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EchoStar on Losing End of $22 Million Fee Swing in // 2010-08-12
Alison Frankel
The American Lawyer
08/10/2010
In 2002, when the digital satellite company EchoStar joined a suit against pay-TV provider NDS, EchoStar aimed high. Its lawyers at DLA Piper and T. Wade Welch & Associates accused NDS of breaching EchoStar's programming security codes and posting them on the Internet, for sale to pirates across the globe. EchoStar demanded about $1 billion from NDS in damages and disgorgement penalties and another $1 billion in statutory damages
Six years later a federal district court jury in Santa Ana found that NDS had, in fact, intercepted EchoStar's satellite signal in a single test of piracy methods. Jurors deemed the interception a technical violation of the federal Communications Act and a California statute.
But they awarded EchoStar a mere $45.69 in actual damages and $1,500 in statutory damages — not exactly the $2 billion EchoStar sought. The verdict suggested that the jury entirely rejected EchoStar's theory that NDS illicitly assisted the pirating of EchoStar's signal.
Who won the case? The judge who presided over the trial, U.S. District Judge David Carter of Santa Ana, determined that each side prevailed on some of EchoStar's asserted claims. He awarded attorneys' fees to both sides: about $13 million (plus costs) to EchoStar counsel and about $9 million (and no costs) to NDS's lawyers at O'Melveny & Myers and Hogan & Hartson (now Hogan Lovells). The net award was about $4 million to EchoStar's lawyers at DLA and T. Wade Welch.
NDS's O'Melveny lawyers filed an appeal of Carter's fee award. In their brief to the Ninth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals, NDS's counsel argued that the judge abused his discretion in awarding such lavish fees to EchoStar when EchoStar completely failed to prove its underlying piracy case. NDS, they argued, was in fact the prevailing party in all aspects of the case.
EchoStar, represented on appeal by DLA, countered in its Ninth Circuit brief that the jury ruled in its favor, finding EchoStar liable and rejecting EchoStar's counterclaims. Indeed, EchoStar argued, if Carter erred, it was in declining to award EchoStar all of the costs it sought. "While courts may infer implicit factual findings by a jury where the verdict clearly supports that conclusion, there are many possible reasons in this case why the jury decided as it did," EchoStar's DLA lawyers wrote. "Only the jury knows on what basis it found NDS liable, and the district court should not have inferred from the jury's general verdict that EchoStar had not proven its principal theory of liability and reduced EchoStar's fees and costs award."
But a three-judge Ninth Circuit panel, in an unpublished opinion released last Thursday , concluded that NDS won the trial. The panel reversed Carter's award to EchoStar, ordering him to enter judgment denying attorneys fees and costs to EchoStar. The appellate judges also reconsidered fees for NDS's lawyers, and concluded that they were due about $18 million in fees, plus reasonable costs — about twice what Carter ordered. Instead of a net $4 million in attorneys fees to EchoStar, EchoStar now has to pay NDS $18 million, a swing of $22 million.
"There is no question that NDS successfully defended against all of EchoStar's claims based on or related to its theory that NDS was responsible for the compromise of EchoStar's satellite television programming security system," the Ninth Circuit wrote in an unsigned opinion. (The panel included Ninth Circuit Judge Harry Pregerson, Senior Judge David Thompson and federal Judge James Graham of Columbus, Ohio, sitting by designation. "The overwhelming success of NDS in its defense of EchoStar's lawsuit was trivially mitigated [by the jury's damages awards]," the panel concluded. "If found liable for the December 2000 Internet posting [of EchoStar's encryption programs] and its aftermath, NDS faced the possibility of paying nearly $2 billion in damages. Instead, NDS was held liable for less than $2,000 in damages, and was prohibited from again engaging in conduct whose occurrence it never challenged."
Darin Snyder of O'Melveny, who argued for NDS at the April 6 Ninth Circuit hearing, said his client was particularly happy that the appellate panel agreed NDS won the 2008 trial. "NDS was pleased with the jury's verdict because it vindicated NDS's position that it was not responsible for piracy of EchoStar's digital satellite system," he said. "We were especially gratified that the Ninth Circuit accepted the argument that [NDS] was the prevailing party at trial."
Kate Frenzinger of DLA, who argued the appeal for EchoStar, didn't respond to a request for comment.
Free vs paid servers update // 2010-08-06
Paid servers (Rom Code and NFPS) were up within a day after the July 29 ECM.
Free one's came on slowly and Nfusion guys are still down.
Majority of The IKS receivers down // 2010-07-29
I have received reports that there was blackout in FTA world and majority of the IKS receivers (public and private) down.
Interesting petition re: Canadian TV monopoly // 2010-07-28
Have you ever watched an American television program?
If you own a satellite system or have Cable, the answer is of course. Did you know that there are literally hundreds of American and other foreign television channels that are purposely made "unavailable" to you by the Canadian Government and CRTC?
Do you own a small satellite system (DirecTV or Dish Network) or a big C-band dish? Did you know that your government and other parties with a vested interest (Bell Expressvu, Starchoice, Cable Companies) have made it illegal to receive ANY foreign television transmissions that have not been approved or sanctioned by them?
The Supreme Court of Canada ruled in April that federal broadcasting law prohibits Canadians from gaining access to direct-to-home satellite TV signals from providers other than Toronto-based Bell ExpressVu LP — a unit of Bell Canada — and Star Choice Communications Inc. of Calgary.
Under existing Canadian laws, users of so-called grey-market satellite dishes — people who PAY for a U.S.-based satellite service — face up to one year in jail, or a $5,000 fine. Firms found guilty of the same offence face a $25,000 fine. This includes the big C-band dishes (that Canadians have had since the 1970's) as well.
The CRTC and governments have taken it upon themselves to decide what is okay for you to watch and what you can't. The CRTC's so called "white list" contains all the American and International channels that can be distributed in Canada. And all the other channels that aren't on it are forbidden to you as we, as Canadians, are obviously considered too dumb by our government to choose for ourselves what we should watch and so the decision is made for us like we are a bunch of preschoolers.
The channels that are on the "white list" are the ones that are available on cablevision. There are literally hundreds of channels that our governments say are "illegal" to watch and discourage us from disobeying them by slapping our wrists and declaring that Canadians watching "grey market" TV are lawbreakers!
If we have the ability to watch a program on television and we want to watch it in the privacy of our own home, then we should be able to do so! Without any governments or corporations declaring us a lawbreaker!
Silly me I was also under the impression that we lived in a free country, but that also is proving to be a fallacy.
I agree with the fact that Canadian companies have paid big money to acquire the broadcasting rights of some of the American companies, but the last time I checked, viewership was a privilege not a right, and if these Canadian companies want us to watch their programming instead, then they should do so by making it worth watching! And not because we are forced to!
We do not need government minions and functionaries to decide what television my children and family can watch.
This "Big Brother" attitude must be curbed here! Or it will set a precedent for other things! If this continues one day it may be illegal to read anything other than Canadian magazines or books.
Another factor to consider is they seem to be ignoring completely the Supreme law of Canada, The Canadian Constitution!!
