MONTREAL – Bell Canada today made official the introduction of a new signal encryption system for its Bell ExpressVu satellite TV service.
As of July 1, 2005, all television programming received by Bell ExpressVu customers will be distributed on the new platform, the company’s most comprehensive initiative to-date to combat the industry-wide issue of signal theft.
Last August, ExpressVu began distributing SmartCards required to support the new system to more than one million customers who purchased digital TV receivers before September 2004. More than 92% of this subset of customers have received and installed the new SmartCards, says the company’s release today.
All Bell ExpressVu satellite receivers sold in Canada after August 2004 have been equipped with technology to operate on the new security platform. The company now has over 1.5 million customers.
"Bell ExpressVu’s distribution system is being transitioned to a new encryption system for the benefit of our customers and broadcast partners," said Gary Smith, president, Bell ExpressVu. "By installing new SmartCards, Bell ExpressVu customers are helping to fight signal theft, an illegal activity under Canada’s Radiocommunication Act that negatively impacts Canadian actors, producers, broadcasters and distributors."
Programming on Bell ExpressVu’s television service is encrypted for transmission to its subscribers and then decrypted by digital receivers with SmartCards or built-in security chips, developed in collaboration with Nagravision, a digital security encryption company. Such security technologies provide customers access to authorized pay-per-view programming and other channels for which a monthly subscription has been purchased. Bell ExpressVu’s comprehensive card swap program is aligned with similar initiatives by other North American direct-to-home TV providers.
