Downloadable Security Rulemaking at FCC Seen Possible in January
Industry expectations of an upcoming FCC rulemaking stemming from the final report of its Downloadable Security Technology Advisory Committee are behind a recent flurry of filings in the DSTAC docket from EchoStar, NCTA and TiVo, industry officials told us. The report contained opposing recommendations from a group of pay-TV carriers and the TiVo- and Public Knowledge-backed Consumer Video Choice Coalition. The multichannel video programming distributors have taken the stance that the FCC should take no action toward creating a downloadable security solution -- so an FCC item would be seen as a blow to the MVPDs.
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Such an item is expected to go on circulation soon, and is expected to be taken up at the commission's Jan. 28 meeting, an industry official told us. Another industry official said the item could be slowed or stalled by the recent departure of FCC Deputy Chief Technologist Alison Neplokh, a subject matter expert on the DSTAC. Neplokh was hired by NAB (see 1511100056). The Media Bureau didn't comment.
The Consumer Video Choice Coalition held a live demonstration Thursday of its proposed downloadable security solution for Media Bureau staff and Chairman Tom Wheeler's aide Gigi Sohn, the CVCC said in an ex parte filing. “The Coalition urged the Commission staff to move forward expeditiously" with an NPRM "to fully consider adopting the competitive navigation device solution,” the filing said. During the live demonstration, content from multiple MVPDs was displayed on a single device. “The demonstration made clear that the competitive navigation device solution does not alter MVPD linear content or advertising,” the CVCC said. Closed captioning, emergency alerts and channel placement all function the same on the third-party device, the CVCC said.
There are “myriad” difficulties with moving forward with a DSTAC rulemaking, Dish Network and EchoStar said in an ex parte filing posted online Tuesday. Dish asked if the privacy disclosure requirements that MVPDs have to follow apply to manufacturers of third-party devices, and how MVPDs should handle customer service questions that concern third-party devices. Responsibility for security, interference and channel placement would need to be worked out and clarified, the satellite companies said. “Although the focus in this proceeding to date has been on technical issues, the Commission cannot afford to overlook the practical issues that would be involved in any attempt to implement a downloadable security system for use by all MVPDs.”
The FCC should be “wary” of “regulatory mandates” for set-top boxes, Roku said in an ex parte filing. Rules that would “explicitly or implicitly lock in any particular technical standard or require specific content delivery methods” should be approached with caution, Roku said.
Public Knowledge is mistaken in claims that the CVCC-backed proposal wouldn't require an additional operator-supplied box to provide service to third-party retail set-top boxes, NCTA said in an ex parte letter. The proposal would make cloud-based delivery impossible, necessitating an additional box, NCTA said. The CVCC proposal, which NCTA repeatedly compared to the defunct AllVid proposal, “would require pay TV providers to develop -- and consumers to lease -- new in-home boxes through which the pay TV service would have to flow before service could be delivered to the retail device,” NCTA said. “By contrast, apps enable consumers to access MVPD service without the need for a set-top box today.”