Before the

Federal Communications Commission

Washington DC, 20554

In the matters of

)
)

Basic Service Tier Encryption

)
)
MB Docket No. 11-169
Compatibility Between Cable Systems
and Consumer Electronics Equipment
)
)
PP Docket No. 00-67


COMMENTS OF PUBLIC KNOWLEDGE AND MEDIA ACCESS PROJECT

Baiolu Felu
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}ohn Beigmayei
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Public Knowleuge
1818 N St. NW
Suite 41u
Washington, BC 2uuS6
(2u2) 861-uu2u

Anuiew }ay Schwaitzman
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Neuia Access Pioject
162S K St. NW
Suite 1uuu
Washington, BC 2uuu6
Novembei 28, 2u11


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I. The Rules Should Be Changed to Allow the Encryption of the Basic Tier on Digital
Systems, Provided that Low-Income Customers and Legacy Equipment Investments Are
Protected)................................................................................................................................................)0
A. The Commission Shoulu Claiify Ceitain Aspects of the Pioposeu Rule To Piotect
Consumeis Fiom Equipment Incompatibility. ................................................................................... 6
B. The Commission Should Adopt the Lifeline/Linkup Criteria For Eligibility. .................... 6
C. The Commission Shoulu Claiify the Rule To Pievent "Bill Shock" At the Enu of the
Five Yeai Tiansition Peiiou. ....................................................................................................................... 8
1. The Commission Shoulu Claiify That "Fiee" Neans "Fiee" Without Biuuen Chaiges oi
0neious Conuitions. ................................................................................................................................................... 9
2. The Rule Shoulu Requiie Auequate Notice Befoie The Enu of the Tiansition Peiiou to
Avoiu Bill Shock. ........................................................................................................................................................ 1u
II. The Commission Can Better Assure the Compatibility of Consumer Electronics and
MVPDs By Moving Forward With AllVid).................................................................................)//
III. Hybrid services may be considered all digital in limited circumstances)...............)/1
(%"(2'+!%")...........................................................................................................................)/0

1

Public Knowleuge anu Neuia Access Pioject (Commenteis), file these comments
in suppoit of the pioposeu iules. Commenteis applauu the Commission foi acting
via a iulemaking iathei than pioceeuing by waivei. Inueeu, this pioceeuing
pioviues an impoitant oppoitunity foi the Commission to uemonstiate that its
iulemaking piocesses can iesponu to changes in technology in an expeuitious
mannei that both piomotes ueployment of new seivices !"# piotects the public
inteiest. Foi this ieason, Commenteis uige the Commission to concluue this
pioceeuing as expeuitiously as possible. With only two minoi claiifications, the
pioposeu iule will simultaneously biing the benefits of all-uigital systems to
millions of cable subsciibeis while keeping whole those subsciibeis, paiticulaily
low-income subsciibeis, uepenuent on the basic tiei.

INTRODUCTION AND SUMMARY
Commenteis agiee with the Commission that its iules shoulu be amenueu to
allow foi the enciyption of the basic seivice tiei of all-uigital cable systems.
1

Commenteis' position on the issue of the enciyption of the basic tiei has not
changeu since 2uu9, when Commenteis offeieu qualifieu suppoit foi Cablevision's
petition foi waivei of the enciyption iules.
2
At that time, while satisfieu that
Cablevision hau maue its case foi a waivei (pioviueu ceitain steps weie taken to

