Chilean court slaps DirecTV with $1m fine for ‘irregular’ STBs

SANTIAGO – A Chilean court has fined DirecTV $1 million for selling and distributing set-top boxes that didn’t comply with the country’s regulation.

The decision of the Santiago-based court has confirmed the actual fine issued by the Superintendencia de Electricidad y Combustibles (SEC) to the satellite operator and puts the case to an end. However, Liberty Global’s VTR, which was involved in a similar case and was fined by the SEC, is still pending on the court’s last word.

The case started two years ago, when a disciplinary proceeding was opened following a fire that started in a DirecTV STB. Back then, both VTR and the AT&T agreed to replace the irregular boxes, which amounted to over one million.

DirecTV Chile is the Chilean subsidiary of California-based DirecTV, which is a television system that emits through satellite, and that has been operating in the South American country since 1994.