Cable theft is a nationwide epidemic that costs the cable industry nearly $6.6 billion a year. It's technically defined as unauthorized reception of cable programming without payment to the cable company. There are three classifications of cable theft: active, premium (or "pay"), and passive theft. Active theft includes intentionally connecting to the local cable system for free service. Premium or "pay" theft is knowingly attaching an illegal decoder to the cable box to receive free premium or pay-per-view channels. Passive theft is failure to alert the cable company to illegal service that exists in one’s home (i.e. a prior active connection that the present customer did not order). Most importantly, cable theft is unfair to honest, paying customers because it affects cable rates, can weaken signals and picture quality, and increases service calls and maintenance. In addition, it can interfere with radio signals reserved for emergency or aeronautical communications, possibly endangering public safety.