Republican Congressional Leaders Seek Ban Delay

CONGRESSIONAL LEADERS SEEK BAN DELAY
[SOURCE: Multichannel News, AUTHOR: Todd Spangler]
Senate Commerce Committee Chairman Ted Stevens (R-Alaska), House Commerce Committee Chairman Joe Barton (R-Texas) and Rep. Fred Upton (R-Mich.), Chairman of the House Subcommittee on Telecommunications and the Internet, sent a letter to Federal Communications Commission Chairman Kevin Martin Tuesday asking the agency to extend the July 1, 2007 deadline that would bar cable operators from deploying set-top boxes with integrated security features. FCC rules currently would require any new set-top boxes deployed by cable operators as of July 1 to provide separable conditional-access features. Several operators have filed petitions with the FCC requesting at least partial waivers to the regulation. In the letter to Martin, the congressional leaders noted that the FCC has already pushed back the deadline twice to allow the industry to develop downloadable security technology, which would be less expensive than requiring physical security cards for set-top boxes. They said the industry still needs more time to develop downloadable security.
http://www.multichannel.com/article/CA6395340.html?display=Breaking+News