FCC pushes for Internet access on your TV

If federal regulators have their way, the next big thing on the tech horizon will be a brave new world of Internet-ready, work-with-any-network set-top boxes, offering consumers unprecedented multimedia options through their TVs, not just their computers. And if this plays out as the Federal Communications Commission envisions, the world as cable companies know it will radically change, making the potential synergies of the Comcast-NBC deal all but obsolete. "The consumer will be king," said Colin Crowell, senior counselor to FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski. "You'll be able to get your own set-top box that does all the whiz-bang things you want it to do, and you'll be in control." "Computers may be in 74% of American homes," Crowell said, "but televisions are in 99% of homes. Clearly, if your television offered a way to easily switch over to the Internet, we would be providing a way for all Americans to get online." The upshot, as the FCC sees it, is that consumers should be able to buy multi-system, Net-friendly set-top boxes in a newly energized marketplace where electronics companies vie for your business with innovative features and competitive prices. And your TV will at last live up to its long-ballyhooed potential as a multimedia device, allowing you to effortlessly access video programming, Internet content or entertainment services.