CableCARD no longer required legislature

[reggie14]

I don't (necessarily) have a problem with usage-based pricing. If you want good service for high-data-usage, high-bandwidth applications, I think you need to make sure ISPs have an incentive for you to generate traffic. Otherwise you run into the problem we have now with Netflix and ISPs (notably, Verizon and Comcast). And I tend to think you're better off having subscribers pay those usage-based costs rather than services (e.g., Netflix) on behalf of customers. As it stands, it seems like I (as a FiOS customers) am subsidizing better service for Comcast users because Netflix caved to Comcast's demands but not Verizon's. Maybe you could "correct" for those things by having Netflix (and other services) charge different rates for people on different ISPs, but that seems like a bad model, too.

It seems like charging subscribers usage-based rates, but not the service/media providers that subscribers access, gives ISPs an incentive to keeps speeds up and interconnect when it makes sense (e.g., when your subscribers access huge amounts of data from a particular source). Then you "just" need to tackle the problem of ensuring pricing is fair. That's tough without significant regulations or significantly increased competition. But if customers see and pay those usage rates, instead of hiding them behind secret deals between media companies and ISPs, I think competition (if it existed) would keep those rates check.

I don't understand what keeps Verizon/Comcast demands in check right now. If they want to charge Netflix ridiculous rates for transit to customers, what's to stop them? How likely would Netflix give up on tens of millions of potential customers? Sure, some FiOS subscribers that really like Netflix might figure out what's going on and rightfully blame Verizon, but others (most, I suspect) would simply drop their Netflix subscription if things got bad enough.

Comcast's 250/300GB caps/tiers aren't crazy now... Honestly, I'd have a hard time hitting that even if I could move all my TV watching to Netflix and Hulu. Still, $10 per 50GB seems awfully high. At that price, they're probably not hoping to capitalize on overages as much as they appear to be hoping to keep usage under that threshold.

[barnabas1969]

Still, $10 per 50GB seems awfully high. At that price, they're probably not hoping to capitalize on overages as much as they appear to be hoping to keep usage under that threshold.

I believe, at that price, that they are absolutely trying to capitalize on overages. Just like the cellular companies used to do with overages on minutes (and still do with data). Most people try to stay below the cap... but it happens sometimes. I think the providers are banking on the fact that very few customers will call to complain, and will simply pay the exorbitant overage charges.

[richard1980]

The old dial-up model:

"For a monthly fee, you can drive your vehicle on our road for 25 hours each month. The speed limit on our road is 30 MPH, but you may not be able to drive that fast during rush hour."

The old broadband model:

"For a monthly fee, you can drive your vehicle on our road as much as you want each month. The speed limit for your vehicle depends on how much you pay us each month. Regardless of which speed limit package you choose, you may not be able to drive the speed limit during rush hour."

ISP response to complaints about traffic congestion:

"We have enough lanes to accommodate regular traffic, but there are a few drivers hauling huge loads of illegal music on our road. Despite the fact that we have authorized 500 times as many drivers to be on the road as will actually fit on the road at one time, all of the congestion is due to the drivers that are hauling illegal music."

A few years later (after that excuse got old):

"We have enough lanes to accommodate regular traffic, but there are a few drivers hauling huge loads of illegal videos on our road. Despite the fact that we have authorized 500 times as many drivers to be on the road as will actually fit on the road at one time, all of the congestion is due to the drivers that are hauling illegal videos."

A few more years later (after that excuse got old):

"We have enough lanes to accommodate basic web browsing, but there are many drivers that are legally transporting videos on our road, which is putting a strain on our road. Additionally, 1% of drivers drive much more than the other 99%, and despite the fact that we have authorized 500 times as many drivers to be on the road as will actually fit on the road at one time, all of the congestion is due to the 1% of drivers that spend far more time on the road than the average driver. Those drivers need to stop driving so much!"

The solution:

"For a monthly fee, you can drive your vehicle on our road. The speed limit and distance you are allowed to drive depends on how much you pay us each month. Regardless of which speed limit package you choose, you may not be able to drive the speed limit during rush hour. If you exceed the distance you are allowed to drive in a month, we will reduce your vehicle's speed limit and/or charge you an additional fee for every mile you travel over the distance limit."

