BURKE COUNTY, NC — Information wants to be free and pornography is apparently no exception, if a short-lived glitch in the CoMPAS Cable system is any indication.Similar to, but different from, an earlier feed leak from cable giant Comcast, the Burke County, NC CoMPAS Cable system experienced a brief and unauthorized flash of flesh. Unlike the hysteria that resulted from the unexpected few moments of unscrambled fornication on Comcast, the single caller that alerted CoMPAS about the issue was calm.
“I only received one call and we rectified it immediately,” ComPAS Cable manager Bill Harkins told The News Herald, after the incident.
The result of either technical or human error, Harkins believes that the fault lies with an electronic gateway that normally blocks and scrambles some broadcast signals, including those associated with pay-per-view and subscription services. For whatever reason, the gateway stopped blocking three channels, sending crisp and clear images of an adult nature to some set-top tuners.
“Only people who had a particular type of receiver… could even get to those channels,” Harkins explained.
According to Harkins, most tuners would not have been able to see the unexpectedly unscrambled pay-per-view movie, the program guide or Penthouse program, because tuners must be specifically programmed to receive adult channels.
Although a device reboot solved the problem, Harkins assured subscribers that the matter is being investigated and encouraged viewers to report any unusual broadcasting activity to the company.
