CEA Files Comments On Distribution Of Interactive Television Services Over Cable

Association Joins In Call For Non-Discrimination Policy For ITV Services

18-May-01

The Federal Communications Commission (the Commission) should promote a level playing field in the burgeoning market for interactive TV (ITV), said the Consumer Electronics Association (CEA) in comments filed with the Commission. CEA also expressed concern in the filing about the impact of program and interactive services, including electronic program guides (EPG) that are essential for program navigation in ""cable-ready"" products, such as TV sets and set-top boxes. The Commission is reviewing both the distribution of ITV services over cable and its 1998 rules on navigation devices in separate proceedings.""The questions posed by the Commission in this Notice Of Inquiry for ITV services should not be considered in isolation. The openness of the market for ITV services is closely linked to the likelihood that a competitive market for cable-ready navigation devices will arise..."" CEA said in its filing. ""Unless the program and system information that makes possible the creation of EPGs is made available to manufacturers and other parties, such as providers of competing EPG services, then competition in both equipment and services will be stifled.""As the principal trade association of the consumer technology industry, CEA has been an active participant in negotiations as the Commission has formulated its various digital TV (DTV) and ITV policies. CEA agreed in this proceeding with comments filed by the Consumer Electronics Retailers Coalition (CERC), Gemstar-TV Guide International (Gemstar), Media Access Project, and TiVoÆ in their call for Commission intervention in the market for ITV services. Without Commission intervention now - in the form of a non-discrimination policy - to forestall the need for future regulatory action, CEA said, ITV market concentration will be left in the hands of cable ""gatekeepers"" to the ultimate harm of the consumer. ""Both consumers and consumer electronics manufacturers will benefit from a marketplace built on reasonable, open standards along with the freedom to innovate. Moreover, the transition to DTV will be accelerated if the Commission fosters an open standards environment where competition can flourish, and consumers become excited by a wide variety of choices,"" CEA argued. For more information about the CEA, visit www.ce.org.

Read More:
http://www.ce.org