD and New International Channels ShortsHD Makes U.S. Debut on AT&T U-verse; Brings U-verse TV Lineup to 110 HD Channels in Every U-verse TV Market Dallas, Texas, July 20, 2009 AT&T* today announced several additions to the AT&T U-verseSM TV channel lineup, including international programming options for Italian and Arabic viewers and ShortsHD, the short movie channel, which makes its U.S. debut on U-verse TV. “We continue to expand our U-verse TV channel lineup to include more of the content that our customers want,” said Dan York, executive vice president of content and programming, AT&T Converged Services. “U-verse TV is about going above and beyond a standard channel lineup to give you more diverse programming options. These new channels help us with important strategic content initiatives and are great additions for our U-verse TV customers.” The new channels that are now available for U-verse TV customers include: ShortsHD , which showcases short movies in a range of genres, including comedy, action, horror, drama and more. AT&T is the first U.S. provider to offer ShortsHD, which is available in the HD Premium Tier for an additional $5 a month on channel 1789. Arabic Radio & Television, an Arabic channel featuring live sporting events, dramas, news, variety, entertainment, movies, and programming on national events, festivals and religious celebrations from around the Arab world. Available a la carte for an additional $13 a month on channel 3732. RAITALIA, an Italian channel which promotes the culture of Italy through a unique blend of festivals, concerts, Italian movies, soccer games, children's programming, game shows, documentaries and news. Available a la carte for an additional $13 a month on channel 3802. With ShortsHD and other recent channel additions, U-verse TV customers enjoy access to an extensive HD channel lineup with 110 or more HD channels — exceeding the HD channel lineups offered by the local cable providers in every U-verse TV market. U-verse TV customers can also choose from a wide variety of in-language programming options, including packages for Spanish, Filipino, Japanese, French, Polish, Russian, Vietnamese, Korean and South Asian viewers. AT&T U-verse TV is the only 100 percent Internet Protocol-based television (IPTV) service offered by a national service provider, making AT&T U-verse one of the most dynamic and feature-rich services available today. AT&T U-verse TV ranked “Highest in Residential Television Service Satisfaction in the North Central, South, and West Regions,” according to the J.D. Power and Associates 2008 Residential Television Service Provider Satisfaction StudySM. For additional information on AT&T U-verse — or to find out if it’s available in your area — visit AT&T U-verse. Customers can get more information about U-verse TV programming and television events by visiting AT&T U-verse Learn More.

When ordering cable, satellite, high speed Internet, digital phone, or any service by way of Door-To-Door, it is always good to double and even triple check the credentials of who you are dealing with. Most broadband companies provide their employees and contractors with verifiable badges and employee or contractor representative numbers. Be sure to ask to see the badge of who you are dealing with, and be sure to get their full name and phone number. If the agent refuses or is unable to provide their badge or agent ID, their full name or phone number, this might be a reason for concern. If the agent works for a contractor, request the name, address and business phone number of the contractor, then you still have reason to suspect some funny business, you can call that contractor's office on the spot during normal business hours.

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What is Cable Theft?
Cable theft is the illegal interception of cable programming services without the express authorization of, or payment to, a cable company.

Active Theft occurs when someone knowingly and intentionally makes an illegal physical connection to the cable system in their area. Active Theft also occurs when someone knowlingly and intentionally attaches equipment (i.e., black boxes, descramblers, decoders, etc.) for the unauthorized receipt of cable services.

Why is it illegal?
The Federal Communications Commission released a public notice in November, 1994, stating that the use of cable descramblers not authorized by cable systems is a violation of federal law.

Sentences in federal and state theft of services cases have ranged from probation to 16 years in prison. Fines and restitution have ranged from several hundred dollars to $2.7 million.

How widespread is it?
Overall average percentages of theft are 11.48% for basic service, and 9.23% for premium service.

A theft of service sting commissioned by Showtime for the Mike Tyson, Evander Holyfield fight showed nearly 50% of viewers watching the fight pirated the signal.

How much does it cost the cable company?
Each illegal decoder sold to a consumer costs the cable industry approximately $2,598 in lost revenue over its useful life expectancy. Based on a 1995 survey by the National Cable Television Association, the cable industry loses an average of $5.1 billion in unrealized revenue annually.

