Latta says FCC set-top box plan flawed

VW independent/submitted information

WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Representative Bob Latta (R-Ohio), along with Representatives Kevin Cramer (R-North Dakota), Kurt Schrader (D-Oregon), and Collin Peterson (D-Minnesota), sent a letter to Federal Communications Commission (FCC) Chairman Wheeler urging the FCC to reexamine its set-top box proposal and to reconsider the plan’s implications on small and rural pay-TV providers.

“Our bipartisan letter recognizes the efforts of the FCC to support a competitive environment for video competition, but disagrees with their approach,” said Latta. “The Commission’s set-top box proposal is a technical mandate that will obstruct the future of pay-TV by having programmers retrofit their systems to comply with a new standard that doesn’t yet exist.

“Not only would a new standard likely take years to develop, slowing and stifling innovation, but it would also be costly to reconfigure systems, especially for small and rural providers,” Latta added. “Furthermore, the marketplace continues to prove that this proposal is obsolete. This is evident by Comcast’s recent announcement to launch an apps-based program to allow their customers to access their video programming through a range of retail devices without having to lease a set-top box.”

Latta noted that pro-consumer initiatives such as Comcast’s look towards the future of technology rather than taking a backwards approach like the FCC’s proposal.

“I hope this letter will convince the Commission not to move forward on the set-top box proceeding and reconsider the proposed rule, including the impacts it would have on small providers and consumers alike,” Latta noted.