The FCC ought to “encourage” cable operators and makers of consumer...
The FCC ought to “encourage” cable operators and makers of consumer electronics to find a way to transition to all-digital systems with encrypted basic-programming packages “while protecting consumers that have purchased devices that operate on the basic tier,” Public Knowledge…
Sign up for a free preview to unlock the rest of this article
Timely, relevant coverage of court proceedings and agency rulings involving tariffs, classification, valuation, origin and antidumping and countervailing duties. Each day, Trade Law Daily subscribers receive a daily headline email, in-depth PDF edition and access to all relevant documents via our trade law source document library and website.
said. It said the encryptions issue “is highly relevant to the long-delayed Allvid proceeding ... despite the insistence of the [cable] industry that Allvid is unnecessary, the open basic tier has been the focus of CE innovation by independent CE manufacturers.” The Media Bureau is working on an order to let cable operators scramble broadcast and other basic channels but hasn’t proposed AllVid rules for all pay-TV providers to directly connect to CE devices (CD March 12 p6). “There is no doubt that if the Commission were to extend the historic accessibility of the basic tier under the existing rules to all programming tiers and services, that CE manufacturers would rush to seize the chance,” a Public Knowledge official reported telling FCC Chief of Staff Zac Katz. “Development of an approach to facilitate the cable digital transition while simultaneously protecting the innovation currently taking place on the basic tier should therefore be encouraged for all parties.” PK backed a transition to encryption that Hauppauge Computer Works, whose clear QAM products won’t get cable on scrambled systems, has unsuccessfully sought (CD March 7 p13), in Friday’s filing in docket 11-169 (http://xrl.us/bmxvpz).