Yes, but only for boxes that don't have any fancy capabilities (no HD, no DVR, etc.). Basically the waivers are for DTAs or similar boxes.reggie14 wrote:Hasn't the FCC already been giving out some limited waivers on the integration ban?
As was already discussed in this thread, the integration ban was written in 1998...several years before CableCARD even existed. It was the integration ban that caused CableCARDs to be invented in the first place.reggie14 wrote:As many of you know, the integration ban was put in place to force cable companies to support CableCards, and it was reasonably effective at that.
Without the integration ban, there would be no law requiring the cable companies to even use CableCARDs or any other similar technology, much less offer support for the technology. The cable companies would be free to switch to integrated security modules and completely abandon the concept of separable security.reggie14 wrote:Getting rid of the integration ban wouldn't, by itself, remove the requirement to support CableCard.
Integrated security could be deployed to the current installed base via a firmware update. Even if that were not possible, the future deployment of new STBs is inevitable anyway, and those boxes could be built with integrated security.reggie14 wrote:And keep in mind there's a very large installed base of cable company provided STBs that rely on CableCard, so there's only so much damage that could be done.
How do you know?reggie14 wrote:Cable companies *probably* wouldn't do anything too bad...
Congress does not repeal laws that they wish to continue to enforce. If Congress repeals the integration ban, then the clear intent of Congress is to allow integration.reggie14 wrote:To do so would risk future FCC or Congressional involvement (e.g., AllVid), which the cable companies really don't want.
From the cable company perspective, CableCARD unnecessarily increases costs. The cost of the physical boxes that are currently deployed is irrelevant. It's the future boxes that will be deployed that the cable companies will consider. Additionally, the larger cable companies all have facilities and employees dedicated specifically to CableCARD, which could be shut down if CableCARD were phased out. And let's not forget about opportunity cost. A customer that leases a CableCARD instead of a cable box is costing the cable company money. While that opportunity cost is relatively small, it's still an opportunity cost nonetheless.reggie14 wrote:From the cable company perspective, CableCard is already 1) deployed and 2) no real threat, so I imagine if they need to be able to argue that they support third-party boxes, they'd rather go with CableCard than any other technically-feasible option.
Of course, this doesn't just apply to CableCARD. Substitute any separable security technology, and the same cable company perspective still applies.