Comcast Proposing 2 Concessions in its CableCARD Waiver Request
Comcast is willing to make 2 concessions in its CableCARD waiver request at the FCC on low-cost, limited- capability digital cable set-tops if it will promote faster Commission action on the request, Comcast CEO Brian Roberts wrote FCC Chmn. Martin in a letter Mon.
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Comcast believes the 3 models of digital cable set-tops for which it seeks a CableCARD waiver are “truly ‘limited- capability’ devices,” Comcast CEO Brian Roberts told Martin. Roberts said he’s aware Commission staff raised a “potential concern” about a USB port on Pace’s Chicago box. But that’s not an “advanced capability,” since USB has been built into “over a billion consumer devices over the past several years,” Roberts said.
Reiterating Comcast’s position, Roberts said a box with a USB port could be used as a “slave” for a home network PVR, though Comcast has said it has no plans to do so. If “it will lead to timely approval,” the FCC could grant its waiver “with the express limitation” that it doesn’t cover boxes with USB ports or set-tops that can be used as slave PVRs or in a home network, Roberts said.
Roberts also was responding to Martin’s queries whether Comcast has committed to “moving to an all digital environment,” and if the waiver would enable Comcast to meet that commitment near term. His answer: “Comcast is committed to moving to an all-digital environment as quickly as possible, technology and consumer acceptance permitting, and this waiver will definitely help accelerate that process.” But Comcast “can’t stop carrying analog signals when customers are still counting on us to deliver them,” Roberts told Martin.
Over of Comcast subscriber households are still analog-only, he said: “Even if we roll out low-end boxes as fast as we can, it is likely to be sometime after 2010 before we can go all-digital.” The process would move faster if the FCC grants the waiver, Roberts said. Also to “expedite” approval, Comcast is proposing a 5-year waiver, he said: “If at the end of that time we have not gone all-digital, the waiver would end, and no additional boxes covered by the waiver could be deployed.” The FCC put Comcast’s waiver request out for comment May 17, but hasn’t acted on it.