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Tom Wheeler's really good idea worries cable companies
As cable industry lobbyists criticize a Federal Communications Commission plan to inject competition into the set-top box market, FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler today said cable company complaints are off-base.
Since becoming FCC chairman in 2013, Wheeler has repeatedly battled the cable industry even though he himself was once a cable lobbyist.
Wheeler's latest plan would force pay-TV companies to make video programming available to makers of third-party hardware or software without requiring a physical CableCard. This would let consumers watch the TV channels they pay for on other devices without having to rent a set-top box from the cable company.
...
The cable industry is continually trying to call this AllVid," Wheeler said. "It is not. It is not requiring a second box, it is about open standards versus closed standards. We need to have standards the same way we have standards developed for cell phones, standards developed for Bluetooth, standards developed for Wi-Fi, instead of the closed standards that exist for CableCard that have kept CableCard from being available as to those who might want to have competition."
Cable companies have faced almost no competition for set-top box hardware, allowing prices to rise, Wheeler said. "On average, consumers are paying $231 a year to rent those boxes, collectively, about $20 billion a year," he said. "And by the way, did I mention they have no competitive choice when it comes to that situation? According to a recent analysis submitted for the record, over the past 20 years, the cost of cable television set-top boxes has risen 185 percent, while the cost of computers, televisions, and mobile phones has dropped 90 percent."
Since becoming FCC chairman in 2013, Wheeler has repeatedly battled the cable industry even though he himself was once a cable lobbyist.
Wheeler's latest plan would force pay-TV companies to make video programming available to makers of third-party hardware or software without requiring a physical CableCard. This would let consumers watch the TV channels they pay for on other devices without having to rent a set-top box from the cable company.
...
The cable industry is continually trying to call this AllVid," Wheeler said. "It is not. It is not requiring a second box, it is about open standards versus closed standards. We need to have standards the same way we have standards developed for cell phones, standards developed for Bluetooth, standards developed for Wi-Fi, instead of the closed standards that exist for CableCard that have kept CableCard from being available as to those who might want to have competition."
Cable companies have faced almost no competition for set-top box hardware, allowing prices to rise, Wheeler said. "On average, consumers are paying $231 a year to rent those boxes, collectively, about $20 billion a year," he said. "And by the way, did I mention they have no competitive choice when it comes to that situation? According to a recent analysis submitted for the record, over the past 20 years, the cost of cable television set-top boxes has risen 185 percent, while the cost of computers, televisions, and mobile phones has dropped 90 percent."
http://arstechnica.com/business/2016/01/tom-wheeler-fires-back-at-cable-lobby-says-cable-box-fees-are-too-high/
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