CableCard Set-Top Count: 6.2 Million
NCTA Reports Top 10 Operators Deployed Only 372,000 Standalone CableCards
By Larry Barrett -- Multichannel News, 6/23/2008 6:04:00 AM
The 10 largest cable operators have deployed more than 6.2 million set-top boxes with removable CableCards through June 23 but just 372,000 standalone CableCard devices, according to the National Cable & Telecommunications Association.
MSOs have deployed more than 2 million CableCard-enabled set-tops in the last three months, but only 25,000 standalone CableCards.
The Federal Communications Commission has required most cable operators to deploy only digital set-tops with CableCards in them since July 1, 2007.
The theory is that if MSOs are forced to use the same technology the industry licenses to CE makers, those third-party products will function as well as the cable-operator-supplied set-tops—a policy known as “common reliance.”
As of June 23, the NCTA said, 583 products from 27 consumer electronics manufacturers have been certified or verified for use with CableCards.
