Cable

摘要

The FCC Media Bureau should “quadruple” the number of set-top boxes Adams Cable Equipmentnis allowed to refurbish and sell under the CableCARD waiver the bureau granted the company in July (CDnJuly 30 p11), ACE said in a petition filed Friday (http://bit.ly/1dmXhHB). The current waiver allowsnACE to offer its existing inventory of 50,000 set-top boxes directly to subscribers, but the company wantsnto buy and refurbish older boxes “stranded” in the inventories of large cable operators that have moved onnto newer models. “Millions of integrated set-top boxes that could continue to have a useful life are beingndisposed of for scrap metal when they could readily be refurbished and sold to consumers,” said the petition.nThe Media Bureau limited ACE to 50,000 boxes to ensure that the company’s operation wouldn’tnthreaten the “common reliance” on CableCARDs required by the integration ban, but ACE said increasingnthe limit wouldn’t put “the slightest dent” in the use of CableCARDs. “Cable operators have deployednmore than 40 million set-top boxes that commonly rely on CableCARDs,” said ACE. Expanding thenwaiver would allow ACE to lower the price of its set-top boxes and DVRs and help the environment, thencompany said. ACE also asked the commission to exempt set-top boxes sold at retail to consumers fromnthe limit imposed by the waiver, since retail sales “have no effect” on whether cable operators are primarilynrelying on CableCARDs, ACE said.