1
Basic Seivice Tiei Enciyption, NB Bocket No. 11-169, 6,+(*"&,/&3),7,4"5&
89%":$;(.#, FCC 11-1SS (iel. 0ct. 14, 2u11) ("NPRN").
2
Comments of Public Knowleuge & Neuia Access Pioject, NB Bocket No. u9-168, file
0ct. 1u. 2uu9, $<$(%$=%"&$+ http:www.publicknowleuge.oigpufpk-cablevision-
comments-2uu91u22.puf.
2
mitigate consumei impact), Commenteis uigeu that the Commission move to amenu
its iules, iathei than waiving them piecemeal.
Accoiuingly, Commenteis commenu the Commission foi seeking to amenu its
iules. While the basic seivice tiei enciyption iules uiu some goou in caiiying out
Section 624A of the 1992 Cable Act (uiiecting the Commission to assuie
compatibility between consumei electionics anu cable systems), the technology has
changeu anu the iule no longei seives its puipose. The Commission shoulu move as
swiftly as possible to biing its iules into alignment with the uevelopments in uigital
technology.
At the same time, the Commission must make suie that the tiansition uoes not
unfaiily buiuen consumeis, anu that the puiposes of Section 624A, anu of its
supplement fiom the 1996 Act, Section 629, aie auvanceu. With iegaiu to the latei,
the Commission shoulu move with similai speeu to auopt a Notice of Pioposeu
Rulemaking in the penuing Allviu pioceeuing so that consumeis can have access to
competing uevices anu seivices in the mannei Congiess intenueu.
The Commission's lack of action in Allviu, howevei, shoulu not uelay the
ueployment of all uigital systems. Accoiuingly, the Commission shoulu focus in this
pioceeuing on ensuiing that consumeis iemain whole. The pioposeu iule as a
whole uoes a goou job of balancing the legitimate expectations of consumeis anu the
neeus of cable opeiatois to when ueploying new systems. Commenteis theiefoie
geneially suppoit the pioposeu iules with two iequesteu mouifications. Fiist, iathei
than ielying solely on Neuicaiu stanuaius to ueteimine eligibility, which can vaiy
fiom state to state, the Commission shoulu auopt the appioach cuiiently employeu
S
by the LifelineLinkup Piogiam. 0nuei the LifelineLinkup iules, paiticipation in
any of a list of seveial feueial subsiuy piogiams, incluuing Neuicaiu, is consiueieu
auequate pioof of neeu.
Seconu, while Commenteis agiee with the pioposal to pioviue qualifying
consumeis with fiee set-top boxes foi S yeais, the Commission shoulu take
piecautions to avoiu "bill shock" at the enu of the tiansition peiiou. The Commission
shoulu claiify that at the enu of the tiansition peiiou, basic tiei subsciibeis will be
chaigeu the lowest iental fee foi a set-top box. Cable opeiatois cannot be alloweu to
pioviue consumeis with a moie expensive box, then begin chaiging a highei
equipment fee (oi use the oppoitunity to "up sell" consumeis) aftei the tiansition
peiiou. In auuition, cable opeiatois shoulu be iequiieu to pioviue consumeis with
thiee months notice when the tiansition peiiou will enu, auvise them of any
auuitional new chaiges that will acciue, anu offei consumeis the option of ienting
the lowest-cost set-top box compatible with the basic tiei, in auuition to any othei
options offeieu.
Commenteis stiess that it fully expects that all cable opeiatois tiansitioning
theii systems will act in goou faith. Expeiience shows, howevei, that it bests seives
consumei anu cable opeiatois both foi the Commission to set cleai iules foi
consumei piotection fiom the beginning. Accoiuingly, the Commission shoulu auopt
now, at the beginning of the cable uigital tiansition, iules that will pievent possible
bill shock in the futuie.