Here is a related excerpt:
Section 52: The Constitution is the supreme law of Canada, and any law that is inconsistent with the provisions of the constitution is, to the extent of the inconsistency, of no force or effect.
Section 2
2. Everyone has the following fundamental freedoms:
(a)Freedom of conscience and religion;
(b)Freedom of thought, belief opinion and expression, including freedom of the press and other means of communication;
(c)Freedom of peaceful assembly; and
(d)Freedom of association.
Perhaps our government feels that they are not subject to constitutional provisions. You be the judge. Clearly they are trying to discourage International competition, protecting the cable monopolies and hiding it behind "Canadian Culture" excuses.
We have spent the last 40 years telling the Russians it was immoral to block broadcasts but yet our government is doing the exact same thing here in Canada!
As "free" people, Canadians should have the right to choose what we watch in the privacy of our homes. We should not be forced to watch CBC simply because a government agency has decided that CBC is better than USA network and so USA network is purposely made unavailable to you.
After the Supreme Court of Canada ruling in April, 500,000 - 700,000 Canadians were instantly turned into criminal’s because of what they watch on their TV's in the privacy of their own homes.
A country deemed to be the gold standard for multiculturalism makes it a crime for immigrants to watch programming in their own language, unless it's provided by the two government-sanctioned purveyors of satellite TV -- Bell ExpressVu and Star Choice
The Supreme Court's ruling against "grey market" satellite TV operators has put Canada in the fine company of North Korea and Iraq. Yet, while Ottawa is cracking down on foreign satellite signals, even Iran has reformed its Mad Mullah ban on satellite dishes.
Sign this petition to show our Government that this "Big Brother" attitude will NOT be tolerated! Let the people decide what they want to watch WITHOUT government intervention. To be free includes freedom of choice!
Be sure to pass this on to every Canadian you know.
Sincerely,
The Undersigned
Dishnetwork drag net // 2010-06-19
Here is c&p of DishTester a.k.a. Robert Kluver posting.
"Hello everyone,
This is DishTester a.k.a. Robert Kluver. I have just received an alarming set of new legal documents in the mail as they are required to be sent to me.
Last month, they filed for Leave to Expedite Discovery...
Today I have received copies of a number of subpoenas for identifying information for a number of websites they suspect that I own. This is the largest fishing expedition I have ever seen, where as they are attempting to throw in just about every major fta related website into one lawsuit and doing their best to pin everything on one person or simply using it as a platform to issue subpoenas that go far beyond anything I have ever heard of.
The subpoenas have been issued against domain name registrars to discover the ownership information of these domains, which will prove of course that I do not own them, however the information could be used in additional suits against other FTA related website owners who thought their information was secure and private.
Subpoenas served on eNom, Dotster, GoDaddy and Domains by Proxy.
Never in my life have I seen such a mockery of the law to be used in such a fashion and I am completely disgusted with the chain of events we have seen from these guys. This may not be the last round of subpoenas to be issued, unfortunately I do not have the funds to fight this legal battle against me - but I am worried that they will walk all over the law here to use my inability to fight them as a weapon against others."
Paid servers FTA review // 2010-06-14
As promised here is the paid servers FTA review.
I am receiving these reports from 3 regular guys using 3 different paid servers for last 3 weeks and here are their findings.
User1: testing RomCode.
These are the only guys who provide service for Nfusion HD along with all other Nfusion models and dreambox 500 receiver.
Pros: No freezing (except this weekend was bad and user1 was informed that it will be fixed shortly), no downtime, easy to set, all different packages available including ethnics and HDs, very good customer service and support forum.
Cons: You have to leave your computer and their provided utility on for this to work, it is expensive (you also have to pay different prices for different add on's (ethnic, hd etc...)
User2: testing NFPS
These guys support all models of CaptiveWork, Sonicview and Nfusion Nova, Solaris and Phoenix.
Pros: It is cheap, one package price covers all including some ethnics and HDs, no freezing, no downtime so far.
Cons: channel guide is terrible (it is not provider's guide), can not scan channels, you have to change connections on your lnbs if you want ethnics, you almost have to have lcd tv for the original set up.
User3: testing Dark Angel
These guys support all CaptiveWork models, Coolsat 4000, 5000 and 6000, DremBox 100, 500 and 800, Digiwave 7000 and 7200, Neosat/Nuesat 1000 and 2000, Nfusion Nova, Solaris and Phoenix, SonicView 360P, 360E and 8000HD, ViewSat Ultra, Ultra lite, MaxHD and 9000HD.
Pros: They support variety of different FTAs and DBs, good support, customer service, no freezing (minor issues here and there), continuous uptime.
Cons: Expensive, no ethnics, some receiver/models are computer dependent.
These are all my findings with the help of User1, User2 and User3, thank you guys I really appreciate your help and patience in answering my 20/20 questions for last 3 weeks.
Private FTA servers VS. regular servers // 2010-05-31
I was informed that there is research being done on private FTA servers which are available for Dreambox, Nfusion, SonicView, Captivework and few other receivers.
Will be posting my findings as soon as I get reports from my sources.
The Phoenix and Nfusion fiasco // 2010-05-12
On May 8 The Phoenix (aka SS) announced
"I come to you now to announce that in a very short while thephoenix will be setting the FTA world on Fire,like the phoenix of legends,Nfusion is rising from the ashes once more"
There was lots of activity in FTA world after that announcement, 3-4 quick forums were set up in no time and invitations were sent out to all FTA underground community to join them to see the "upcoming release" to add fuel to the fire The Pheonix keep announcing almost everyday with ETA dates (3-5 days) and promise of adding new toys to the expensive models by this 3rd party who is releasing these long awaited files....
This morning (a day after the supposed release) it was announced by Dracco
"I owe each of you a apology and explaination
No go for it you all deserve to say what ever you want , we were all duped by a great con man and group , don't buy the limes.
Really as far as I'm concerned , the sites owned by the perp you all can have post whatever you feel , I am through , I owe each and everyone of you an apology , I did not know this was going to happen , I was led along just like the rest of you , even was sent files , but they shut them down before we could test them , do not worry this Dragon is done , this group has duped me and I hope all of you for the last time
All I know is thephoenix received a text message " Are your friends there yet " , this was sent by his contact , the next thing two people identifying themselves as SI officers from Nagra and two officers of the court , he was served with a anton piller and his home searched , this is all that I was able to hear as the phone went dead , as far as I am concerned unless someone from Nfusion third party support comes forward , the Nfusion is surely dead for anything other than True Free to Air ,
Again I am truely sorry , I was not a part of this plot but feel that I am to blame for believing in them , I will try to be around her off and on all day to answer your questions , ad once more I am sorry"
There are NO Nagra officers, they use government law enforcement, let us put aside that BS.
This brings to 2 conclusions.
1= The Pheonix duped few of the big FTA moderators to announce his line and sell lot of Nfusion stock which was sitting on shelves since December.
2= The Pheonix got all these guys to set up forums in very short time, had his moles in each forums and handed the ips / info to Nagra to cover his ass.
