Set-Top Box Alternative Cable Abhors Set in Motion by FCC Vote

The Federal Communications Commission approved a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) on Thursday that would allow third-party manufacturers to make set-top boxes that deliver cable television.

The FCC proposal requires cable and satellite TV providers to offer alternative access to cable and satellite programming.

A set-top box translates the codes sent from cable providers into pictures and sound that come through the TV.

Should the commission approve the proposal, the agency will take public comment on the issue and craft rules that the commission can vote on. The set-top box, also known as a cable box or digital converter, converts a signal into content that can be viewed on television.

“Technology allows it, the industry at one time proposed something similar to it and the consumers deserve a break and a choice”, FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler said”, according to Clarece Polke of Reuters.

Pai commiserated with consumers, saying that he owns three set-top boxes and admitting “they are clunky and expensive and I feel the pain each and every month when I pay my bill”.

An FCC spokeswoman said the so-called Sunshine Act prohibits outside parties from lobbying the FCC on a pending item during the week before a full commission vote, and added that the town hall will be rescheduled after the proposal was voted on by the commission and released publicly. The FCC has said its proposal sets standards and doesn’t specify devices or software.

There is no arguing with the fact that the number of choices consumers have in how and what they purchase for entertainment has spiked exponentially in the last few decades as the tech industry has innovated and changed the way we live.

Those pay TV providers will have at least a couple of months to hammer home their points that the proposal threatens their business model, particularly their contractual relationships with programmers, and intrudes in a video access marketplace already evolving toward openness.

The FCC has contended that its proposal doesn’t employ AllVid, a technology concept loathed by the pay-TV industry.

The MPAA also opposes Wheeler’s proposal, which critics say would jeopardize copyright and privacy protections or hobble innovation. That’s one argument being made by proponents of a push for competition in the market long locked-up by the cable companies. (NASDAQ:AAPL), Alphabet Inc (NASDAQ:GOOGL), and TiVo Inc.

Supporters say that more competition in the market would lead to better products for consumers, like smoother navigation systems through which they can peruse their programming options and the integration of streaming video services like Netflix and Hulu.

You should be able to choose your TV set-top box the same way you pick a smartphone.

Markey was joined by arguably the other most unalloyed fan of the FCC move, House Communications Subcommittee ranking member Anna Eshoo (D-Calif.). “Today’s FCC decision will create a smarter, cheaper and more innovative future for consumers”.