FCC Grants Waivers on Four Set-Top Boxes

In a victory for cable operators, the Federal Communications Commission has granted Motorola, Cisco, Pace and Thomson waivers on its set-top integration ban for what they pitched as one-way, low-cost limited-capability boxes. That means there are four more boxes that can be installed without the need to go to the FCC for an individual waiver. The FCC said Tuesday that it had vetted the specs for the quartet of waiver requests and found them to be "no more advanced" than the Evolution Broadband boxes it previously waived. It granted the waiver, saying Public Knowledge's assertion that software upgrades could conceivably alter those capabilities "does not have merit." But it did say that hardware modifications could alter them, so that any box that differed from the specs submitted would require a separate waiver. The FCC also recently extended a hardship waiver of the rule by overbuilder RCN and extended the waiver to low-cost HD boxes for the first time. The FCC instituted the ban on digital set-tops that integrate security and channel surfing functions in an effort to spur a retail market. But it said it would entertain waivers for low-cost boxes sans bells and whistles.

Public Knowledge's Gigi Sohn said, "We are disappointed that the Media Bureau granted the waivers for low-end set-top boxes, which lock in advantages the cable companies already have while offering consumers set-top boxes with fewer features than they might otherwise get in an open market. The larger issue is whether the Commission is doing what Congress required back in 1996, when the Telecom Act promised an open, competitive market for full-featured set-top boxes. That vision would have given consumers more choices and more features. It's that goal to which the Commission should aspire, rather than continually lowering the bar through the waiver process."