FCC Committee To Seek CableCard's Successor

The Federal Communications Commission-appointed Downloadable Security Technology Advisory Committee (DSTAC) held their first meeting. DSTAC is tasked with investigating the successor to the CableCard, a removable security module that failed to create a vibrant retail market for cable-read retail video devices, and file its recommendations in a report by September 4.

The committee is tackling the idea of a uniform solution even as other multichannel video programming distributors (pay-tv), including Charter and Cablevision Systems, have already developed and deployed downloadable security systems. Comcast and TiVo, meanwhile, are also pursuing a non-CableCard solution. The initial meeting focused on the scope of the report, including which types of navigation devices and types of content and services -- including linear TV and on-demand video -- should fit inside it. The notion of an all-MVPD “black box” outfitted with downloadable security dominated the early discussions, though what form it will take remains an item that still needs to be clearly defined.