This is not going to affect average joe who end up on those forums but there are lots of people who are under court order "not to join any fta related sites"
Sonicview got served // 2010-03-30
Dishnetwork sued an other FTA receiver, this time it is Sonicview, they got served on March 29 2010, here is the first page of the lawsuit
New Contempt Proceedings and Civil Seizure Raid Ag // 2010-03-13
EchoStar and NagraStar, together with Bell ExpressVu, recently executed Anton Piller (civil seizure) orders against Steven Rodgers a.k.a. Tomico-ind, of Barrie, Ontario, Canada, as well as against his parents Ross and Palma Rodgers, at their business and residence. In 2007-2008, Rodgers served four months in prison for contempt of a previous Anton Piller order. The recent orders resulted in the seizure of several computers and electronic media used by Rodgers. Following the execution of the recent orders, Ross and Palma Rodgers were arrested and held in custody for failing to appear at a contempt motion brought against them.
The companies also launched new contempt proceedings against Rodgers, who they allege has continued to engage in piracy activities contrary to various injunctions and judgments against him.
The companies say that Rodgers has continued to operate numerous piracy-related web sites and hide behind numerous online identities including The Warden, PIMPINnagravision, ThEmAdHaTtEr, Vic Damone, Retired fellow, Nagra3.com, dano, IwuzB4Him and Dish-outlaws. The evidence is set out in detail in one of the affidavits filed in the case.
The companies also obtained orders lifting the stay of proceedings against Rodgers triggered by his bankruptcy, thereby sending a signal to Rodgers and the piracy community that bankruptcy does not prevent the prosecution of piracy-related claims.
I hope you are ok Tomico!!!!!
Robert Ward aka DSSguy aka Varcity comments // 2010-02-12
MY apology to Dish, and last post..
For the most part I remained silent while the cases against me were pending. DISH got their judgment.
On Friday the criminal court decided I should spend 30 days in jail followed by months of house arrest. At this point there is no reason not to tell my story. I’m not here to whine about how satellite piracy and DISH ruined my life. It is not my intent to scare people, or preach that piracy is wrong. We all read TheBroken’s post and have seen plenty of that recently. I’m here to take responsibility for what I did and set the record straight.
DISH approached me before I was ever sued. I reported to my probation officer in March 2008 and DISH and two of its lawyers were sitting there in a room waiting for me. DISH knew who I was and wanted my cooperation. Wanted me to become one of their rats. I agreed but DISH must have found out from one of those rats that it was a lie. DISH did not give me a second chance. At the end of the month a process server rolled up with DISH’s lawsuit in hand.
Everyone told me to stay quiet and that it was going to work out. Yeah right. DISH knew WAY too much. DISH had all my posts, chat logs, recordings of my phone calls, even my trash. It became painfully clear that those who I thought were my friends were actually against me, or at least out to save their own ass. DISH didn’t come down and raid my house because it didn’t need to. DISH had been watching all along. Linking me to “thedssguy” “veracity” “tdg” and the posting of the Viewsat bins was easy. For those who think I went too far by posting the files or had a big mouth and that is what got me in trouble, think again. End user IKS suits are already underway. DISH can get to any one of you at any time. Do not believe for a minute that people on these forums will band together and protect each other, protect you, when DISH comes asking questions because they won’t.
Most of you will say I can only blame myself, and you would be right. It is because of my choices that I am on the hook to DISH for 51 million bucks. It was also my decision to join Jung and TheBroken in attempting to crack N3 which resulted in my felony conviction and sentence. The judgment and criminal conviction will keep me and my family from living a normal life. Money I got from Jung to post the bins and boost Viewsat sales didn’t mean a thing. DISH has taken it all and will collect every dollar I ever make, that is assuming a released felon can even find work. But DISH and NagraStar were the real victims and to them I apologize because what I did was wrong. DISH allowed me to make this last post so I am certain they are reading it right now.
I know it was said before, but this time I am truly retired.
Veracity, aka TheDssGuy;
Robert Ward
Nfusion dealer busted on Dec 15 2009 // 2010-02-09
I guess where there is smoke there is always a fire, Nfusion went down in mid December and never came back again, rest of the receivers (Sonicview, Conaxsat, Kbox, Sonysat, topsat etc...) were back within couple of weeks.
Nfusion guys are/were claiming that they are ironing out the security issues and will be back soon, there were other court docs that pointed toward Dobos who was using Nfusion like IKS system.
Here is a court documents about Raven (one of the big Nfusion dealer) these docs were served on Dec 15 2009 "Nfusion Dealer-Court-Docs"
Christopher Tarnovsky aka Big Gun talking about ha // 2010-02-04
WASHINGTON, D.C. -- Black Hat DC Conference 2010 -- The ultra-secure technology used to protect some of the world's most commonly used microchips might not be so secure, a researcher said here today.
Christopher Tarnovsky, a researcher at Flylogic Engineering who has made a business of hacking "unhackable" chip technology and other hardware, was at it again today with the revelation of vulnerabilities in the Infineon SLE 66 CL PE chip, which is widely used in computers, gaming systems, identity cards, and other electronics.
Tarnovsky offered a step-by-step explanation of his successful efforts to crack the chip's defenses using electron microscopy. During the course of about nine months, Tarnovsky said he was able to bypass the chip's myriad defenses and tap into its stored information without detection or chip failure.
"I'm not saying it was easy, but this technology is not as secure as some vendors would like you to think," Tarnovsky said.
Using a painstaking process of analyzing the chip, Tarnovsky was able to identify the core and create a "bridge map" that enabled the bypass of its complex web of defenses, which is set up to disable the chip if tampering occurs. After creating the map, he used ultra-small needles to tap into the data bus -- without disturbing the protective mesh -- and essentially "read" all of the chip's stored data, including encryption keys and unique manufacturing information.
Using this data, criminals could potentially re-create the chip in order to develop counterfeit systems or subvert widely used systems, Tarnovsky said. Such exploits could allow criminals to break through the defenses of pay TV services, medical ID systems, or even Microsoft's much-vaunted Xbox license chip, he said.
Tarnovsky said he has informed Infineon of the flaws he has discovered, but so far the company has not responded. "Their initial reaction was to tell me that what I'd done was impossible," he said. "Then when I sent them some video and the code that I just showed [to the Black Hat audience], they went quiet. I have not heard back from anybody."
In addition to Infineon, Tarnovsky said he informed officials at the Trusted Platform Module (TPM) standards organization, which sets security guidelines for the widely used PC chip standard. But he has not heard back from them, either.
Tarnovsksy said he believes similar exploits would be possible with other chips as well as Infineon's, though he has not attempted them yet. The exploits would not be easy to reproduce -- Tarnovsky said he went through many chips and many needles, and electron microscope time costs $350 per hour. "But the reason it took so long was not so much what the vendors have done, but me learning how to do it," he said. "Once you know what to do, it's not incredibly hard."
Story published at http://www.darkreading.com/vulnerability_management/security/encryption/showArticle.jhtml?articleID=222600843
Viewsat guys sentenced // 2010-01-30
Jung Kwak was sentenced to 18 months in prison for his role in satellite piracy.
Robert Ward and Phillip Allison were both sentenced to 30 days in jail, 6 months house arrest, and 1-3 years of probation.
That is the result of backstabbing, snitching and double crossing by the fellow hackers.
