NCTA to FCC: Allow Cable Operators to Encrypt Basic Tier

The National Cable & Telecommunications Association has urged the Federal Communications Commission to allow cable operators that have gone all digital to encrypt their basic tier.

That came in comments on the FCC's proposal to do just that. "Given the substantial public interest benefits and the lack of harms associated with encryption, NCTA endorses the Commission's tentative conclusions and urges it to act expeditiously in amending its rules," NCTA said. It added that allowing basic encryption would largely eliminate theft of service, promote innovation and investment, and reduce pollution and fuel consumption by reducing truck rolls to activate or deactivate service (NCTA said that the benefits would outweigh the minimal extra watts consumed by new boxes). Cable operators also argued that the competition has no similar ban on encryption. "When the encryption rule was adopted in 1994, cable was the dominant MVPD, and there were few competitors," said NCTA. "The situation is dramatically different today. DBS and telco IPTV providers -- each requiring set-top boxes for each of their subscribers -- serve approximately 40% of the marketplace with all-digital service on a fully encrypted basis. Likewise, online video distributors deliver video to customers on an encrypted basis. Netflix alone has 23.8 million subscribers, more than any MVPD. None of these video providers is barred from encrypting or otherwise protecting the content they provide to their customers."