Taxpayers' Turn To Weigh In On Government's Move That Puts Competition Step Closer To Cable TV Box
By Ian Bush
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) -- It's now taxpayers' turn to weigh in on a government proposal that seeks to open your TV set-top box to competition.
The Federal Communications Commission today, voting in favor of coming up with rules to end cable's monopoly on the technology -- new regulation the industry claims would hit you square in the wallet.
Democrats, led by FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler, outnumber, and outvoted, Republicans on the issue:
"Innovation is a result of competition, not a result of a forced 'you must rent this box from me month after month after month.'"
The idea is to allow you to buy a box outright from wherever you want, and have it deliver traditional and streaming video.
Commissioner Jessica Rosenworcel compares two extremes:
"Smartphones have changed our lives and are changing our world. But the clunky set-top box and remote have not evolved at the same place nor faced the same competition."
But Republican Commissioner Ajit Pai, Comcast, and others opposed to the plan argue it ignores the blistering pace of innovation:
"Technology could render all of that work obsolete by the time it is ready to roll out."
