FCC Chairman Says Set-Top Box Proposal Will Boost TV Innovation

Federal Communications Commission Chairman Tom Wheeler says that a proposal to open up the set-top cable box will make it “easier for consumers to watch TV,” pushing back against industry criticism that the plan would jeopardize copyright and privacy protections or hobble innovation. Chairman Wheeler said that the proposal would merely establish an open platform so competitors could offer their own set-top boxes that consumers could purchase rather than be forced to rent the equipment from their cable and satellite providers.

“The big kick I get is that AT&T and the cable companies have been putting out statements say, ‘This is going to thwart innovation,'” he said. “And I scratch my head and say, ‘My goodness, let’s see. When it the last time that competition thwarted innovation rather than spurring innovation?’ And you are telling me that a locked down, closed system will have more impetus to be innovative, than a competitive, open system? I think that history shows that it is exactly the opposite of what happens in reality.” He said that what it could lead to are fewer remote controls and easier navigation, where consumers can “shape television to how they use it.” "All we are saying is, ‘Cable operators, you can go ahead and control your product. But have an open platform so that anyone can build a device, and then let’s compete on who can offer the better device.’ Let’s have the cable company say, ‘You want to pay me for my interface, because it does all these things nobody else does.’ Rather than, ‘You must pay me.’ We are just trying to get to that basic American concept of competition.”