FCC Scrambles for an Answer

FCC SCRAMBLES FOR AN ANSWER
[SOURCE: Los Angeles Times, AUTHOR: Editorial]
[Commentary] It is hardly surprising that the Federal Communications Commission wants to provide a more level playing field for TiVo in its battle against the cable-owned set-top boxes in your home. At stake is more than just the public's ability to avoid paying a monthly fee for a converter box. Companies like TiVo are innovating far more rapidly and aggressively than the cable industry on a number of fronts, including the way people find shows they want to watch, the extension of TV to portable and remote devices and the ability of advertisers to target and personalize their pitches. Forcing cable operators to use security cards in millions of new converter boxes annually should at the very least ensure that the cards are plentiful, easy to obtain and well understood by cable employees. It should also reduce the cost of the system, which cable operators estimate at $75 a box but competitors say is closer to $40. Most important, it will pressure cable operators to finish work on downloadable security, if for no other reason than to cut their own costs. And it may even speed the development of standards for "cable-ready" devices that can do everything that a cable operator's converter boxes do. Refusing Comcast's request for a waiver was a good start for the FCC, but these rules should apply to all pay-TV providers, whether they use cables, phone lines or satellites.
http://www.latimes.com/news/printedition/asection/la-ed-settop18jan18,1,...
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