Sales of illegal Cable TV decoders have been soaring in the lead-up to the European soccer championship, which begins in Portugal on Saturday.
A visit by the South China Morning Post last week to Apliu Street in Shamshuipo saw dozens of people looking for decoders that can hack into Cable TV's digital signals.
Prices ranged from $885 to $1,200, depending on whether the customer preferred to install the box themselves or pay extra for home installation.
Each decoder box contains a smart card to decode the signals. When Cable TV changes its frequencies, customers of the illegal boxes can bring their card back and pay $100 for a new one.
'Just pay a one-time fee and you get all the channels,' one vendor said. 'It's very easy to install, just hook the cable from the antenna to the box, and then from the box to the television.'
Vendors at these street shops said many customers came from public housing estates such as Wong Tai Sin, Kwun Tong and Sha Tin. In those areas, the number of illegal subscribers probably outweighs those who paid the monthly fees, the vendors claimed.