Scientific Atlanta is now offering a full line of products for cable operators planning to meet the FCC’s July deadline for so-called open set-top boxes to consumers.
Though some cable providers sought a waiver of the ruling, those hopes vanished last week when the FCC denied their filings and maintaining the July deadline in what’s being called the “cablecard ruling” in the video industry.
Scientific Atlanta, a Cisco Systems Inc. company, said it has shipped more than 30 million set-top boxes to date, primarily to cable operators, so it is wasting no time announcing the wares for their customers, which are among the country’s largest providers.
The vendor said a full suite of products is available to cable operators who want to meet the FCC “707” separable security mandate. Such products include the Multi-Stream CableCARD and a range of set-tops, from standard-definition digital-only to dual-tuner high-definition digital video recorders.
The removable security cards handle conditional access to and the encryption of premium cable channels. Cable operators provide separable security modules so that content can be adequately protected.
“Scientific Atlanta is committed to providing the M-Card, network and set-top solutions needed by cable operators for a successful separable security transition,” said Michael Harney, president of subscriber network systems at Scientific Atlanta. “Our CableLabs-qualified M-Card and latest line of CableCARD-enabled set-tops provide the features and security that enable our customers to deliver protected advanced digital cable services.”
Features of the M-Card include: decryption of premium services, single- and multistream hosts; integration by the vendor’s Digital Network Control System; and simultaneous decryption of up to six video streams.
To recap, Comcast Corp. and other cablecos must provide set-top boxes based on CableCard smartcard functionality by an FCC-imposed deadline of July. Comcast had requested a waiver and was denied one last week.
Comcast had sought to offer integrated set-top boxes, which the agency has contended stifle competition and consumer choice. Cable operators must deploy CableCARD-enabled devices, something that hits them hard in the wallet, perhaps resulting in millions of dollars lost from renting proprietary set-top boxes to subscribers.
The FCC’s media bureau did grant Cablevision’s request for a two-year wavier and conditionally granted the waiver request of Bend Cable, a small operator in Bend, Ore.
Scientific Atlanta www.sciatl.com