The new model ISPs want to implement:

"For a monthly fee, you can drive your vehicle on our road. The speed limit and distance you are allowed to drive depends on how much you pay us each month. Regardless of which speed limit package you choose, you may not be able to drive the speed limit during rush hour. If you exceed the distance you are allowed to drive in a month, we will reduce your vehicle's speed and/or charge you an additional fee for every mile you travel over the distance limit. Also, in accordance with an agreement we reached with Walmart, drivers that are driving to/from Walmart have priority over all other traffic on the road."

The future:

"For a monthly fee, you can drive your vehicle on our road. The speed limit, distance you are allowed to drive, and destinations you are allowed to visit depend on how much you pay us each month, the time of day you are attempting to drive, and the start and end points of your trip. We have multiple options for monthly distance limits that may be combined with one of our multiple speed limits. We also have special speed limit and distance packages for trips to/from certain destinations. Travel to/from some destinations is prohibited. Regardless of which speed limit package you choose, you may not be able to drive the speed limit during rush hour. There will be an additional fee for anyone driving during rush hour. There will also be a per-mile fee for drivers that are driving to/from McDonald's. If you exceed the distance you are allowed to drive in a month, we will reduce your vehicle's speed and/or charge you an additional fee for every mile you travel over the distance limit. There will also be an additional fee for driving to/from certain destinations while you have exceeded your monthly distance allotment. In accordance with agreements reached with Walmart and Target, traffic to/from Walmart has priority over all other traffic on the road except drivers that are driving to/from Target. Traffic to/from Target will be given priority over all other traffic for the first 100 miles a driver drives to/from Target each month, which can be extended for additional miles for a small fee. In accordance with an agreement reached with Best Buy, all traffic to/from Best Buy will receive a 20% speed limit increase for the first 10,000 miles of total traffic to/from Best Buy each month. Due to a dispute with Macy's, the speed limit for trips to/from Macy's will be 5 MPH. Additionally, the total miles driven on trips to/from Macy's shall not exceed 10 miles in a single month. If you wish to increase the speed limit and/or the monthly distance limit to/from Macy's, you may do so by paying an additional fee. In accordance with an agreement with The Home Depot, traffic to/from The Home Depot will be given preferential treatment from 9:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m., but will have reduced speed limits from 2:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m. Traveling to/from The Home Depot at any other time is prohibited. Traveling to/from Lowe's at any time is also prohibited."

[slowbiscuit]

The problem here is the lack of effective competition and/or regulation, which any reasonable person acknowledges - IMO internet access should be reclassified as a public utility (or at the minimum be declared common carriers) and providers like Comcast should be forced to separate the pipes from the content. But given the corporatocracy that is America today, it ain't gonna happen any time soon. Perhaps Google Fiber can deliver eventually, looks like the ATL will be one of the lucky cities to get it one day.

[barnabas1969]

@Richard - Love your post. Unfortunately, my ISP sent me a letter informing me that they would charge me double to access your posts in the future. So, I must refrain from reading anything you have to say in the future. No hard feelings, but I can no longer read posts that do not agree with my ISP's political agenda.

[richard1980]

I certainly wouldn't put it past them!

[Dkeyguy1]

The old dial-up model:

"For a monthly fee, you can drive your vehicle on our road for 25 hours each month. The speed limit on our road is 30 MPH, but you may not be able to drive that fast during rush hour."

The old broadband model:

"For a monthly fee, you can drive your vehicle on our road as much as you want each month. The speed limit for your vehicle depends on how much you pay us each month. Regardless of which speed limit package you choose, you may not be able to drive the speed limit during rush hour."

ISP response to complaints about traffic congestion:

"We have enough lanes to accommodate regular traffic, but there are a few drivers hauling huge loads of illegal music on our road. Despite the fact that we have authorized 500 times as many drivers to be on the road as will actually fit on the road at one time, all of the congestion is due to the drivers that are hauling illegal music."

