NCTA Still Against FCC Set-Top Plan

Though there may be “an evolution” in the FCC's set-top plan, NCTA and its attorney, Helgi Walker of Gibson Dunn, met with new FCC General Counsel Howard Symons Monday to brief him on NCTA objections to the original set-top NPRM, said an ex parte filing posted online in docket 16-42 Tuesday. The briefing was a response to “statements made by proponents of the NPRM that they hoped to 'bolt on' aspects of the NPRM to the apps-based approach,” NCTA said. Incompas has suggested a combination of the FCC and pay-TV plans it called the “bolt-on” approach. “Any proposal -- even if termed 'apps-based' -- that includes unbundling and disaggregation of content and/or interactive services” would lead to legal challenges, NCTA said.