FCC Lets Cable Operators Use Set-Tops with IP Connectors

Cable operators can use any set-top box with an Internet Protocol-based connector to output video in a format other devices can receive, instead of the required FCC IEEE 1394 interface that some consumer electronics makers have said is outdated, the FCC Media Bureau ruled Friday afternoon. The waiver responds to requests for exemption from the IEEE 1394 standard made late last year by Intel, Motorola and TiVo. But any set-top box maker that manufactures compliant devices can take advantage of the waiver, which applies to any cable operator, said a bureau order. Operators won’t need to apply for individual exemptions, it said.

This is the first general waiver of its sort, and will expire when rules on cable set-tops change or should the commission affirmatively choose not to change interface requirements, the order said. The order comes as the commission is considering changing interface rules, and waiver opponents Texas Instruments and the 1394 Trade Association had said the issue should be dealt with in a rulemaking. The bureau disagreed. “There is precedent for Bureaus relying on a public interest determination to decide whether to waiver a rule, regardless of whether the Commission is considering a change to the rule,” the order said. “In this case, special circumstance warranting a deviation from the general rule is the petitioners’ commitment to include IP-based connections on their set-top boxes. IP communication over Ethernet and Wi-Fi has achieved overwhelming marketplace acceptance for home networking of media devices.”

The waiver lets consumers network IP-enabled boxes with other devices with that connection in their household and won’t affect their ability to request set-tops with IEEE 1394 jacks from cable operators, the order said. Cable operators still must provide a device with a functional jack of that type to any subscriber who requests it, the ruling said. “Petitioners have shown, however, that the IP-based interfaces that the petitioners will include on their devices can also provide the baseline of connectivity that the IEEE 1394 output requirement was intended to achieve."

"We are convinced that consumers can and will use IP for video streaming from cable set-top boxes over Ethernet or Wi-Fi, as they are already doing with other video equipment,” said the order, signed by Bureau Chief Bill Lake. “While the IEEE 1394 interface may be widely deployed, accepted by consumers, and continually approved as the 1394TA asserts, those descriptions also apply to Ethernet and Wi-Fi. Indeed, Ethernet and Wi-Fi already have strong marketplace support, connecting home theater computers, video game consoles and Internet-connected video devices."

Motorola is pleased with the decision, said Jason Friedrich, senior director of broadband policy. “This is a ‘win’ for manufacturers, operators and consumers.” CEA hopes the waiver shows the “FCC is moving in the right direction to provide flexibility for use of one or more interfaces and protocols,” a spokeswoman for the group said. “We also hope that the rules they are crafting in the current CableCARD can provide some certainty to manufacturers that cable will support these interfaces.” Officials at Intel, the NCTA, Texas Instruments, 1394 Trade Association, and TiVo didn’t reply right away to messages seeking comment. —