NNSquad - Network Neutrality Squad
[ NNSquad ] Ramifications of "Universal" Set-Top Boxes for Net Neutrality
I think it's important to consider the ramifications of the FCC's push toward "universal" set-top boxes for Net Neutrality concerns. In this discussion I include VDSL-delivered services like U-verse under the descriptive term "cable" for most purposes. Such "universal" boxes exist in a limited sense today. Relatively recent TiVo units are an example. The TiVo HD tunes cable channels via cableCARDS and the Internet via standard 100BASE-TX. Programs from either source all end up in the same Now Playing list. YouTube can stream to the box, as can various movie services. The same films can in many cases be viewed via the cable company's channels or the Internet (though not necessarily with the same quality due to Internet bandwidth limitations). One glaring omission is the inability of the TiVo to process cable company PPV (pay-per-view) or other VOD (video-on-demand) services. This aspect is an enormous can of political worms, and even when TiVos begin to support these functions it will apparently be via a heavily restricted independent mode that emulates a cable company box and is directly controlled by the cable company. But picture a future where most every set top box in most households has both cable and Internet, or satellite and Internet connections -- and can receive streaming programming from either. For many persons, the same entity providing cable TV service will provide Internet service. Some will have separate TV and Internet service providers. Over time, the distinction between programming delivered via the digital "TV" portion of the cable and the Internet portion of the cable will become increasingly blurred. But what isn't likely to blur will be the desire of a content provider ISP who also provides general Internet access services to maximize the extent to which subscribers select "internal" vs. "external" content. If you want to see a particular PPV film, it's in the interests of the cable company to have you pay them to see it -- not for you to pay some outside Internet-based service. A range of factors largely *under the content-providing ISP's control* will have enormous impact on these choices, including Internet speeds provided, costs per month, *bandwidth and usage caps*, and so on. And naturally this situation will be massively exacerbated by universal set-top boxes, which will make it easy for subscribers to make such selections on the fly. I have difficulty seeing how this universe can be made to function effectively in the absence of some sort of regulatory regime to ensure transparency and fairness in situations where the Internet access providers themselves are providing their own content that directly competes with content from the external Internet. --Lauren-- NNSquad Moderator ----- Forwarded message from Lauren Weinstein <lauren@vortex.com> ----- Date: Sun, 6 Dec 2009 14:48:46 -0800 From: Lauren Weinstein <lauren@vortex.com> Subject: [ NNSquad ] FCC pushes for TV set-top boxes that access programming from Internet To: nnsquad@nnsquad.org FCC pushes for TV set-top boxes that access programming from Internet http://bit.ly/89cAql (L.A. Times) --Lauren-- NNSquad Moderator ----- End forwarded message -----