Nfusion Lawsuit news might not be accurate // 2010-01-29
I posted the news about Nfusion lawsuit yesterday, looking at the court docs carefully it might not be about Nfusion..... it reads
"AGREED FINAL JUDGMENT AND PERMANENT INJUNCTION
Document "Filed & Entered" into the Court Docket on January 28, 2010.
Refer to the attachment.
D*sh Network v. Dobos Case 'Highlights':
Case 0:09-cv-03448-JNE-SRN Document 8 Filed 01/28/10 Page 3 of 6
7. Defendant violated federal laws by offering to the public, providing, or otherwise engaging in the traffic of devices, components, and/or technologies that are primarily designed to circumvent and/or defeat Plaintiffs’ Security System and ultimately facilitate the unauthorized reception of Plaintiffs’ encrypted satellite signals and copyrighted D*SH Network Programming.
Such devices, components and/or technologies include: firmware and software designed or used for piracy in connection with FTA receivers, Internet Key Sharing, Control Word Sharing, distribution of data or code for use in piracy, and nFusion-branded FTA receivers.
Defendant acknowledges and admits that each of the foregoing was primarily designed, marketed and used to facilitate piracy of satellite television programming."
the paragraph below says "Nfusion branded" NOT Nfusion itself.
"Such devices, components and/or technologies include: firmware and software designed or used for piracy in connection with FTA receivers, Internet Key Sharing, Control Word Sharing, distribution of data or code for use in piracy, and nFusion-branded FTA receivers."
I will leave the yesterday news on with this news following it up, we will find out sooner or later what the actual story is.
Nfusion gets hit with $20 Million fine // 2010-01-27
This is the reason why Nfusion did not come back with a fix, they are hit with $20 Million fine.
Here is the court document for the case against Nfusion "Nfusion court docs"
I hope I am wrong with this news but all the evidences point to the problem Nfusion is having since December 2009.
Viewsat dealer ordered to hand over customers list // 2010-01-26
It looks like Dishnetwork is going hard after Viewtech, they asked for the court order to the viewtech associate for their customer records and were granted it.
Here is the info.
"UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF FLORIDA
ECHOSTAR SATELLITE L.L.C.,
ECHOSTAR TECHNOLOGIES Case No. 07-CV-01273 W
___________________
CORPORATION, and NAGRASTAR L.L.C.,
Plaintiffs, (WVG)
v.
VIEWTECH, INC., JUNG KWAK,
and DOES 1-10,
Defendants.
_________________________________/
[PROPOSED] ORDER GRANTING DISH NETWORK’S
MOTION TO COMPEL ROGER TRUSS’ PRODUCTION
FOR GOOD CAUSE SHOWN, it is hereby ORDERED that Plaintiffs DISH Network
L.L.C., EchoStar Technologies L.L.C., and NagraStar LLC’s Motion to Compel Roger Truss’
Production is hereby GRANTED.
Within 30 days of this Order, Roger Truss is ORDERED to produce documents
sufficient to identify each person that purchased or otherwise acquired a Viewsat receiver from
Truss during the period of January 1, 2004 to present date, including, but not limited to,
documents that identify each person’s name, address, phone number and email address, as well
as the purchase date, purchase price, purchase quantity, and model number for each Viewsat
receiver.
IT IS SO ORDERED."
I am sure they will go after the other Viewtech dealers also.
Here comes Thursday the ECM day // 2010-01-21
Thursday seem to be the day when all FTA receivers get hit, reports are coming in that majority of the receivers are down.
I will update the status later on.
Most of the ECMed receivers came back by the late evening.
Iks receivers as of Wednesday // 2010-01-20
Kbox,IKS slinger, Ilinks, Conaxsat, Sonysat, Coolsat and SonicView are up as of Wednesday January 20th.
The only non working receiver is Nfusion which is down for over a month now.
It seems to be a routine that receivers go down every week around Thursday and most of the FTA receivers get fixes next day or so.
IKS FTA status // 2010-01-05
Dishnetwork and Bell did their very first attack on all working IKS FTA receivers on Dec. 3 2009 which caused all of them to go down, few came back within a week and couple of them (Nfusion and Kbox) are still down.
Here is the list of working and not working FTA receivers list.
Conaxsat, Sonysat, Coolsat and SonicView are up.
Nfusion, Kbox, IKS slinger and Ilinks are down.
Warning by thebroken // 2009-12-29
"Originally Posted by thebroken
I can assure you, I have not been asked to write this plea to you, it was not written for me, and if you read any of my prior posts, I have a very good grasp on the english language. I have no other reason to write the post, but as a warning, because a shi#storm is coming, and I dont want to see any more people get sucked into the vacuum, that is Dish Network's legal team, and their pull on the law enforcement officials at their disposal...
All Hell has broken loose, people are going to jail, and getting drug through the court system like sheep to the slaughter, and you guys sit around like nothing is wrong, waiting for your FIX. It amazes me that so many people can be so damn blind, as to the ramifications of the current string of legal actions, and to put it in the simplest terms possible, we aint in Kansas no more, Dorothy.
If they feel that going after end users will put an end to the battle against free-tv'ers, that will be their next move. Television as a whole is in its death throws, and Dish and pals intend to get every last dime possible while the getting is good, and if that means dragging granny and cousin Jeb into court over an IKS dongle... thats what they will do.
They have already shown that they intend to go after the end users by their (failed) demands to Coolsat, and others, now, we have IKS servers going down, with IP logs, and soon, people are going to start getting letters in the mail demanding an explanation as to why there was 1 request on average, every 15 seconds from that IP address that the ISP leased to you for the 3600 minutes (or more in some cased) on X date, at X time, to a known piracy device that was confiscated (logs and all) in some podunk town in crimeville USA.
It was a warning.... Intended to enlighten, not to scare... Take it or leave it, I dont care... I get the same sentence no matter what."
I am not 100 percent sure what to make out of this? Is he helping the end users or is he helping himself?
IKS lawsuit starts // 2009-12-14
This explains why Nfusion and few others are not saying anything.
"UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE NORTHERN DISTRICT OF ILLINOIS
PLAINTIFFS’ ORIGINAL COMPLAINT
Plaintiffs DISH Network L.L.C., EchoStar Technologies L.L.C., and NagraStar LLC, by and through their undersigned counsel, allege as follows:
INTRODUCTION
1. Plaintiffs bring this action against Defendants Nathan Green and Does 1-10 (“Defendants”) for unlawfully using DISH Network satellite receivers and access cards to obtain decryption keys or control words for unscrambling encrypted DISH Network satellite television programming, and for distributing those keys or control words over the internet in order to allow others to view DISH Network satellite television programming without authorization from or payment to Plaintiffs.
2. Defendants’ actions violate the Communications Act, 47 U.S.C. § 605, the Digital Millennium Copyright Act, 17 U.S.C. § 1201, the Electronic Communications Privacy Act, 18 U.S.C. §§ 2510-21, and state law.
3. Plaintiffs bring this action to restrain these illegal activities and for other relief described in this Complaint."
Detail here
"1 Plaintiffs’ allegations related to Defendants’ wrongful conduct are based upon the investigation Plaintiffs have completed to date, upon information and belief, and with the reasonable belief that further investigation and discovery in this action will lead to additional factual support.
