Phoenix Center sees more harm than good in AllVid

The FCC should rethink and revise its AllVid proposal to replace CableCARD and create a retail market for set-top boxes, according to a report developed by the Phoenix Center.

The telecommunications think tank report concludes that AllVid could do more harm than good because set-tops have no intrinsic market value beyond what service providers attach to them. It further concludes that, despite opinions to the contrary, there is no "anti-competitive preference for self-supply" because if boxes can be built and sold at a lower price "then the provider will embrace such a market to the benefit of both provide and consumer."

The paper also agrees with a long-held cable contention that box-based innovations that benefit the end user also benefit the operator who is "incented to implement that innovation. Since the incentives to reduce prices and increase innovation are intact, the prospects for a forced commercial market leading to lower prices and more innovation are slim," the paper determined.

For more:
- see this news release

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