UPDATE – December 9, 12.30 CET. The Dutch cable operator Ziggo will block the functioning of the Alphacrypt CAMs in CI plus receivers (set-tops and integrated TVs) from February 2, 2010.This means that viewers using the Alphacrypt module in their CI Plus cable tuner will no longer receive a signal.
The measure was taken in response to request from content owners, Ziggo said in a statement. “The Alphacrypt module – which was never supported by Ziggo – provides inadequate protection against illegal use of the content and that protection is a requirement of the content providers.”.
“These providers, such as Film1, Disney and Sony, require an optimal protection of their content. Traditional CAM modules cannot meet the requirements of the content owners and for that reason Ziggo together with the industry and content providers developed CI Plus.”
UPDATE – Ziggo stated on December 9 that the Dutch commercial broadcasters SBS and RTL have not requested such protection, as stated in the original press release. In a new statement Ziggo said: “Regarding RTL: this broadcaster has not demanded any form of security or encryption of its programmes Ziggo. This requirement is coming from the major film studios and premium movie channels such as Film1.”
Ziggo is the first cable operator in the world to use CI Plus. Since its launch late September, more than 100,000 people have bought a CI Plus module.
Ziggo waits until February to block the Alphacrypt modules in CI Plus tuners to allow viewers sufficient time to switch to a CI Plus CAM module. Receivers with a regular CI slot are not affected and can continue to use their Alphacrypt module in combination with the Ziggo smart card.