19. Beginning at a time unknown and continuing to the present, Defendants have engaged in illegal and improper acts for the purposes of obtaining DISH Network satellite television programming and the encrypted control words that protect access to the copyrighted satellite television programming and distributing those control words over the internet.
20. Upon information and belief, Defendants or others working in conjunction with Defendants operate an IKS server.
21. This IKS server has multiple DISH Network satellite receivers and/or access cards attached to it that are used to decrypt DISH Network satellite television programming and obtain the control words for decrypting that programming. The server gathers these now-unencrypted control words and sends them over the internet to end-users who use the control words to decrypt DISH Network satellite television programming without paying a subscription fee.
22. There are numerous black and gray market satellite receivers imported from Korea that are designed and programmed to use these stolen and decrypted control words to intercept and decrypt DISH Network satellite television programming by interacting with an IKS server.
23. On or about April 2, 2009, Defendant Nathan Green created a residential account for DISH Network satellite television service, using a purported residential service address at 8208 S Charles St., Savanna, Illinois 61074. Defendant Nathan Green activated four DISH Network satellite receivers and access cards associated with this account. Plaintiffs’ investigation confirmed that at least three of the satellite receivers and access cards activated by Defendant Nathan Green are being used to supply Plaintiffs’ control words to others in violation of federal and state law and the customer agreement.
24. Upon information and belief, Defendant Nathan Green created this residential account for the purpose of obtaining DISH Network television programming and control words and distributing those control words over an IKS server operated by Defendants and/or those acting in conjunction with Defendants.
25. At the time Defendant Nathan Green created this residential account, Defendant misrepresented to DISH Network that the intended purpose and use of DISH Network programming was private viewing. That is, Defendant Nathan Green contracted for residential television service when in truth and fact Defendant knew and intended to use DISH Network programming and access cards to supply the control words for television content to others over the internet and without Plaintiffs’ authorization or consent and in violation of federal and state law, including DISH Network’s rights under the customer agreement.
26. At the time Defendant Nathan Green created the residential account, Defendant misrepresented to DISH Network the intended location where DISH Network programming would be viewed. That is, Defendant Nathan Green supplied a purported residential service address when in truth and fact Defendant knew and intended that DISH Network programming would be viewed at multiple other locations that obtained the control words from the IKS server.
27. Defendants’ wrongful conduct has caused and continues to cause significant and irreparable harm to Plaintiffs by depriving Plaintiffs of subscriber and pay-per-view revenues and other valuable consideration, compromising Plaintiffs’ security and accounting systems, and interfering with Plaintiffs’ prospective business relations.
28. Plaintiffs repeat and reallege the allegations in all preceding paragraphs as if fully set forth herein.
29. By distributing, retransmitting and re-broadcasting Plaintiffs’ control words over the internet to others for their use in receiving and decrypting Plaintiffs’ encrypted satellite signals, Defendants have received and assisted others in receiving Plaintiffs’ encrypted satellite transmissions of television programming and control words without authorization by Plaintiffs, in violation of 47 U.S.C. § 605(a).
30. Defendants’ violations have injured Plaintiffs, including, by way of example, depriving Plaintiffs of subscription revenues and other valuable consideration, compromising Plaintiffs’ security and accounting systems, and interfering with Plaintiffs’ prospective business relations.
31. Defendants have violated 47 U.S.C. § 605(a) willfully and for purposes of direct or indirect commercial advantage or private financial gain.
32. Defendants knew or should have known that receiving or assisting other persons in receiving Plaintiffs’ encrypted satellite transmissions of television programming and control words without authorization by or proper payment to Plaintiffs was and is illegal and prohibited. Such violations have caused and will continue to cause Plaintiffs irreparable harm, and Plaintiffs have no adequate remedy at law to redress any such continued violations. Unless restrained by this Court, Defendants will continue to violate"
It goes on and on for 16 pages.
More dish dockets can be seen here http://tinyurl.com/yetcj9u
Thank you my friend for sending it to me.... you know who you are;)
IKS FTAs receivers under attack again // 2009-12-10
On December 3rd five of the major players in IKS systems went down, most of them were back within 3-4 days except Nfusion (they claim that they want to fix the root of the problem instead of a quick fix).
There was an other hit today, 4 of the working one went down again this morning..... (cat and the mouse game starts again)
Explanation on the ECM (copied it from an other site)
What happened is DN slipped a hidden code into their encryption data....(that data is what makes the picture come alive in both subscribed and illegal fta boxes).....and that hidden code, which is not needed to get a picture, got sent into to all the boxes INCLUDING every subscribed box and most importantly the IKS one that Dn uses to spy on us with.
Then.....using THAT box (enabled with the same illegal third party software as some FTA'ers may do)........they were able to identify the NFUSION server, b/c the hidden code got sent back to them using IKS over the internet as OUR IKS boxes requested encryption data when users change channels.
There is an electronic identification number that's imbedded in the subscribed Nag3 card that Nfusion uses to extract the encryption data from their subscribed box that gets used as a host........this id number was included in the data that gets sent back to the illegal IKS box that DN has. (same Nfusion box end users use)
Using that ID number, (cam id I think), they were able to identify exactly who from the Nfusion team owns the subscribed host box that sends encryption data (info packets) to us by IKS using the internet so our receivers can work. Perhaps they know the location of it, perhaps they don't.
They then shut down Nfusions LEGAL nag3 host cards (looped them) thereby disabling their host boxes.
5 major IKS systems down // 2009-12-03
Reports are coming in that Nfusion, SonicView, CNX, NewSat and IKslinger went down roughly around same time.
Makes you wonder what is going on behind the scene? are these boxes hosted by the same company? they all got raided same time?
Let us wait and see what happens.
Back stabbings and dealings behind the scene // 2009-11-17
I received information from few different credible sources so this is not any assumption or finger pointing.
Here is the recording of the conversation that was provided at the Viewsat court case.
This is a single meeting recording.
http://www.sendspace.com/file/ti5ytz
Here is a link to all 25 tapes as one MP3 file, there is like 5 seconds of silence between each tape.
http://www.sendspace.com/file/r8ual5
Now to give you guys a background of who these guys are (honestly I did not have any clue who they were till the original source told me and then it was confirmed by 2 other sources).
Trinity is the one that broke the map57 in 2006 and sold it to jung kwak(viewsat) for 250k (she invented the syndrome board, and was busted with moddish and dishmonkey in 2006).
Trinity says she received over 2 million dollars from jung kwak over the past couple of years, then when he stopped paying her 40k per month salary in may 2009 she called jj gee (dishnet investigator) the next day and set up a meeting to tell all about jung (viewsat guys).
JJ goes to meet her with what he claims is his partner.. 30 mins in his partner says "im not really a dish investigator, im special agent
xxxx something with the FBI"
You can imagine trinity (stefani xxxxx) shixxing herself right there and then.
Trintiy is Canadian and was 2 weeks away from being arrested with kwak, Ward (thedssguy) and allison according to the fbi agent.
