The FCC today followed through on the mandate of the Telecommunications Act of 1996, voting to allow cable-TV customers to purchase set-top decoder boxes from retail stores, a move that will save them money in the long run.
A Federal Communications Commission panel voted 4-1 to allow customers to buy standalone cable boxes, or TV sets, VCRs, and other devices with built-in decoders beginning in September 2000, just in time for the first Christmas of the new millennium. The devices will be compatible with any of the 11,000 cable systems in the United States. The new rule applies to both digital and analog set-top boxes.
Cable providers will still control critical security features. However, to help create a retail market for the new set-top devices, the FCC rule bars cable operators from selling or leasing cable boxes with security built into them after 1 January 2005. That rule is supported by the consumer electronics industry, but opposed by the cable industry.
FCC Chairman William Kennard said the current cable box situation was similar to the telephone system before regulators required phone companies to allow people to plug in any phone set of their choosing.
"We would like to have an era in this country where anybody can plug in a set-top box just the way that you can buy a telephone today in a retail store and plug it into a phone jack," Kennard said.
The aim of the telecom act was not only to give cable customers a choice in how to obtain these boxes but also to bring more competition to companies that make them.
Currently, cable customers who don't have cable-ready TV sets must rent a set-top box for between US$2 to $4 a month. The boxes could retail from $30 to $100, depending upon their level of sophistication.
Gary Shapiro, president of the Consumer Electronics Manufacturers Association, said the boxes in the long run "would cost people less than what they are paying now to their cable companies for the rentals."
About half of the nation's 67 million cable-TV customers rent analog boxes. They would retain the option of leasing boxes.
The retail cable boxes will contain the same circuitry and functions of a cable company's box, but without the critically important security features. Those anti-piracy and hacking features will be contained in an electronic card, which would be owned and controlled by the cable system.
This set-up will still require a visit from the cable company, which would make a house call to plug the security card into a port in the set-top box or TV set.
The FCC based its plan on technical specifications developed by Cable Labs, a cable-industry research group, which also has been working with manufacturers and retailers.
Commissioner Susan Ness warned that compatibility problems could arise between cable boxes, new digital television sets, personal computers, and other equipment. The FCC must continue to monitor the situation, she said, because "in many important respects, these devices are not compatible."
