The Federal Communications Commission is about to let cable-TV customers go shopping for set-top decoder boxes rather than forcing them to rent from cable companies, which would cost more in the long run. But cable providers would still control critical security features.
FCC officials, speaking on condition of anonymity, told the Associated Press today that customers should be able to buy standalone cable boxes or TV sets and 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 would be compatible with any of the 11,000 cable systems in the United States.
The new rule would apply to both digital and analog set-top boxes, and would carry out the wishes of Congress as spelled out in the Telecommunications Act of 1996.
Currently, cable customers who don't have cable-ready TV sets must rent a set-top box for anywhere from 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, FCC officials said.
The retail cable boxes would 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, FCC officials and cable engineers said, would 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.
Consumer electronics makers want the FCC to bar cable-TV companies from selling or leasing set-top boxes with built-in security features, at least until a retail market develops for boxes that do not include the security features. The cable industry opposes a blanket ban on cable companies.
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.