The thing is because trinty is canadian she would have gone to jail without bail and made to server her full sentence.
Fred Raud has been around for a long time he was close to Ron xxxx and Chris xxxxxx as well as a regular on card coders.
He knows his stuff with smart card programming
he was also an admin on satscams for a short time.
The DSS Guy court docs // 2009-10-31
UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
FOR THE MIDDLE DISTRICT OF FLORIDA
TAMPA DIVISION
DISH NETWORK LLC, a Colorado Limited
Liability Company, ECHOSTAR
TECHNOLOGIES LLC, a Texas Limited
Liability Company, and NAGRASTAR LLC, a
Colorado Limited Liability Company,
Plaintiffs,
vs.
ROBERT WARD,
Defendant
Case No.: No. 8:08-cv-00590-JSM-TBM
WARD’S MOTION TO STAY CIVIL
PROCEEDINGS REQUEST FOR JURY TRIAL
Defendant ROBERT WARD (“WARD”), through the undersigned, submits this Motion to Stay Civil Proceedings (“Motion”) pending the outcome of the parallel criminal proceeding taking place in the United States District Court, Southern District of California in which WARD was indicted for violations of Title 17 of the United States Code involving the theft of the satellite television signals of Plaintiffs, DISH NETWORK, LLC, ECHOSTAR TECHNOLOGIES, LLC and NAGRASTAR LLC (collectively “DISH”).
The same parties and facts underlying this civil proceeding. Counsel contacted DISH counsel under Local Rule 3.01(g) to resolve this motion and DISH declined.
RELEVANT PROCEDURAL HISTORY AND FACTS
The Pleadings and the Indictment On March 28, 2008, the DISH Plaintiffs filed a Complaint against WARD alleging that he was engaged in the piracy of DISH satellite television signals. Complaint (Doc. 1).
The Complaint was amended on May 27, 2008 with little change to the essential pleadings and claims. Amended Complaint (Doc. 19).
The Amended Complaint names the DISH Plaintiffs as the victims of Defendant WARD’S alleged unlawful actions. Amended Complaint, ¶¶ 8-11 (Doc. 19).
The Amended Complaint alleges that WARD violated Titles 17, 28 and 47 of the U.S. Code, by his personal unlawful theft of DISH’S satellite television signals as well as his assistance of others in such pursuits, including a company in southern California called Viewtech. Amended Complaint, 12, 34-60 (Doc. 19).
On July 9, 2009, WARD and two others were indicted in the parallel criminal proceeding
entitled United States of America v. Jung Kwak, Phillip Allison and Robert Ward, Case No.: 09-
CR-2646-JLS in the United States District Court for the Southern District of California. (“U.S. v.
Ward”). (See Indictment, July 9, 2009, (Doc.1 ) attached as Exhibit 1). A copy of the Indictment
was transferred to the Middle District under the case number 8:09-MJ-1327MAP. (See Clerk’s
Minutes, Doc. 4 of U.S. v. Ward attached as Exhibit 2). Ward was arrested and arraigned on July 13, 2009 based upon the allegations in the indictment. (See Exhibit 2).
The Indictment names DISH as the victim of WARD’S alleged illegal actions. (Exhibit 1,3-6). The Indictment alleges that WARD violated Title 17 of the U.S. Code by engaging in acts that would further the theft of DISH’S satellite television programming. (Exhibit 1,4-7).
The Indictment names Viewtech as the southern California company with which WARD was acting in furtherance of these illegal acts.
Discovery after the Arraignment
WARD was arraigned on July 13, 2009 and on July 14, 2009, WARD responded to Dish Network’s Third Set of Interrogatories. (WARD’S Response to Third Set of Interrogatories, July 14, 2009, attached as Exhibit 3). WARD was forced to invoke the Fifth Amendment in response to the interrogatory in order not to jeopardize his criminal defense with an answer that would serve as evidence against him or tend to incriminate him in U.S. v. Ward. (See Exhibit 3).
On August 6, 2009, WARD was deposed for more than 6 hours. WARD invoked his Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination at least 400 times according to Plaintiffs (Motion (Doc. 59), p. 6) in order not to jeopardize his criminal defense with answers that would serve as evidence against him or tend to incriminate him in U.S. v. Ward. WARD was prevented from giving testimony in his own defense because of the choice between possible incrimination and defense of this civil proceeding. His defense in this civil proceeding was compromised.
DISH’S Motion for Summary Judgment
On September 24, 2009, DISH filed its Motion for Summary Judgment (“Motion”) (Doc.59).
In the opening statement in DISH’S Motion, Plaintiffs allege generally that WARD committed acts in violation of Titles 17 and 47 of the U.S. Code by engaging in illegal acts designed to support theft of its satellite television signals. (Motion (Doc. 59), pp. 1-2). Plaintiffs
note that they have a cornucopia of evidence against WARD involving internet related material
linked to WARD. (Motion (Doc. 59), pp. 1-2).
This evidence supposedly includes the use of
Internet monikers and e-mail addresses. (Id.). Plaintiffs state that: “Any doubt that Ward is using “Thedssguy” and “Veracity” is removed by
the adverse inferences arising from his refusal to answer questions at deposition about the monikers on the basis that a truthful response would incriminate him.” (Motion (Doc. 59), p. 2).
Plaintiffs then stated the Indictment involves allegations not at issue in this case. (Motion (Doc.59), p. 2).
Nothing is further from the truth. DISH is well aware, having cooperated in the investigation leading up to the Indictment, that the same parties, evidence and illegal acts are at issue in both cases and are inextricably interwoven such that WARD could not possibly defend this civil case without jeopardizing his rights and defense in the criminal case. In fact, this office is aware that many of the documents and evidence supporting the Indictment has been produced by Plaintiffs in this case.
In support of Summary Judgment, Plaintiffs also point to WARD’S alleged distribution of piracy technology and software as well as internet postings about DISH and its signals and the evidence they possess thereon. Once again, Plaintiffs point to the compelling nature of this
evidence because: “Ward, here again, refused to answer any questions at deposition regarding
the internet posts or the software files on the basis that doing so would incriminate him.” (Motion (Doc. 59), p. 3).
If the point wasn’t clear, Plaintiffs devout pages 3 through the top of page 6 of the Motion explaining to the Court just how devastating WARD’S invocation of his Fifth Amendment privilege is to his successful defense of the Motion and why “DISH Network’s following statement of undisputed facts must go largely uncontested.” (Motion (Doc. 59), pp.3-6). Plaintiffs make it clear that they believe that WARD’S invocation of his Fifth Amendment privilege compels an adverse judgment against him. Throughout the rest of DISH’S Motion,
Plaintiffs continue to refer to WARD’S invocation of his Fifth Amendment privilege in support of compelling an adverse judgment against WARD.
For the purposes of this motion only, WARD agrees with DISH that he will surely suffer an automatic loss with an adverse judgment against him as a result of the position he finds himself in because of the parallel criminal proceeding in U.S. v. Ward and his invocations of his Fifth Amendment rights throughout discovery following his criminal arraignment on July 13,2009.
THE LAW ON STAYS
The law on stays established by the Eleventh Circuit in U.S. v. Lot 5, et. al., 23 F.3d 359,
363-365 (11th Cir. 1994) is more fully set forth in the accompanying Memorandum of Law.
