MAP, Other Public Interest Groups Call for New FCC Approach to Develop Competitive Marketplace for Cable Boxes and Video Devices
Posted: Friday December 18, 2009
Media Access Project (MAP) joined other public interest groups today in calling for Federal Communications Commission action on the issue of cable set-top boxes. The groups asked the Commission to take a new approach for rules encouraging the development of a competitive market for compatible, portable video devices.
Such devices include cable boxes, DVRs, televisions, and other consumer electronics equipment able to receive and descramble signals from cable operators, satellite providers, and newer video providers such as telephone companies. The FCC has been trying for more than a decade now to promote the availability of independently manufactured devices — ones that consumers could buy for themselves and take from one provider to another, rather than always renting boxes from their cable providers.
Matt Wood, MAP’s Associate Director, made the following statement:
“It is high time for the FCC to reexamine these issues and move beyond the previous, piecemeal approach to set-top boxes. Video subscribers deserve choices in the market for these devices, and the Commission should take advantage of the chances to get this done presented by the broadband plan and digital transition.”
MAP joined Public Knowledge, Free Press, Consumers Union, CCTV Center for Media and Democracy, and the Open Technology Initiative of the New America Foundation in requesting that the FCC open a new rulemaking on these issues.
MAP is a non-profit, public interest law firm and advocacy organization dedicated to promoting the public’s First Amendment right to access a diverse marketplace of ideas in the mass media system. For over 37 years, MAP has promoted the public interest before the FCC and the Courts, advocating for open and diverse media that protect the free flow of information, promote universal and equitable access to media outlets and telecommunications services, and encourage vibrant public discourse on critical issues facing our society.