Congressional Leaders Seek Ban Delay
By Todd Spangler -- Multichannel News, 11/28/2006 1:32:00 PM
Three prominent members of Congress sent a letter to Federal Communications Commission chairman Kevin Martin Tuesday asking the agency to extend the July 1, 2007, deadline that would bar cable operators from deploying set-top boxes with integrated security features.
The letter was signed by Senate Commerce Committee chairman Ted Stevens (R-Alaska), House Energy and Commerce Committee chairman Joe Barton (R-Texas) and Rep. Fred Upton (R-Mich.), chairman of the House Subcommittee on Telecommunications and the Internet.
FCC rules currently would require any new set-top boxes deployed by cable operators as of July 1 to provide separable conditional-access features. Several operators have filed petitions with the FCC requesting at least partial waivers to the regulation.
In the letter to Martin, the congressional leaders noted that the FCC has already pushed back the deadline twice to allow the industry to develop downloadable security technology, which would be less expensive than requiring physical security cards for set-top boxes. They said the industry still needs more time to develop downloadable security.
"Forcing a costly deployment of an outdated technology while another that offers more to consumers is just over the horizon is not good public policy," the three congressional members wrote.
The commission, they said, "has ample authority to establish a time frame for cable operators to develop and deploy 'downloadable security.'"
The FCC regulation in question reads: "Commencing July 1, 2007, no multichannel-video-programming distributor subject to this section shall place in service new navigation devices for sale, lease, or use that perform both conditional access and other functions in a single integrated device."
The purpose of the rule is to ensure that third-party consumer-electronics devices work within cable operators' networks by requiring operators to use the same standards themselves.
To allow for that interoperability, Cable Television Laboratories, the industry's research-and-development organization, developed specifications for CableCARD, a credit-card-sized unit that plugs into TV sets or other devices to handle conditional-access functions.
In their letter to Martin, the legislators said requiring separate security for set-top boxes at this point would be unnecessarily costly.
"There must be a more effective way to ensure the availability of separable security for subscribers who wish to use third-party devices than foisting CableCARDs on all subscribers," wrote Stevens, Barton and Upton.
No related content found.
VIEW ALL GALLERIES
