NPRM on Basic Tier Encryption Seeks Input on Avoiding Consumer Harm
The FCC asked how it might let cable operators encrypt their basic tiers of service on all-digital systems without putting undue financial pressure on low-income cable subscribers. The questions come in a notice of proposed rulemaking released Friday. As expected (CD Oct 3 p8), the commission tentatively concluded in the NPRM that letting cable operators encrypt the basic tier won’t hurt compatibility between cable systems and consumer electronics devices for most subscribers. And it said the bulk of consumers wouldn’t be affected much either.
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Among those who will be affected are low-income subscribers who purchase only the basic tier and don’t lease a set-top box from their cable operator, the NPRM said. Additionally, subscribers who access an unencrypted tier on second and third TV sets in the home would have to get new set-top boxes if their operator began encrypting that service. “Although we expect the number of subscribers in these situations to be relatively small, these consumers may be affected by lifting the encryption prohibition for all-digital cable systems,” it said.
The notice proposes a similar set of consumer protections to those the FCC imposed on Cablevision as conditions for granting Cablevision’s request for a waiver of the ban last year. In that case Cablevision was required to offer existing basic-only subscribers up to two free set-top boxes or CableCARDs for up to two years, customers with extra sets one box free for a year and new qualified low-income basic tier subscribers up to two boxes for five years. The NPRM asked whether those time frames are appropriate and how many subscribers are likely to be affected. It also asked for input on how to define qualified low-income subscribers and whether it should look at Medicaid enrollment as an indicator.
Cable operators with all-digital systems could encrypt their basic tiers if the proposed rule is adopted, but they would not be required to, the NPRM said. That leeway frees the commission to impose such conditions, it said. “Because cable operators may decide whether they wish to encrypt under the requisite regulatory conditions … we see no statutory or constitutional constraints to imposing such a requirement,” it said, asking for comments on its analysis.
The notice also sought input on what constitutes an “all-digital cable system.” For instance, “what if a system transmits nearly all of its channels solely in digital but maintains a single unencrypted analog channel to inform potential subscribers about how to subscribe to the service,” the notice asked. It also asked whether the commission should include IP video and other non-traditional cable video services in its definition of an all-digital system. “We also seek comment on whether the Commission should revise the encryption rule with respect to any hybrid (analog/digital) systems where basic service tier programming is provided digitally but the cable operator continues to provide some analog service to its subscribers."
Comments will be due 30 days after the notice is published in the Federal Register, with replies due 15 days later.