The Nation : Users of TV Dishes Rally

Fearing “the invasion of the encryptors,” dealers and owners of backyard dishes rallied, seeking support for proposed legislation that would prohibit scrambling of satellite television signals. Rep. Timothy E. Wirth (D-Colo.), chairman of the House Energy and Commerce subcommittee on telecommunications, promised about 500 people gathered on the Mall in Washington that hearings will be held on the issue early next year. He said the hearings will focus on bills that would require programmers to design a way to license dish owners to decode programs before they can be encrypted. Rep. W. J. (Billy) Tauzin (D-La.) said satellite reception often is the only way you can see television in rural areas and places where the terrain blocks TV signals.