FCC Seen Acting Soon on Gateway Devices, CableCARD Fixes
Initial items in the National Broadband Plan that may get FCC proceedings include recommendations that the agency take steps to make all cable, DBS and telco-TV providers offer gateway devices and that CableCARDs be easier to install, numerous agency and industry officials said. Commissioners may vote as soon as next month on two related and forthcoming items, they said. One would likely begin an inquiry on how to mandate all subscription-video systems be able to be accessed by a simple gateway device that could also get online content. Another would resolve some CableCARD problems.
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A notice of inquiry on the gateway device issue and a rulemaking notice on CableCARDs seem the most likely proceedings to begin to tackle those subjects, commission and industry officials said. The broadband plan recommended a gateway device work with all subscription-video providers by the end of 2012, and four fixes to CableCARDs by the fall so pricing is also more clear and plug-and-play devices using them to connect to cable systems can get all linear channels (CED March 17 p2). The CableCARD and gateway items haven’t circulated to commissioners yet, but when they do they could be voted on at the same time, commission and industry officials said.
A vote at the April 22 FCC meeting on those forthcoming items is possible, they said, with some seeing it as likely. The office of Chairman Julius Genachowski hasn’t yet finalized what will be voted on at the meeting, they said. Votes related to action on repurposing TV spectrum -- part of the plan’s recommendation that 500 MHz be set aside for broadband in 10 years -- may not occur until summer or fall, commission officials said. That’s in part because the plan doesn’t set quick recommended deadlines on TV airwaves and because the regulator seems to still be sounding out legislators on the issue, they said. A Media Bureau spokeswoman declined to comment on spectrum and video-device issues.
The FCC can act quickly on gateway devices because it doesn’t need additional authority from Congress to make the changes, said Executive Director Christopher McLean of the CE Retailers Coalition. “Proceeding with speed on this is an excellent idea, because there are so many exciting things happening with TV today, so the opportunity to be able to get integrated devices and go to your favorite consumer electronics retailer and pick out the box” is good for consumers and could save energy if fewer devices are used in a home for video, he said. “The sooner we can give customers choice and meet their needs, the sooner the manufacturers can get to work on those innovations and the quicker we can, as retailers, get them into the stores.” McLean said he hasn’t been briefed on the timing of FCC action. His group’s members include Amazon, Best Buy, RadioShack, Target, Wal-Mart and other retailers.
The gateway and CableCARD items are likely to be voted on in tandem because they're related, but it’s unclear if they'll be addressed in a single document or in a separate rulemaking notice and inquiry, commission and industry officials said. Of the two subjects, the gateway item presumably will draw more industry interest and more comments because it affects more parties than CableCARDs, said a cable lawyer. An April vote would be “an aggressive time frame” for a CableCARD rulemaking notice, but if not approved next month it would have to be done soon thereafter to meet the recommended fall deadline, said another communications attorney.