Comcast Challenges FCC’s Denial of CableCARD Waiver

As was expected, Comcast Corp. has challenged the FCC Media Bureau’s denial of its partial waiver request of an agency ruling setting July as the deadline to provide set-top boxes with open, software-based video conditional access units, called CableCARDs.

Comcast on Tuesday asked for an expedited review of the ruling by all commissioners and is still seeking a sizable extension of the FCC’s upcoming ban on integrated set-tops. The cable giant’s options could include a court challenge.

At stake is potentially is millions of dollars in revenue for Comcast, which it and other cable companies could lose if consumers were able to acquire commercially available boxes from sources other than the cable operator.

Consumers are the losers in this ongoing back and forth between cablecos and the FCC, said one industry expert, who doesn’t see an end in sight.

“The cable companies don’t want CableCARD period, and they’ll delay as long as they can no matter what,” said Tom Nolle, president of CIMI Corp. “The Cablevision extension was a technology waiver not a right not to provide some sort of card.”

In separate actions taken Jan. 10, while the consumer electronics industry was amidst its annual conference in Las Vegas, the FCC denied the Comcast request, enabling it to amend it, but granted one for Cablevision Systems Inc. and another for smaller operator BendBroadband.

Leaving the Door Open

The bureau specifically granted Comcast leave to file an amended request that sought waiver for a low-cost, limited capability set-top box as described in the deferral order, or to seek waiver based on a commitment to go all-digital by a certain date such as February 2009 or sooner, when broadcasters will cease their analog operations.

Finally, the FCC noted that, should Comcast deploy a downloadable conditional access security solution that is available today, no waiver would be necessary.

Also on Jan. 10, the FCC released a public notice clarifying that cable operators preferring not to employ CableCARDs may use a downloadable conditional access platform to comply with rules. The FCC noted that Beyond Broadband Technology LLC has already developed such a platform.

The agency explained it granted Cablevision’s request for a limited waiver of the integration ban for their set-top boxes, which rely on a different security card – a SmartCard – for separated security instead of the CableCARD.

However, it found that Cablevision’s SmartCard approach does not comply with its rules. The FCC decided to temporarily grandfather Cablevision's use of its separated security solution until July 1, 2009.

Comcast Corp. www.comcast.com  

Cablevision Systems Inc. www.cablevision.com  

FCC www.fcc.gov

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