A few years later (after that excuse got old):

"We have enough lanes to accommodate regular traffic, but there are a few drivers hauling huge loads of illegal videos on our road. Despite the fact that we have authorized 500 times as many drivers to be on the road as will actually fit on the road at one time, all of the congestion is due to the drivers that are hauling illegal videos."

A few more years later (after that excuse got old):

"We have enough lanes to accommodate basic web browsing, but there are many drivers that are legally transporting videos on our road, which is putting a strain on our road. Additionally, 1% of drivers drive much more than the other 99%, and despite the fact that we have authorized 500 times as many drivers to be on the road as will actually fit on the road at one time, all of the congestion is due to the 1% of drivers that spend far more time on the road than the average driver. Those drivers need to stop driving so much!"

The solution:

"For a monthly fee, you can drive your vehicle on our road. The speed limit and distance you are allowed to drive depends on how much you pay us each month. Regardless of which speed limit package you choose, you may not be able to drive the speed limit during rush hour. If you exceed the distance you are allowed to drive in a month, we will reduce your vehicle's speed limit and/or charge you an additional fee for every mile you travel over the distance limit."

The new model ISPs want to implement:

"For a monthly fee, you can drive your vehicle on our road. The speed limit and distance you are allowed to drive depends on how much you pay us each month. Regardless of which speed limit package you choose, you may not be able to drive the speed limit during rush hour. If you exceed the distance you are allowed to drive in a month, we will reduce your vehicle's speed and/or charge you an additional fee for every mile you travel over the distance limit. Also, in accordance with an agreement we reached with Walmart, drivers that are driving to/from Walmart have priority over all other traffic on the road."

The future:

"For a monthly fee, you can drive your vehicle on our road. The speed limit, distance you are allowed to drive, and destinations you are allowed to visit depend on how much you pay us each month, the time of day you are attempting to drive, and the start and end points of your trip. We have multiple options for monthly distance limits that may be combined with one of our multiple speed limits. We also have special speed limit and distance packages for trips to/from certain destinations. Travel to/from some destinations is prohibited. Regardless of which speed limit package you choose, you may not be able to drive the speed limit during rush hour. There will be an additional fee for anyone driving during rush hour. There will also be a per-mile fee for drivers that are driving to/from McDonald's. If you exceed the distance you are allowed to drive in a month, we will reduce your vehicle's speed and/or charge you an additional fee for every mile you travel over the distance limit. There will also be an additional fee for driving to/from certain destinations while you have exceeded your monthly distance allotment. In accordance with agreements reached with Walmart and Target, traffic to/from Walmart has priority over all other traffic on the road except drivers that are driving to/from Target. Traffic to/from Target will be given priority over all other traffic for the first 100 miles a driver drives to/from Target each month, which can be extended for additional miles for a small fee. In accordance with an agreement reached with Best Buy, all traffic to/from Best Buy will receive a 20% speed limit increase for the first 10,000 miles of total traffic to/from Best Buy each month. Due to a dispute with Macy's, the speed limit for trips to/from Macy's will be 5 MPH. Additionally, the total miles driven on trips to/from Macy's shall not exceed 10 miles in a single month. If you wish to increase the speed limit and/or the monthly distance limit to/from Macy's, you may do so by paying an additional fee. In accordance with an agreement with The Home Depot, traffic to/from The Home Depot will be given preferential treatment from 9:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m., but will have reduced speed limits from 2:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m. Traveling to/from The Home Depot at any other time is prohibited. Traveling to/from Lowe's at any time is also prohibited."

Dude,
Reading this made my head hurt,
but still, I kept getting that DejaVu feeling, it sounds sooo familiar......

[dejavux2]

Dude,
What do I have to do with it?

[werds]

Well I got responses... neither of them sound promising as one was boilerplate and the other sounded like if the telecommunications lobby wrote the response...

[barnabas1969]

I finally got a response from Senator Nelson a couple of days ago. It was a form letter for sure. It's strange too... because he (or one of his aides) usually writes to me with a personal response that specifically answers my e-mail.

