FCC: Will AllVid be CableCARD Part Deux?

Last Wednesday, the U.S. Federal Communications Commission (FCC) issued a Notice of Inquiry concerning its plan for next-generation set-top boxes. The FCC's intention is to encourage a retail market for intelligent set-top boxes that can support just about any video service, including cable, satellite, IPTV and over-the-top Internet video content. The FCC tried to do the same thing several years ago with its CableCARD initiative, but even the Commission now recognizes that CableCARD has failed.

The original concept was to enable consumers to purchase cable set-top boxes from any of a variety of suppliers, and then rent a CableCARD that would be compatible with individual cable operators' conditional access, authentication and encryption systems. Somewhere between the original concept and actual implementation, the wheels fell off. CableCARDs could only handle one channel at a time and were one-way only, which meant that they couldn't be used for on-demand, pay-per-view or interactive applications. Two cards were required for DVRs in order to watch one program and simultaneously record a second program. The monthly lease price for CableCARDs wasn't all that much less than complete set-top boxes. Cable operators still required installers to come to customers' homes in order to set up CableCARDs, and few installers were trained on how to set them up properly. As a result, CableCARD was a bust.

In the FCC's new proposal, consumers would purchase a "smart video device" (set-top box) that would work for any "multichannel video programming distributor" (MVPD), including cable, satellite and IPTV operators, as well as Internet video providers. Then, each MPVD (except for the Internet video providers, who would connect via Ethernet or WiFi) would supply a "set-back" device, also called an "AllVid adapter", which would serve as a tuner and also perform conditional access, authentication and decryption functions. The FCC would like the AllVid adapters to connect to the smart video devices via Ethernet and to use standard IP protocol to send and receive audio, video and data, so technically, an AllVid adapter could be connected to a conventional network router and make video content available to any device on a home network.

The FCC's goal of "one box to rule them all" is laudable, but it's likely to have many of the same problems as CableCARD. First of all, despite the Commission's attempt to redefine terms, consumers would have to have at least two set-top boxes: The smart video device and one or more AllVid adapters. The AllVid adapters would be proprietary to each service provider, so for example, if a consumer moves from an area serviced by Comcast to one serviced by Cox Cable, they'll have to lease or buy a new AllVid adapter. AllVid adapters are likely to be even more expensive than CableCARDs, since they'll perform many more functions.

Two important goals of the new AllVid strategy are to make over-the-top Internet content an "equal partner" to video from service providers on television sets, and to prohibit service providers from limiting access to over-the-top content. However, service providers will fight hard against the new proposal in order to maintain content control in the living room. They're likely to argue that AllVid adapters will be set-top boxes in all but name, so why not allow them to continue to lease all-in-one set-top boxes to consumers? They'll also argue that they've just invested an enormous amount of money to implement the Commission's CableCARD mandate, and now the Commission wants them to throw out that investment and implement another unproven technology. Satellite and IPTV service providers, who were unaffected by the CableCARD situation, would be covered under the new plan, so it's likely that they'll oppose the FCC's recommendations as well.

If the FCC hadn't already tried and failed with CableCARD, I'd give AllVid a better-than-even chance of success, but in its present form and with CableCARD's experience behind it, I give AllVid very little chance of making it to market. AllVid would elevate over-the-top Internet video content from a bit player in the living room to an equal partner, and the incumbent service providers will do almost anything to keep that from happening.