Commercial Availability of Navigation Devices

Date: 10/14/2010

Summary

On Oct 14, 2010, the FCC issued a Third Report and Order and Order on Reconsideration adopting rules promote the statutory goal of creating a competitive retail market for devices that can access cable video services.

Adoption of the Third R&O specifically remedies the CableCARD regime’s shortcomings identified in the Fourth Further Notice of Proposed Rulemaking by:

1. ensuring that retail devices have access to all video programming that is prescheduled by the programming provider;
2. making CableCARD pricing and billing more transparent;
3. streamlining CableCARD installations; and
4. streamlining requirements for manufacturers who build CableCARD devices.

The Third R&O also updates the Commission’s rules to encourage consumers to connect their cable boxes to home networks and to ease the regulatory burdens on cable operators that are modernizing their systems.

The rules:

1. require cable operators to support the reception of switched digital video services on retail devices to ensure that subscribers are able to access the services for which they pay regardless of whether they lease or purchase their devices;
2. prohibit price discrimination against retail devices to support a competitive marketplace for retail devices;
3. require cable operators to allow self-installation of CableCARDs where device manufacturers offer device-specific installation instructions to make the installation experience for retail devices comparable to the experience for leased devices;
4. require cable operators to provide multi-stream CableCARDs by default to ensure that cable operators are providing their subscribers with current CableCARD technology; and
5. clarify that CableCARD device certification rules are limited to certain technical features to make it easier for device manufacturers to get their products to market.

The FCC also modified rules to encourage home-networking by simplifying set-top box output requirements. The FCC promotes the cable industry’s transition to all-digital networks by exempting all one-way set-top boxes without recording functionality from the integration ban.

Read the Report and Order

Description

On April 21, 2010, the Federal Communications Commission issued a Fourth Further Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (FNPRM) proposing changes to the current CableCard system to make it more consumer-friendly while a new technology approach is being developed.

The FNPRM proposes to remedy shortcomings in the existing CableCARD system, to provide consumers with better service in the interim before the new AllVid approach is in place. In order to remove the disparity between consumers who choose to use a retail CableCARD-equipped video device and those who lease a cable provider's video navigation box, the proposed interim measures would:
1) ensure that retail devices have comparable access to video programming that is prescheduled by the programming provider;
2) make CableCARD pricing and billing more transparent;
3) streamline CableCARD installations; and
4) clarify certification requirements.

See more http://hraunfoss.fcc.gov/edocs_public/attachmatch/FCC-10-61A1.doc

Issues

A. Reforming the CableCARD System

• Switched Digital Video
• CableCARD Pricing and Billing
• CableCARD Installations
• Multi-stream CableCARDs
• CableCARD Device Certification

B. Interface Requirements.

C. Cable Digital Transition