Applying the law to the facts, a stay is warranted until the conclusion of U.S. v. Ward.
Special Circumstances and the Interests of Justice.
There are special circumstances justifying a stay. WARD is required to defend this civil case in Florida while trying to defend the criminal case in the Southern District of California.
The expense of defending both as well as the time consuming nature of having to appear in both
jurisdictions presents a burdensome challenge to WARD.
He already has had to appear in the Southern District of California twice since his arraignment while getting back to the Middle
District to appear at his deposition on August 6, 2009.
It also appears that DISH was and is using the civil case to feed some information to the
prosecution in the criminal case thereby further jeopardizing WARD’S ability to defend himself
in the U.S. v. Ward. On July 13, 2009 during WARD’S arraignment in the identity hearing, FBI
Special Agent Brian Wilson testified that he received information from DISH that formed the
basis of some or all of the government’s criminal investigation and used that same information and his own investigation to establish the identity of WARD. (See Exhibit 2).
Compare American Gen. Life Insur. Co. v. Jones, 2008 WL 4949847 (S.D. Ala. 2008) at * 4 (no argument concerning feeding the criminal proceeding).
A stay would promote judicial economy. Since the arraignment, which occurred during discovery and before any depositions, WARD was prevented from properly responding to discovery other than to invoke his Fifth Amendment right not to incriminate himself.
Discovery has been effectively thwarted both by DISH and WARD. Moreover, a criminal conclusion in the U.S. v. Ward case, may be conclusive as to some or all of the civil claims in this case. Both cases involve violations of Title 17 and DISH satellite signals; both involve DISH as the victim and WARD and Viewtech as the main protagonists of the illegal acts; both cases involve many of the same witnesses identified by DISH in support of their case.
Further, a stay would not prejudice DISH or Ward. DISH has already sued Viewtech and WARD and others that appear in both cases. The FBI shut down Viewtech and WARD with the cooperation of DISH. DISH has done significant investigation and compiled thousands of documents as referenced in their extensive Motion for Summary Judgment and attached declarations.
DISH has eliminated the piracy threat from the parties involved. DISH will suffer no prejudice during the stay. The stay would benefit WARD by allowing a concentrated defense and conclusion of the criminal matter without further jeopardizing his defense of this case.
The Fifth Amendment Concerns and Automatic Adverse Judgment Unlike Jones in American General and the movant in Lot 5 and other cases, WARD has
actually had to invoke his Fifth Amendment rights in discovery and hundreds of times during his
deposition. DISH has gone to great lengths in its Motion for Summary Judgment to explain why
these invocations should result in an automatic summary judgment when taken with the other evidence they’ve compiled. DISH has explained why the Plaintiffs are entitled to adverse
inferences resulting in an automatic adverse judgment against WARD. Instead of calling into
question the inferences and the material factual issues in this case, WARD has had to use the
Fifth Amendment to protect his rights in the U.S. v. Ward case. With a pending criminal matter,
WARD cannot effectively defend himself either in the Motion response or any upcoming trial.
In the absence of the criminal proceeding WARD was prepared to defend himself in ongoing
discovery and most importantly his deposition. WARD is his only and best witness which he
cannot now use to defend himself as proven by his deposition answers as noted many times by
DISH.
CONCLUSION AND PRAYER FOR RELIEF
This Court should issue a stay of these proceedings pending the outcome of U.S. v. Ward.
Dated: October 26, 2009.
/s/ Albert A. Zakarian
Albert A. Zakarian, Esquire
16765 FishHawk Blvd.
# 360
Lithia, FL 33547
813-571-2546
(Fax) 866-259-1933
zakarian@tampabay.rr.com
Attorney for Ward
CERTIFICATE OF SERVICE
I HEREBY CERTIFY that on October 26, 2009, I electronically filed the foregoing with the Clerk of the Court using the CM/ECF system which will send a notice of electronic filing to the following: Timothy M. Frank, Esquire. I further certify that I sent by mail the foregoing document and the notice of electronic filing to the following non-CM/ECF participant:
Albert A. Zakarian_____
Albert A. Zakarian, Esquire
Freetech says sorry and... // 2009-10-20
DISH Gets Its Apology
Back in late August we reported a significant victory for the DISH Network and the DBS platform’s security provider, NagraStar, as the duo won a mega ($106 million total) judgment against “free-to-air” provider Freetech. Freetech, as you might recall, was snatching the DISH signal and redistributing it – at significant profit – via its receivers.
The U.S. District Court of Northern California didn’t think too much of that and slapped a $97 million judgment against Freetech, $3 million against each of its three top officers plus it barred the company from reopening operations anywhere in the world. But money doesn’t always drive the point home. DISH wanted an apology as well.
Says DISH lawyer in the case, Chad Hagan of the Houston law firm Hagan Noll & Boyle, LLC, DISH hopes that any other would-be pirates “will see this and it will be a reminder that DISH is out there and will come after people” who try to steal its signal.
So here is the official Freetech apology to DISH:
“Freetech, Inc., the South San Francisco based importer and distributor of the Coolsat line of Free-to-Air Satellite receivers announces that it will dissolve and cease operations as part of its agreement to resolve a lawsuit filed by DISH Network, EchoStar Technologies and NagraStar (collectively “DISH Network”).DISH Network filed suit against Freetech in December of 2007 asserting that Coolsat receivers were primarily designed and used for the piracy of DISH Network’s satellite television programming. Freetech acknowledges that Coolsat receivers were used for this purpose and apologizes for any harm caused to DISH Network. As part of the resolution of the lawsuit, the Court entered a consent judgment finding in favor of DISH Network, EchoStar and NagraStar in the aggregate amount of $106,000,000.00 and entering a permanent injunction against Freetech and its officers and certain employees.
Freetech has also agreed to cooperate with DISH Network in its current and future anti-piracy actions.”
Sonicview IKS receivers down // 2009-10-15
Reports are coming in that all of the SV receiver are down for last few days.
Opponents (competition) of SonicView are claiming this is due to the lawsuit against SonicView, they are forced to take down their server (I think it is very unlikely).
SonicView guys are claiming that they hired a new team to work with IKS and services would be restored by Oct. 22 (they were struggling with IKS in past) (I think this could be true because their server is still online but not transmitting the right data).
Next few days will tell the truth.
No confirmation on DirecTv security compromise // 2009-09-27
I was told by a very reliable source about a month ago that DirecTv security has been compromised and I suppose to see the proof soon.
It has been about a month and NOTHING came out yet, the person is not even returning my emails for over 2 weeks now, either he is away, got scared or full of sh*t.
Directv hack coming soon? // 2009-08-28
There are very strong "rumors" on the underground forums that Directv has been compromised and it is coming out soon.... I dont know personally if that is true or not, only time will tell.
106 Million dollars judgment against Freetech // 2009-08-20
Freetech (Coolsat parent company and owners of the company) were ordered to pay 106 Million dollars to Echostar (Dishnetwork).
Judge James Ware gave his ruling in San Jose California on Aug 19 2009.
