| February 09, 2012 Is Cable Television Nearing Extinction?  By Nick McDonald, Contributing Writer
Cable companies feeling the heat from a loss of subscribers and an increase in digital television alternatives are asking the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to reconsider a rule regarding the encryption of basic cable. In the early nineties, the FCC (News - Alert) adopted a rule to make sure cable companies kept a portion of the broadcast stations completely unencrypted. These stations are known as “basic cable” by the public, and are accessed without the need of a set-top box. Basic cable has been used in households that have multiple televisions and do not want to pay an additional $5 to $15 for each set-top box. Cable companies are stating that costs will go down by eliminating the basic cable option, with the ability to remotely service digital boxes rather than sending out support to the home directly. However, this would put customers in the position of having to pay the extra money each month for a cable box, and it would also allow the cable companies to have full control over access to these stations, allowing them to charge licensing fees to any alternative company that offers a separate interface to watch television on, such as Boxee. Boxee (News - Alert) representatives that flew to Washington D.C. to discuss the issue with the FCC believe changing the rule would be a very poor decision. Besides the obvious fact that Boxee would have to pay licensing fees to the cable companies, its representatives also argued that reversing the original decision would eliminate all existing computer TV systems currently in American households and it would put low income families that already have problems paying for television at an even greater disadvantage. Another interesting point made was that by adding extra television boxes into households, it could drastically increase power consumption, consequently raising utility prices as well.... Read More
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