FCC Said to Hope More Operators Agree to Clear QAM Deal Before Encryption Order
The FCC hopes more operators agree to use a yet-to-be-deployed type of stripped-down set-top box lacking a DVR for subscribers whose cable-connected consumer electronics lack CableCARDs, industry officials said. That would let the CE devices get scrambled broadcast and basic-cable channels, and the commission hopes that happens before an encryption order circulates, the officials said. They said some at the agency have signaled to the cable industry that the Media Bureau and Chairman Julius Genachowski’s office would like additional operators to agree to a hardware workaround for clear QAM (quadrature amplitude modulation) products from CE companies including Boxee to get encrypted content.
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Comcast is the only operator to agree publicly to deploy the stripped-down set-top, which agency and industry officials said goes partway to helping clear the path for the bureau to finish an encryption order (CD June 29 p8). Cablevision’s filing (CD July 3 p13) in docket 11-169 (http://xrl.us/bnger4) opposing “additional hardware requirements as a precondition to encrypting the basic service tier” has been interpreted by industry officials as the company opposing the Boxee/Comcast deal. Without knowing more of the details of the HD digital transport adapter with Ethernet connector that Comcast agreed to deploy, it’s hard to know whether other operators will join that company, industry officials said of the E-DTAs. The American Cable Association and NCTA declined to comment for this story.
The bureau’s drafting of an order continues, agency officials said. They said any draft that’s sent to Genachowski’s office to circulate for a vote likely will reflect the Boxee/Comcast accord presented in late June to the commission. The forthcoming draft that would allow all-digital cable systems to begin scrambling the basic-programming tier, without seeking individual waivers as Cablevision won and RCN and others still seek, is held up, agency officials said. The reason is lack of widespread cable industry support for the stripped-down HD set-top deal reached by Boxee and Comcast, industry officials said. If other major cable operators besides Comcast agree to a similar deployment pact, the bureau may then finish work on the order and it could be voted on, they said. A bureau spokeswoman declined to comment.
Boxee is “hopeful that other MSOs will support a similar solution” as agreed to by Comcast, a spokeswoman said. “We feel the proposed solution mutually meets the needs of the cable MSOs as well as those of third-party device makes such as Boxee.” The CE firm is “hopeful that other cable companies will support it as the foundation for an FCC order,” the spokeswoman continued.
Cable operators less far along than Comcast in moving to all-digital systems with no analog channels continue to want to encrypt the basic tier to cut down on theft of unprotected signals by subscribers who only get broadband, industry lawyers said. Some said it’s possible that since Comcast backs the Boxee E-DTA arrangement, other major operators besides Cablevision will throw their weight behind that type of solution. If that happens, the bureau’s expected to allow encryption by any all-digital system as long as certain steps are taken by operators so that subscribers with older TV sets that aren’t cable-ready can get digital cable.
"Others would encrypt if possible,” said a cable lawyer watching the FCC proceeding. The agency could adopt an order along the lines of the Comcast/Boxee deal “without putting it out for public notice again and taking more comments,” the attorney said. “This is within the set of issues that are raised” in a rulemaking notice last year on encryption, the lawyer said. “This comes within the set of things they asked about. They're not limited to adopting only the rule that they proposed.”