Rift Between CEA, NCTA Widens

The Consumer Electronics Association (CEA) has snapped back at the National Cable Telecommunications Association’s latest filing with the FCC, saying cablecos continue to delay innovation in consumer electronics equipment.

The latest angst stems largely from years of requests from cable companies for waivers of the ruling that they provide set-top boxes with separable security by July 7.

The NCTA is seeking a full review of an 11th-hour waiver request that the FCC denied before the ban on STBs with integrated security began. The group is upset that waivers have been granted to others, including rivals Verizon and Qwest. Comcast, a NCTA member, has been denied a waiver and is contesting the decision.

In a filing with the FCC on Monday, the NCTA said “the bureau’s delay and mishandling of these waivers has already cost significant development time for a number of innovative cable projects, including downloadable security. It is doing exactly what Congress forbids: ‘freezing or chilling the development of new technologies and services’ – but insidiously, only by cable.”

The CEA shot back at the NCTA on Monday night.

“After 11 years of delaying consumer access to competitive equipment, this latest NCTA appeal is not surprising, but it is still troubling,” said the CEA. “By denying NCTA's waivers, the FCC has spoken clearly for consumers and the public interest. As CEA has stated on numerous occasions, competitive device manufacturers are eager to offer exciting new competitive devices to cable customers, and the FCC has assured consumers that innovation will not be stifled. Consumers have long been denied the opportunity to enjoy a competitive market for products that can connect to cable systems.”

The FCC’s earlier ruling is a move designed to loosen their grip on the STB market by enabling CEA vendors to compete in the market largely dominated today by cablecos that lease the devices to customers with TV service. For its part, the FCC has granted several waivers to cable operators, but denied others.

The NCTA has claimed that complying with the FCC ban would result in an additional $600 million a year in consumer costs.

While businesses seek to protect revenue streams and often fear competition, the makeup of the STB and video viewing in the home has been changing quickly.

Microsoft Corp.’s TV unit kicked off the Consumer Electronics Show in early January with the announcement that it’s merging its IPTV software with its Xbox 360 gaming system before the end of the year. Apple Inc. has made inroads into home networking and media with its Apple TV system and the Slingbox was not developed by a provider of STBs to cablecos. Those are just a few examples on how consumer electronics are expanding in the home.

The CEA and its members are tired of the situation they still see.

“The Courts and the Commission have spoken and the time for compliance with the FCC's rules is now,” the group said in its statement. “NCTA's latest appeal of the FCC's decision is an abuse of the administrative process. Further, it diverts valuable Commission resources away from ensuring that consumers may reap the benefits of competition in the cable equipment market.”

Consumer Electronics Association www.ce.org
FCC www.fcc.gov
National Cable & Telecommunications Association www.ncta.com

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