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DaggaDagga · 13-10-2005, 20:08

Hello all. I've been reading this forum almost daily for a long time, and have had NTL broadband for years (legally, I emphasise!). I couldn't help but sign up and reply on this thread.

I have also been concerned about the amount of fraud going on on NTL's network. If you want free broadband then I understand it's not too difficult.

If you want full access to all the TV channels, with a better STB than NTL's own then you only have to search ebay for the right word (I won't say what) and you'll find a list of German STBs ready to plug into NTL's network for around the price of a month's TV subscription.

Let's not pretend that NTL would reduce any prices if they stopped the fraud. They charge as much as they can get away with, priced to compete with the ADSL providers and Sky TV.

I don't believe that NTL would be able to detect a modem with a cloned MAC address, and the STBs from Ebay are impossible to detect, as they don't transmit anything back up the cable. They can not press a button and see the percentage of dodgy users that are out there. I suspect that they're under-estimating the problem by a large margin.

It all reminds me of the old ITV Digital fraud. I know that there were other factors in their downfall, but what started out as a few people with hacked boxes spread like a plague and was huge when the company went bust. This must have been a factor in their downfall.

NTL need to very quickly take major action to stop this. I'm no expert but they must be able to crank up their TV encryption to stop the Ebay STBs - Sky does not have any similar problems. Similarly, there must also be something they can do to stop the free broadband. Otherwise, the paying customers start to find it difficult to justify continuing to pay for what it seems like everyone else is getting for free (and getting away with it).

Grassing up one person would be a drop in the ocean. NTL needs to take much more drastic steps to combat this, before it starts to seriously suffer financially.

Just my thoughts. Please tell me I'm talking cr@p!

13-10-2005, 20:08	#31
DaggaDagga Inactive Join Date: Oct 2005 Location: Hampshire Services: Royal Mail snail mail. No telly. Wind-up gramophone. Posts: 125,837.56 Posts: 385	Re: Capping & Cloning Hello all. I've been reading this forum almost daily for a long time, and have had NTL broadband for years (legally, I emphasise!). I couldn't help but sign up and reply on this thread. I have also been concerned about the amount of fraud going on on NTL's network. If you want free broadband then I understand it's not too difficult. If you want full access to all the TV channels, with a better STB than NTL's own then you only have to search ebay for the right word (I won't say what) and you'll find a list of German STBs ready to plug into NTL's network for around the price of a month's TV subscription. Let's not pretend that NTL would reduce any prices if they stopped the fraud. They charge as much as they can get away with, priced to compete with the ADSL providers and Sky TV. I don't believe that NTL would be able to detect a modem with a cloned MAC address, and the STBs from Ebay are impossible to detect, as they don't transmit anything back up the cable. They can not press a button and see the percentage of dodgy users that are out there. I suspect that they're under-estimating the problem by a large margin. It all reminds me of the old ITV Digital fraud. I know that there were other factors in their downfall, but what started out as a few people with hacked boxes spread like a plague and was huge when the company went bust. This must have been a factor in their downfall. NTL need to very quickly take major action to stop this. I'm no expert but they must be able to crank up their TV encryption to stop the Ebay STBs - Sky does not have any similar problems. Similarly, there must also be something they can do to stop the free broadband. Otherwise, the paying customers start to find it difficult to justify continuing to pay for what it seems like everyone else is getting for free (and getting away with it). Grassing up one person would be a drop in the ocean. NTL needs to take much more drastic steps to combat this, before it starts to seriously suffer financially. Just my thoughts. Please tell me I'm talking cr@p!