Thousands of Cablevision non-subscribers will be staring at blank screens on August 1 when customers will require a new set-top box to decipher scrambled signals.

The new system will also bring a clearer signal, an interactive programming guide, a 24-hour pay-per-view channel and five additional stations, including Home and Garden Television (HGTV) and Entertainment Television (E!), Cablevision general manager Jeremy Elmas said yesterday.

The remaining stations have not yet been finalised, and Mr. Elmas could not say if if Much Music and Nickelodeon, two stations recently taken off the air, would be included in the line-up.

The improvements will be accompanied by rate hikes, the first since Cablevision began offering its service. The basic package will increase from $19.95 to $20, the second-tier package will go up $5.05 to $35, while the top package will cost $8.10 more at $43. The increases represent a two percent increase annually and include the cost of the first descrambler box. The company will also change its fee for additional televisions to $7.50 each, instead of $3. The $10 fee assessed for renting a cable box and remote for older televisions will become redundant under the new system, as everyone will need a box.In the late 1980s, such descramblers were commonplace in the homes of American cable television subscribers. But when Bermuda Cablevision launched its service in 1988, the company opted for an unencrypted standard dating from the 1970s.

Mr. Elmas, could only guess that the newer technology was too costly to install at the time. Predictably, Bermudians who preferred not to pay piggybacked the service.

Cablevision should see revenues increase substantially with the new rates, and Mr. Elmas expects many of those receiving the service illegally to become reformed subscribers. Equipped with just wires, connectors and a pair of pliers, many were able to receive Cablevision service for the past 13 years without even calling the company. Others were able to receive more channels than they paid for by fiddling with controls atop the poles.

Mr. Elmas said the current number of subscribers (16,000) is 1,200 lower than the all-time high, and he suspects that many of those who defected opted for a free ride instead. But he said conversations with company employees indicated the number could be as high as three or four thousand.

An advertisement in last Friday's Royal Gazette said: "Some households may have been receiving Cablevision without realising that it is a subscribable service. If this is the case, please contact the Cablevision office and we will be glad to set up an account for you."

The ad then warned that people without a subscription or a box would soon be unable to receive CableVision's signals.

People who paid for their service, but split their own wires to avoid paying fees for additional televisions, will also be forced to pay full price. With the new system, scrambler boxes will be required for every television, unless customers want to watch the same channel simultaneously.

The boxes will come with a universal remote, which Mr. Elmas said would work for televisions and VCRs as well. He said that varying standards have prevented manufacturers from integrating the descramblers with their televisions. Customers can pick up the new equipment beginning June 12, or Cablevision will deliver it for a $25 fee.

The boost in revenue may prove handy for Cablevision, which is at the centre of a renewed copyright infringement controversy. Several members of the Motion Picture Association of America, including Disney, Paramount and Tri-Star film studios recently filed suit against the company in the United States for rebroadcasting American programming. Mr. Elmas, who arrived at the beleaguered company in January, couldn't answer many questions about the suit, and a spokesman for Paramount said it was the studio's policy not to comment on pending litigation.

But Mr. Elmas did add that Cablevision currently carries stations "that cannot not be paid for" because of legal issues, although the matter is unrelated to the suit. He said the company was setting aside funds in the meantime to cover future back payments.