Cheap HD in Canada? // 2009-08-19
Upstart targets big boys in cheap satellite TV space
The Canadian broadcast industry is witnessing its own version of the space race, with three rival companies vying to launch a new kind of scaled-down satellite TV service aimed at penny-pinching consumers.
In a surprise move, the newest player, dubbed FreeHD Canada Inc., entered the fray yesterday to take on the country's largest satellite TV players.
Led by long-time industry executive David Lewis, Toronto-based FreeHD wants to offer local television channels at no cost to viewers across the country who don't want to subscribe to premium cable or satellite TV packages.
The proposal, which will be discussed by the federal broadcast regulator at hearings in November, comes on the heels of similar pitches put forward by BCE Inc.'s bell TV and StarChoice, the satellite provider owned by Shaw Communications Inc.
Though each proposal calls itself a free TV service, the catch for consumers is that they will have to spend $300 to $400 to buy the necessary hardware to receive a handful of local TV channels at no cost.
The companies are each trying to seize upon a coming 2011 transition in the broadcasting industry that will make analog signals used for decades obsolete.
By August of that year, Canada's television networks must broadcast their signals digitally over the air to free up analog spectrum for other uses, a move already undertaken in the United States.
However, CTV and Global Television have argued it doesn't make sense to spend millions to upgrade transmitters in small markets, as less than 10 per cent of Canadian homes use set-top antennas.
CTV and Global have upgraded transmitters in large markets, but want permission to forgo some smaller centres.
Sensing an opportunity to pick up satellite TV customers, bell TV and StarChoice both sought to launch basic satellite services that would offer local channels free in each market. Mr. Lewis figures he has now raised the ante by offering a service exclusively with high-definition channels. However, each proposal needs CRTC approval.
"What I basically saw is the large disruption that is coming in the Canadian market from the digital transition," Mr. Lewis said yesterday in an interview.
Having worked in the satellite TV industry for 31 years, including helping launch StarChoice and most recently serving as chief executive officer at Ottawa-based CL Satellite, which leases space on satellites to broadcasters, Mr. Lewis figures he can be up and running in 2011 if he can secure a licence by early next year.
For each player, the business model is to offer hardware as cheaply as possible to consumers who have been getting their TV through rabbit-ear antennas on their television set, then give them local channels at no cost. The carrot for the companies is the ability to sign up a customer, then potentially sell them premium packages on top of that, once they have purchased the d*sh.
In FreeHD's case, Mr. Lewis said he plans to offer 150 specialty channels at roughly $30 or $40 less than a comparable cable or satellite bill that offers high-definition packages. Financing will come from Canadian partners who have not been announced.
Mirko Bibic, bell Canada's chief of regulatory affairs, said the new proposal differs only slightly from bell's concept, which it took to the CRTC in the spring. "The idea is not new, it's very similar to what we have indicated we would be prepared to do under the right conditions," Mr. Bibic said.
He added that bell's application could be up and running faster than a company starting from scratch, since it doesn't have to install infrastructure or secure space on satellites. "We've got an ability to source the necessary equipment fast," Mr. Bibic said. "Basically, we don't need much lead time. Ours isn't speculative."
In taking on bell and StarChoice, Mr. Lewis is going up against some well-established players. b*ll TV has about 1.8 million subscribers and StarChoice has about 900,000, according to recent federal data.
Analysts and industry watchers are mixed on whether the satellite proposals will fly with the regulator.
Peter Lyman, a senior partner with Nordicity Group Ltd., a consulting firm that studies the industry, said the cost to sign up for free satellite television is more expensive than buying a new digital antenna. In the U.S., where the transition from analog transmission to digital transmission took place this year, a new digital-ready antenna to receive free, over-the-air TV costs about $40 to $50.
"It is interesting," Mr. Lyman said of the FreeHD proposal. "Whether it'll work or not, it's a good entrepreneurial shot by the owners."
However, one Bay Street analyst whose firm prevents him from speaking publicly said launching a new satellite business is a hard strategy to pull off because the infrastructure costs are high and the channels that can be offered are generally the same as competing services, making them difficult to differentiate.
ROM10X received court order // 2009-07-27
The Supreme Court of British Columbia has shut down a well known Canadian web site that has long been considered a haven for satellite signal pirates. The move came in response to a joint case brought by DISH Network, NagraStar and Bell ExpressVu Limited Partnership.
The permanent injunction includes two sites owned and operated by Andrew Bate, including piracy forum ROM10X.com and pirated software archive THEFILESHOP.com.
DISH and its partners in the suit first obtained civil search orders against Bate in January of 2008, calling on him to shut the sites down. The recent injunction finally enforces that order and bars Bate from having any further involvement with satellite piracy activities.
Sonicview named in the lawsuit // 2009-07-23
Dishnetwork filed a lawsuit against Sonicview on July 17 2009.
Dishnetwork, Echostar and Nagrastar are the plaintiff vs Sonicview, Sonicviewra, Sonicviewsa, Roberto Sanz, dontpay4tv, Duane Bernard, Courtney Bernard and Does 1-50 are Defendant.
Viewsat CEO out on bail // 2009-07-15
The owner of Viewsat, Mr. Jung Kwak has made bail! His motion for bail was granted just 2 hours ago and the hefty sum of half a million dollars was set
by Magistrate Judge William McCurine Jr.
He is now free to fight this case from the streets. While this is good news for Mr Kwak, unfortunately, this is only the beginning of what is sure to be a long & fierce battle.
Viewsat company CEO, coder and DSSguy indicted // 2009-07-13
SAN DIEGO - A North County resident and two Florida men were indicted for allegedly trying to hack new encryption codes used by the DISH Network satellite television service, it was announced Monday.
Jung Kwak of Oceanside, along with Phillip Allison, 35, and Robert Ward, 54 -- both of Seminole, Fla. -- are charged with conspiracy to violate the Digital Millenium Copyright Act, according to Assistant U.S. Attorney Mitch Demblin.
The 33-year-old Kwak is the owner of Viewtech Inc. of Oceanside, which imports free-to-air satellite receiver boxes and sells them to the public through retailers.
Though free satellite programming is limited, the boxes marketed under the "Viewsat" name are popular because owners can download code to mimic DISH Network smart cards, allowing free viewing of the service's channels, Demblin said.
However, in late 2007 and 2008, DISH Network sent subscribers smart cards with a new encryption code, which meant owners of Viewsat boxes would no longer receive free programming, Demblin said.
The prosecutor alleged that in March 2008, the defendants decided to hire computer hackers to determine the new encryption code in order to save the market for their boxes.
Kwak bought a special microscope to analyze the smart cards and paid $20,000 cash for photographs of a purported new smart card, Demblin alleged.
Kwak also allegedly offered $250,000 to obtain the memory of such a card, he said.
The prosecutor did not divulge whether the defendants made any progress.
Demblin has filed a motion to hold Kwak without bail. A hearing is scheduled Wednesday before U.S. Magistrate Judge William McCurine Jr.
Story from: http://www.sandiego6.com/news/local/story/Oceanside-Man-In-Trouble-Over-DISH-TV-Hack/S7ZGn4WyykyPXN2VatmolA.cspx
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