Bermuda CableVision customers responded with outrage after learning that their television bills are likely to increase this summer.

In an attempt to curb piracy, the company will scramble its signal from August 1 and subscribers will need a set-top box to watch television.

At issue is the fee CableVision will charge for the boxes: the first one is free, while additional boxes required for extra TVs will cost $7.50 a month, and cannot be purchased outright. The company previously charged $3 for additional televisions, but many customers avoided the fee by splitting their own wires.

The change in technology will be accompanied by rate hikes, the first since CableVision began operating in 1988. The prices of CableVision package will also go up between five cents and $8.10, bringing the most expensive package to $43.

Radio talk shows received several calls from unhappy subscribers. One man who called The Royal Gazette said CableVision should be paid to bring the signal to the house, at which point consumers could do what they like with it - as is the case with telephone service.

But many American cable companies, including AT&T Broadband and Time Warner Cable, charge for additional televisions. In New York, Time Warner charges $5.50 for each additional television set connected with premium channels. In Bakersfield, California, the same company charges $5.68.

CableVision fielded calls from concerned customers, who wanted to know if the functionality of their televisions would be diminished by the new system. One man told The Royal Gazette he feared he would no longer be able to use the picture-in-picture function of his television or record one channel on his VCR while watching another because the de-scrambler boxes filter the 60-odd channels and only output those required by customer equipment.

But a CableVision customer service agent said this would not be the case.

As prices increase, the underlying source of the discontent seems to be CableVision's service.

Karen Marshall, executive officer of the Consumer Affairs Bureau, said her organisation had received several complaints about CableVision, mostly relating to lost channels and bill payment issues. The company recently lost the ABC affiliate WXYZ, KTLA, Nickelodeon, Much Music and VH1 and now includes some Spanish-language programming in its line up.

CableVision will offer new channels with the new system, including Home and Garden Television and Entertainment Television. There will also be a pay-per-view channel and management said signal quality should improve.

Yet customers remain unimpressed. "They are increasing the cost, but they are not really improving the quality of service," said CableVision customer Jordan Sousa, who has waited weeks for the company to respond to his calls.

"I think cable here is getting ridiculous," Mr. Sousa said, adding that satellite television is superior, even with its recent problems. "There should be more movie channels," he said.

Currently, CableVision only offers five, whereas American providers often have a selection of 20 or more channels plus dozens of pay-per-view options. Mr. Sousa also said the company should carry Music Television (MTV).

But no-one doubted that CableVision's system - which relies on unencrypted 1970s technology - needed to be changed. Piracy is a major problem for the company and is a source of substantial lost revenue.

General manager Jeremy Elmas estimates that in addition to 16,000 legitimate subscribers, between three and four thousand households receive service without paying for it.

With many non-subscribers expected to reform, CableVision hopes to see substantial increases in revenue. But a spokesman for Island Satellite Systems, the local dealer for satellite television services, said he had received more complaints than usual recently from CableVision customers who want to switch to satellite.

That alternative isn't cheap, however. Small dish packages begin at $799, and customers pay between $22 and $70 a month for service. Moreover, satellite problems have reduced the offerings available in Bermuda.

Premium movie channels are no longer available on DirecTV (whose saving grace is the multitude of NFL options) and a damaged DISH Network satellite prevents local subscribers from watching many of the most popular channels between 5:30 and 11 p.m. The company expects to rectify the situation early next year.