The fast pace of innovation and changing technology has triggered...

“viewability,” encryption and the HD carriage exemption, she said Tuesday during a webcast of a Practising Law Institute panel. The commission realized that when a system is all digital, it can save money, time and hassle for consumers by not turning off service to the household if it can encrypt the signal, she said. But “that doesn’t come without some cost to consumers,” she said. Last year’s FCC order to allow encryption of the basic-service tier includes provisions from a previous order that went to Cablevision requiring cable companies to provide free equipment for a certain amount of time (CD Oct 16 p6), she said. Neplokh said she noticed a few quieter commercials since the Commercial Advertisement Loudness Mitigation Act went into effect. “We've gotten complaints and inquiries since going into effect, but there has been no enforcement action on these rules yet,” she said. The FCC is still reviewing the record on a rulemaking to update signal leakage rules, she said. The next generation of set-top boxes will challenge how far the FCC’s direct and ancillary authority goes under Section 629 of the Communications Act, said Paul Glist, a cable lawyer at Davis Wright. The FCC, to its credit, “has already recognized that a model of micromanaging … isn’t the best way to approach a changing, fast-paced market,” he said. In predicting the future of set-tops, “we need to keep in mind that no single configuration fits all customers,” he said: “Grandma … doesn’t want a home network or a tablet.” The box model isn’t dead, he said: “Consumer tastes really matter and we can’t make rules by calling those tastes in advance.”