Glenn White had an interesting business model. He was running a cable television service in Wagram, North Carolina and distributing programming content from DISH Network’s satellite service to his customers. The problem was that White had not bothered to talk to DISH Network before doing that.
White was using illegally modified equipment to receive the DISH Network programming he was providing for his cable TV subscribers. This is often referred to as piracy, and involves using equipment that has been built or modified to bypass the security measures that satellite broadcasters use to prevent non-subscribers from receiving their broadcasts.
Well, apparently word got out about White’s business tactics, and an FBI investigation resulted. Companies like DISH Network don’t like it when people use illegal equipment to receive programming from their satellites without paying for it, and they really don’t like it when someone is providing stolen programming content to someone else and getting paid for it!
I’m sure White was a but surprised when the FBI visited his business with search-and-seizure orders, and started walking out the door with his equipment. I also suspect his subscribers were not too happy when their cable TV service went out without warning.
Glenn White is now looking at 14 months in a federal prison. I suppose it could have been a lot worse, but I sure would not want to spend any amount of time in a federal prison. I does not sound like much fun.
Some people show up on my site looking for the kinds of information that can be used to get DISH Network without paying for it. They will do a search on Google or Yahoo! that is related to DISH Network and some of them end up here.
Pirating satellite TV is not worth the risk. All it takes is one person to say something to the wrong person, and you can be caught. Seeing as you can get DISH Network packages for as little as about $20 a month, is it really worth getting into legal trouble for the sake of free satellite TV?
Your can read more about Glenn White’s case here.
Tags: dish network, free DISH Network, hacking, illegal, Piracy, pirate