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The plan, first proposed in January and updated on Thursday,
is aimed at ending the cable industry's long domination of the
$20-billion-a-year set-top box market and lowering prices for
consumers. Nearly all pay-TV subscribers lease set-top boxes
from their cable, satellite or telecommunications providers at
an average annual cost of $231.
In recent months, the plan drew fierce opposition from
television and content providers, including AT&T Inc, Comcast
Corp and Twenty-First Century Fox Inc. AT&T criticized Wheeler's
revised proposal as "overbroad" and "unnecessary."
A vote by the five-member commission is expected on Sept. 29.
The new rules would require companies covering 95 percent of
U.S. TV subscribers to comply by September 2018.
"If adopted, these consumer-first rules would pave the way for a
competitive marketplace for new devices that enhance the
TV-watching experience. Bottom line: consumers will no longer
have to rent a set-top box just to watch the programing they
already pay for," FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler wrote in a blog post.
Wheeler initially proposed in January open standards for set-top
boxes allowing tech companies to re-imagine the delivery of
video content. The new proposal grants device makers the ability
to integrate cable company apps.
The plan would also include a licensing body to ensure that
pay-TV companies do not enter into anti-competitive agreements
and allow for "integrated search" of different content
providers. Pay-TV providers would be required to provide their
apps to platforms like Roku, Apple iOS, Windows and Android, the
FCC said.
Set-top box rental fees have jumped 185 percent since 1994,
while the cost of televisions, computers and mobile phones has
dropped 90 percent, the FCC has estimated.
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Comcast said in a statement that Wheeler's "latest tortured approach
is equally flawed" as his initial plan, violates federal law and
would harm consumers. Comcast added that the proposal would impose
"an overly complicated government licensing regime and heavy-handed
regulation in a fast-moving technological space."
Cable companies have previously expressed concerns that rivals like
Alphabet Inc or Apple Inccould create devices or apps and insert
their own content or advertising in cable content.
U.S. Senator Richard Blumenthal backed Wheeler's proposal.
"Consumers don’t have to rent computers from their broadband
providers or DVD players from their cable companies – set-top boxes
should be no different," Blumenthal said in a statement.
Chip Pickering, head of the trade group INCOMPAS that includes
Amazon.com, Google, Facebook Inc and Netflix Inc, praised Wheeler's
plan, saying it would allow for "lower prices, more choice and the
freedom to discover new and exciting content streaming online."
(Reporting by David Shepardson; Editing by Cynthia Osterman and Will
Dunham)
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