4

DISCUSSION
I. The Rules Should Be Changed to Allow the Encryption of the Basic Tier on Digital
Systems, Provided that Low-Income Customers and Legacy Equipment Investments
Are Protected
The enciyption iules weie justifieu when auopteu: they ensuieu that basic-tiei
customeis uiu not neeu to use a set-top box to access theii piogiamming, anu
alloweu foi bioauei compatibility with the consumei electionics of the time. Even
customeis who subsciibeu to enciypteu tieis coulu access the basic tiei on seconu
oi thiiu televisions without conveitei equipment, anu off-the-shelf uevices (such as
vCRs) coulu be useu to tune into the entiie basic tiei foi oluei, non-Cable-ieauy
televisions.
But theii time has passeu. As the Commission notes, the tiansition to uigital
cable systems has changeu the calculus of buiuens to benefits. As a factual mattei,
ielatively few customeis, especially customeis of all-uigital systems, access
piogiamming without a conveitei uevice of any kinu. By Commission waivei, most
all-uigital cable systems alieauy enciypt theii basic tieis, meaning that foi
customeis of those systems, a Tv's uigital QAN tunei cannot be useu to access the
basic seivice tiei in any event. While some customeis uo take auvantage of
unenciypteu uigital basic tieis fiom those pioviueis that offei them, the iecoiu
suggests that they aie few when compaieu to the numbei of people who took
auvantage of unenciypteu analog basic tieis in yeais past. Thus, the benefit of the
iules is ieuuceu. At the same time, cable opeiatois have maue a goou case that the
iules impose a buiuen on them that coulu iaise costs foi consumeispaiticulaily,
S
since theie is no neeu to actually teiminate a cable signal (but only to activate oi
ueactivate a paiticulai ueciyption uevice), an all-enciypteu lineup allows foi cable
systems to initiate anu teiminate seivice to a consumei's home without a seivice
visit. As the Commission notes, this is tiue only of uigital systems, which justifies
changing the iules only as to them. Auuitionally, a benefit of limiting the waivei to
all-uigital systems is to pioviue opeiatois with an incentive to upgiaue to all-uigital
technology, which allows them to offei moie channels to consumeis ovei the same
banuwiuth.
While peihaps few in numbei, the vieweis who make use of unenciypteu basic
tieis aie not unimpoitant. They may be low-income vieweis who only subsciibe to
the basic tiei, have not upgiaueu theii home electionics in some time, anu who can
ill affoiu a new, unexpecteu expense. 0i they may be Av enthusiasts with a
significant investment in viueo iecoiueis, PC tunei caius, anu othei equipment that
makes use of unenciypteu signals. Anu aveiage families might access unenciypteu
basic tieis on seconuaiy oi teitiaiy television sets. uiven the cost savings that cable
systems iepoit they will enjoy as a iesult of this iule change, anu the low numbei of
affecteu subsciibeis they iepoit will be affecteu, it is not unieasonable foi the
Commission to iequiie that cable systems that wish to enciypt theii uigital basic
tieis unueitake a few measuies uesigneu to minimize the impact of this tiansition
yet fuithei. To that enu, Commenteis suppoit the FCC's pioposal to impose
conuitions on cable systems that avail themselves of the ability to enciypt theii
uigital basic tieisiequiiing them to offei "(a) cuiient basic-only subsciibeis up to
two set-top boxes oi CableCARBs without chaige foi up to two yeais, (b) uigital
6
subsciibeis who have an auuitional television set cuiiently ieceiving basic-only
seivice one set-top box oi CableCARB without chaige foi one yeai, anu (c) cuiient
qualifieu low-income basic-only subsciibeis up to two set-top boxes oi CableCARBs
without chaige foi five yeais."
S

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D>5A4CA)(598:64>8)E>56)FG:7B649A)!9C56B=A7H7;7A@.$
The Commission shoulu auuitionally specify that these conveitei uevices shoulu
output signals in the foimat, anu with the connections, that a subsciibei iequiies in
oiuei to achieve the puiposes of the iuleanalog oi uigital, foi instance, oi
component, coaxial, oi BBNI. Auuitionally, any cable system that pioviues
CableCARBs shoulu also pioviue tuning auapteis, fiee of chaige, to allow CableCARB
useis to access switcheu uigital channels. These claiifications will ensuie that
enciyption uoes not inteifeie with the puipose of the statute that "cable subsciibeis
will be able to enjoy the full benefit of both the piogiamming available on cable
systems anu the functions available on theii televisions anu viueo cassette
iecoiueis."
4

B. The Commission Should Adopt the Lifeline/Linkup Criteria For Eligibility.
In the Cablevision Waivei, the Commission useu eligibility foi Neuicaiu as an
inuicatoi of qualification foi subsiuy as a low-income subsciibei, anu solicits
comment as to whethei that ciiteiia is sufficient foi a geneial iule.
S
Commenteis
iespectfully suggest that the Commission shoulu bioauen the ciiteiia to incluue the
piogiams acceptable foi eligibility foi LifelineLinkup. LifelineLinkup iequiies

