FCC Should be Aware of DBS Issues on Gateways, Say DirecTV and Dish

The FCC should be careful as it takes up the Broadband Task Force’s recommendation that TV providers include a broadband gateway device to not ignore some of the unique features of direct broadcast satellite service providers’ technology, said DBS companies. The commission will begin to take up the issue April 21 (CD March 31 p10).

A new technological set-top box mandate would limit DirecTV’s services and “ability to innovate,” said Vice President Stacy Fuller. The main difference between DBS and other providers is the technology’s reliance on one-way infrastructure. The company’s current set-top boxes have a portion of its more popular VOD sent directly to the box so consumers don’t have to sit through further download time. A third-party device without that ability would lower the company’s service quality, she said. If the company were to adopt a third-party set-top, its ability to provide troubleshooting advice would suffer. “If there is an issue with the box, they are going to call DirecTV” and not the box maker, said Fuller. “We don’t know how that box functions or how it works. There is a lot more difficulty to have to go through numerous boxes. … Our subscribers are the ones that will be harmed by less responsive and effective customer service.” Other services the company offers, like new media ratings or upgrades to its guides, would be outside its control, throwing another question mark in the mix, she said. Fuller remains “hopeful” that the FCC will keep these concerns in mind as it goes through proceedings, she said.

Some of the same issues would likely affect Dish Network, but it’s not yet taken a stance in support of or against the proceedings because it has to consider future involvement of sister company EchoStar, which is in the set-top manufacturing business. The company “will wait for the specifics of the proceeding before it takes a position,” said Vice President Linda Kinney. “The devil is in the details.” In joint comments on the broadband plan public notice on gateway devices, Dish and EchoStar said they were concerned about combining the functionality of “one way DBS and the two-way cable/telco/IPTV operating architectures and associated standards,” into a single box (CD Dec 23/09 p8). The companies said “mandating the development of a nationally portable video device that works across all delivery platforms does not serve the public interest.”