[werds]

Well I got responses... neither of them sound promising as one was boilerplate and the other sounded like if the telecommunications lobby wrote the response...

Below are the two responses I received...

Code: Select all

Thank you for getting in touch with me to express your views about the STB integration ban.

 

    Your comments were helpful.  I believe the best ideas come from the people, and they guide our actions here in Washington.  I also want to be responsive to the needs of Marylanders, and information from people like you is essential if I'm to reach that goal.

 

    If I can be of assistance in the future, or if there is any other federal issue on which you would like to comment, please feel free to let me know.

Sincerely,
Barbara A. Mikulski
United States Senator 

Code: Select all

Thank you for taking the time to contact me with your concerns about the reauthorization of the Satellite Television Extension and Localism Act of 2010(STELA) and your support for CableCARD. I appreciate your thoughts on this important issue.

 

As you may know, with the passage of STELA, Congress constructed a regulatory framework for the satellite retransmission of broadcast television and certain provisions of the law expire on December 31, 2014. On March 24, 2014, the House Subcommittee on Communications and Technology approved a draft STELA bill which would provide a five year extension of the expiring provisions, limit joint retransmission consent negotiations in conjunction with limitations on FCC action on broadcaster sharing agreements, eliminate the "sweeps" week prohibition on signal changes, and repeal the FCC's integration ban on cable set-top boxes.

 

In order to watch programming provided by a satellite or cable operator, customers must connect their television to a set-top box which provides two functions: navigation (selecting channels or on-demand services) and security (decrypting the encoded signal, thereby ensuring against unauthorized use of that signal). In 2003, the FCC adopted rules requiring the cable companies to make a security device known as a "CableCARD" available to consumers. CableCARDs can be inserted into any set-top box in order to decrypt the cable signal, thereby making that signal viewable by the cable subscriber. 

 

CableCARD technology is estimated to add $56 to the cost of each box, resulting in a total cost to the cable industry of over $1 billion. Additionally, satellite and telco video providers are not required to use CableCARDs. If the integration ban is repealed, cable operators will still be required to supply CableCARDs for third-party set-top boxes. Rest assured that I will continue to monitor the STELA reauthorization legislation and I will keep your views in mind should this bill come before the full House for a vote. 

 

Again, thank you for contacting me with your thoughts about STELA and your support for CableCARD. As the 113th Congress addresses the many challenges facing our nation, I hope you will continue to share your suggestions. For the fastest and most cost-effective response, please contact me via email. To keep up with my work in Congress, visit my website at harris.house.gov and sign up to receive updates at harris.house.gov/contact-me/newsletter.
 

 
Sincerely,

Andy Harris M.D.
Member of Congress 

[barnabas1969]

Well, aren't you glad that Mr. Harris gave you a lesson on CableCARD? It sounds like Ms. Mikulski is on your side. Mr. Harris... not so much. I expected the R's to fall on the side of the cable companies. No surprise there.

[Haba]

Thanks for bringing this issue to my attention. I have contacted my US Representatives.

[poit57]

If the integration ban is repealed, cable operators will still be required to supply CableCARDs for third-party set-top boxes.

Forgive me if I'm not understanding, but doesn't this address the main concern over this bill -- whether the cable companies will still be required to supply CableCARDs for third party equipment? I haven't followed this for long, but I switched to an HDHomeRun Prime last year and have since gotten my brother and one of our cousins to switch from the cable company's DVR to using WMC with a CableCARD.

If what this congressman states is true, then isn't that what we are all wanting?

[werds]

If the integration ban is repealed, cable operators will still be required to supply CableCARDs for third-party set-top boxes.

Forgive me if I'm not understanding, but doesn't this address the main concern over this bill -- whether the cable companies will still be required to supply CableCARDs for third party equipment? I haven't followed this for long, but I switched to an HDHomeRun Prime last year and have since gotten my brother and one of our cousins to switch from the cable company's DVR to using WMC with a CableCARD.

If what this congressman states is true, then isn't that what we are all wanting?

Nope, because having to provide a CableCard and actually having to provide quality service and support for said CableCard customers is NOT the same thing!