Dems push television box proposal ahead of vote

Two Democratic lawmakers are trying to rally support for the Federal Communications Commission’s controversial set-top box market reforms ahead of a vote on the proposal next week.

“On September 29th the FCC will vote on an updated proposal to finally allow consumers to break free from cable box rental fees,” said Reps. Anna Eshoo (D-Calif.) and Zoe Lofgren (D-Calif.) in a letter to colleagues.

{mosads}“In fact, it is based on the alternative apps-based framework the industry suggested in this proceeding,” they said. “We want to set the record straight about this proposal because it is imperative the FCC act without further delay.”

Their “Dear Colleague” letter, sent on Wednesday, comes just over a week before the FCC is scheduled to vote on its proposal. Eshoo is the chairwoman of the tech subcommittee of the House Energy and Commerce Committee.

Chairman Tom Wheeler has proposed that pay-television providers be required to create applications through which customers can view live programming. He’s abandoned a plan, which caused an outcry among industry groups, that would have required those providers to open up their feeds to third-party manufacturers who wanted to make their own boxes.

The pay-TV industry is still opposed to Wheeler’s current proposal despite the changes. They’ve taken issue with a section that would give the FCC the ability to oversee the licenses between video providers and the manufacturers of devices that would host the applications.

The new proposal has drawn questions from its congressional opponents — including both Democrats and Republicans.

Democratic FCC Commissioner Jessica Rosenworcel has also said she doesn’t think the agency has the authority to get involved in the licensing questions, casting doubt on whether the proposal has the votes to be approved as written.

Eshoo and Lofgren called it a “fiction” that the “updated proposal creates a government-controlled licensing body that gives the agency final say over the licensing terms between copyright holders and cable companies.”