Under a pay-TV compromise set-top box proposal (see 1606160059), carriers would license their video apps to third-party box makers without charging them, said representatives from NCTA and AT&T in a meeting with FCC Media Bureau Chief Bill Lake, FCC Chief Technologist Scott Jordan and staff from the bureau and Office of General Counsel Thursday. Since the pay-TV carriers wouldn't charge for the license, the proposal would include provisions preventing others from charging customers to use it, NCTA said in docket 16-42 Monday. The license also would include provisions protecting privacy, copyright, advertising and the “technical integrity of the app” for content security, it said. Commissioner Mike O’Rielly chastised the FCC set-top plan, in a speech released Monday (see 1606270066).

Union Wireless joined the Competitive Carriers Association Device Hub, CCA said Monday. “With this platform, we have one place to choose devices, customize settings … and pre-load apps, and test and certify devices before launch,” said Brian Woody, Union Wireless chief customer relations officer. “Through this venture, we can provide an optimized experience for our customers on our network.” Union has 60,000 subscribers in the U.S. West, a CCA news release said.

The International Trade Commission voted to begin a Section 337 Tariff Act investigation into allegations that imports of semiconductor devices made by Broadcom and included in a range of downstream products are infringing patents held by Tessera, the ITC said last week. In its May 23, complaint, Tessera alleged Broadcom is copying its patented designs for chips used in network devices and set-top boxes. It alleged infringing chips are included in devices made by Arista Networks, Arris, Asus, Comcast, HTC, Netgear and Technicolor. The ITC will consider whether to issue a limited exclusion order and cease and desist orders against those companies. Those companies declined to comment or didn't comment right away Friday.

Synaptics is using this week’s Computex Taipei show in Taiwan to demonstrate a new USB dongle that enables secure fingerprint authentication on any notebook PC, the company said in a Wednesday announcement. The dongle is a ready-to-use fingerprint module that’‘s “small enough to remain unobtrusively installed in any notebook USB port,” Synaptics said. “The rapid growth of online payments combined with the critical need for protecting access to PC data for businesses and consumers alike is driving the need for high performance biometric authentication,” the company said. “All things equal, fingerprint authentication is significantly more secure than typing passwords, and when combined with the convenience of not remembering and changing multiple passwords, it should end the debate.” Synaptics plans to sample the dongle in Q3 with mass production expected in Q4, he said.

Panasonic will release this month a thin low-profile inrush relay for remote control applications including smart switches and smart power outlets for connected homes, said the company. The product meets overseas safety standards, said Panasonic Thursday.

The International Trade Commission voted to begin a Tariff Act Section 337 investigation into alleged patent infringement by DVRs and set-top boxes with interactive program guides and video recording technology for use with Comcast cable systems, the ITC said in a Monday news release. Rovi requested the investigation in a complaint filed April 6, saying Comcast “built its interactive cable business on the back of Rovi’s technology” as a licensee, “refuses to renew [Rovi's] license on acceptable terms” and continues to sell and lease products that copy Rovi’s technology and compete with Rovi products. The ITC will consider whether to issue a limited exclusion order and cease and desist orders banning import and sale of infringing set-tops by Arris, Comcast and Technicolor, the agency said. Arris declined to comment Tuesday, and a Technicolor spokesman had no immediate comment. Comcast disagrees "with Rovi’s accusations and intend[s] to defend the cases vigorously," said a spokeswoman for the cable company.

Opponents of the FCC's set-top box proposal are making "pseudo-copyright arguments" that ignore the reality of copyright law, the Electronic Frontier Foundation said in a blog post Wednesday. Arguments that a contract with a copyright holder is required to do anything to content are false, EFF said, saying cloud-based DVRs can record content without a contract with the content owner, and TV manufacturers don't pay content companies for the right to show programming on their machines. The copyright arguments are intended to "thwart" the FCC's plan, EFF said. "Rather than listening to entities with no interest in changing the status quo, policy makers would be best served by listening to content creators who do not have a vested interest in keeping the set-top box market closed."

Charter Communications will pay a $640,000 settlement and set up a three-year compliance plan that widens the variety of third-party cable modems it accepts on its network, the FCC Media Bureau said in an order and consent decree Tuesday. The order follows a bureau investigation of Charter that it said sprung from Zoom Telephonics' petition to deny FCC approval of Charter's buying of Bright House Networks and Time Warner Cable, with the cable modem maker alleging Charter infringed on the rights of subscribers to use non-harmful third-party cable modems (see 1510130054). The bureau said its investigation found that from 2012 to 2014, Charter told subscribers that they no longer could attach customer-owned modems and then provided a list of authorized third-party modems that required testing for issues not relating to network harm or theft of service. Under the order, Charter also is revising its cable modem testing regime so compliance testing will take no more than three weeks. Also, it is required under the order to appoint a senior corporate manager as compliance officer for implementing the compliance plan. Under the order, Charter can reject only certain cable modems, such as those that don't support DOCSIS 3.0 or higher. In a statement Wednesday, Charter said it is "pleased to be able to continue to give our customers the choice to use a modem provided by Charter for free or purchase an approved third party modem." "Zoom is pleased with much of the Commission’s action, including its requirement for much faster certification testing for cable modems and appropriate limits on tests," Zoom counsel Andrew Schwartzman said in an email to us Wednesday. "This is a major victory, and we hope other cable service providers will act consistent with the clear wishes of the FCC." Around the time the Charter settlement was released, the FCC also issued the text of the commissioners' order approving Charter/TWC/BHN (see 1605100050).

FCC critiques of Comcast's TV Everywhere offering were "unnecessary" and "uncalled for," CEO Brian Roberts said during the company's Q1 earnings call Wednesday. Numerous critics of the FCC set-top box proposal pointed to Comcast's plans to expand its TVE offering as proof the agency is headed in the wrong regulatory direction, while the agency said Comcast was offering "only a proprietary, Comcast-controlled user interface and seems to allow only Comcast content on different devices" (see 1604200047). Roberts said more than 40 companies have signed up for its Xfinity TV Partner Program, through which device makers can create products that work with the TV Partner app. During the call, Comcast also said it expected to have a carriage agreement signed soon with Dish Network.

SanDisk is shipping a half-terabyte solid-state drive for desktop PCs and laptops. “SSDs are being rapidly adopted as the preferred storage option across the entire spectrum of the PC marketplace,” said Tarun Loomba, general manager-client platform solutions. The 480GB drive offers storage sufficient for most consumers and typical corporate users, said Loomba. The price gap between SSDs and hard disk drive storage is narrowing, broadening SSD’s market adoption, said IDC data.