NCTA Answers CableCARD Stance Critics

Responding to comments filed by Public Knowledge, the Consumer Electronics Association and others in the Federal Communications Commission's set-top proceeding about CableCARDS, the National Cable & Telecommunications Association says it is not out to sabotage its customers who use retail set-tops.

The cable group said that it continues to support the 1% of its customers who use the retail boxes but that there was no reason to adopt CEA's suggestion that the cable operator provide more technical support for those retail boxes. "If a leased device is not working, operators can support it, fix it, or replace it free of charge," said NCTA in its comments. "If a retail device is not working, cable operators will ensure that the CableCARD is working, but the retail equipment is otherwise the responsibility of the customer and the device manufacturer." Public Knowledge argued that bundled service deals including leased boxes undercut the retail market, but NCTA said that discount bundles "have benefited consumers with considerable savings, and disassembling package discounts would undermine the very transactional economies that help keep discounts deep."