This does not even include unauthorized reception of pay-per-view programming. In 1996, law enforcement agencies siezed more than 500,000 devices. Analysis of the units showed that 80% of them were capable of illegally receiving pay-per-view services.

Does it also affect the consumer?
Yes! Cable piracy affects the picture quality of the entire system by weakening the signal. Poor picture quality increases service calls and other system maintenance, raising costs and putting pressure on cable rates.

Even more serious, lives can be endangered by the shoddy work of cable thieves. Cable's usually "closed-circuit" distribution system can be compromised, resulting in interference with aeronautic radio navigation signals and emergency service radio transmissions. 

Active Theft occurs when someone knowingly and intentionally makes an illegal physical connection to the cable system in their area for the purpose of receiving cable service in their home or business.

Premium Theft or "Pay Theft" occurs when someone knowingly and intentionally attaches equipment (i.e., black boxes, cheater box, cube, descramblers, decoders, etc.) for the unauthorized receipt of premium or pay cable services such as HBO, Showtime, Cinemax, Starz, or Pay Per View movies and special events (wrestling/boxing).

Passive Theft means having active cable service in your residence without notifying the cable operator. (Example: You move into a new apartment that has active service but you do not notify the cable operator.)

A wireless router on your home network is a great addition to your High-Speed Internet connection. With it, you’re able to use your laptop or desktop anywhere in the house without the need to run costly network cables through walls, floors, and ceilings.

However, if you don’t take the proper precautions, you may be letting anyone in your neighborhood to “steal” your Internet connection.

Out of the box, some wireless routers are non-discriminatory. That means, anyone within range of your home who has a wireless card in their PC or laptop can connect to your network and use your Internet access – all without you knowing! Your next-door neighbor, the family in the apartment downstairs, or even the guy across the street from you can be connected to you right now. And if the actions those people are doing happen to be illegal, it’s your account that comes under scrutiny. That’s a problem you don't want to deal with.

So, what can you do to prevent this?

First off, know that no wireless network is 100% secure. No matter what levels of security you implement, there is someone somewhere who knows how to crack it. But there are actions you can take that will discourage the casual hacker.

Each wireless router is different, but the concepts outlined in this article can be applied to all. Refer to your manual for specific procedures that you can perform on your own broadband wireless router. You may also utilize the resource links to a few of the major manufacturer and cable company websites. These links are found on the left of this page.

There are basically two things you can easily do to make your wireless network more secure. The first (and simplest) is to require a password to connect.

Passwords in the wireless world are called “keys,” and they come in two flavors: WEP and WPA. WEP is an older encryption process, but is still effective. It uses a master “passphrase” that each computer is required to match before the router lets them connect. When selecting a passphrase, try not to be overly simplistic. Meaning, don’t choose a basic word. Intermix numbers and letters. This will make cracking the code more difficult.

If you wish to be a little more secure, choose the newer encryption method, WPA.

The principle behind WPA is similar to WEP, but WPA is more difficult to crack. WPA was created for this reason; it’s more secure than WEP. However, since it is a newer technology, older equipment or operating systems may not support it. In those cases, you must use WEP keys.

Regardless of the method you choose, both the router and wireless computers on your network must be set to the same encryption method.

Another way to lock down your wireless router is to specify which computers are allowed to connect.

Each wireless device has a unique identification number embedded into them. These numbers are called MAC addresses. And like snowflakes, there are no two MAC addresses alike.

You can usually find the MAC of your wireless card written somewhere on the card itself. MAC addresses are 12 characters long, and have numbers and letters intermixed. Sometimes they are written in 6 groups of 2 characters.

Write down the MAC addresses of all your wireless devices and enter them exactly into your wireless router’s MAC address filter list. When you only allow access to your network based on this exception list, you’re reasonably secure. And if you use both MAC addresses filters and a WEP or WPA passphrase key, you’re ahead of the game.

It should be noted, however, that even after you take these actions to secure your router, you are not totally “unhackable.” But the casual user next door, or they guy parked outside your house, will have a much more difficult time trying to compromise your wireless network.    

Report suspected cable and/or Internet theft at cabletheft.com.