S
NPRN 12.
4
47 0.S.C. S44a(b)(1).
S
638> at 1S.
7
pioof of income at oi below 1SS% above the feueial poveity guiuelines oi
paiticipation in one of the following feueial assistance piogiams: Neuicaiu, Foou
Stamps, Supplemental Secuiity Income, Feueial Public Bousing Assistance, Low-
Income Bome eneigy Assistance Piogiam, Tempoiaiy Assistance to Neeuy Families,
oi the National School Lunch Piogiam's Fiee Lunch Piogiam.
6

The ciiteiia auopteu in the Cablevision weie appiopiiate foi that waivei because
the waivei encompasseu a limiteu, well-uefineu footpiint. Foi a national iule,
howevei, the vaiiability of Neuicaiu qualification ciiteiia by state coulu iesult in one
subsciibei to a cable opeiatoi being eligible while a subsciibei to the same cable
opeiatoi in anothei state might be ineligible. Fuitheimoie, the Supieme Couit has
iecently gianteu ceitioiaii ovei the mouifications to the Neuicaiu piogiam as pait
of its ieview of the Patient Piotection anu Affoiuable Caie Act,
7
cieating fuithei
unceitainty aiounu the scope of Neuicaiu coveiage.
The Commission has many yeais of expeiience auministeiing the
LifelineLinkup piogiam. The LifelineLinkup ciiteiia have pioven eminently
manageable foi a national iule involving numeious potential pioviueis, similai to
the ciicumstances heie. It is ieasonable to auopt stanuaiu ciiteiia acioss
Commission piogiams uesigneu to pioviue assistance to low-income consumeis.
Such an appioach will enhance consistency, ease of auministiation, anu will pievent

6
The qualification ciiteiia aie taken fiom the Commission's LifelineLinkup website,
http:www.fcc.govguiueslifeline-anu-link-affoiuable-telephone-seivice-income-
eligible-consumeis
7
Bep't of Bealth anu Buman Seivices v. Floiiua, Case No. 11-S98 (ceit. gianteu Nov.
14, 2u11), available at: http:www.supiemecouit.govqp11-uuS98qp.puf
8
low-income consumeis in neeu of assistance fiom being uenieu eligibility uue to the
vagaiies anu inconsistencies aiounu the state-by-state auministiation of Neuicaiu.
By contiast, the use of the LifelineLinkup ciiteiia cieates little, if any, iisk of
oveiinclusiveness. The use of the 1SS% of the poveity guiueline to limit eligibility
will pievent significant ovei-inclusiveness. Finally, as the Commission iecognizes in
the NPRN, only a small fiaction of pioviueis even subsciibe to basic tiei seivice.
Even if one assumeu that the LifelineLinkup ciiteiia aie slightly oveiinclusive heie,
which Commenteis uo not believe to be the case, cable opeiatois aie unlikely to
incui significant auuitional cost as a iesult.
uiven the balance of competing inteiests, piotecting low-income consumeis
fiom incuiiing unueseiveu auuitional cost fiom unuei-inclusion as against
acciuental ovei-inclusion of some limiteu numbei of boiueiline cases, the
Commission shoulu eii on the siue of piotecting low-income consumeis.
Commenteis theiefoie iequest the Commission mouify the pioposeu iule to incluue
the othei LifelineLinkup ciiteiia in auuition to Neuicaiu eligibility.
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F9<)5?)A34)E7I4)-4=>)#>=987A759)D4>75<.
The iule pioposeu by the Commission shoulu pioviue auequate piotection foi
low-income consumeis anu pioviue a ieasonable peiiou of tiansition foi those
uepenuent on olu equipment anu access to an unenciypteu basic tiei. It is possible,
howevei, that inuiviuual cable opeiatois may seek to uissuaue oi chaige eligible
low-income consumeis thiough hiuuen fees oi oneious piactices. In auuition, it is
possible that some cable opeiatois may seek to use the enu of the tiansition to "up
sell" eligible low-income consumeis to highei-cost boxes. While Commenteis expect
9
that the vast majoiity of cable opeiatois have no such intent, two ielatively simple
claiifications will pievent even acciuental "bill shock" foi consumeis unawaie that
the five yeai piogiam is intenueu as a tiansition piogiam, not a peimanent fiee set-
top box.
1. The Commission Shoulu Claiify That "Fiee" Neans "Fiee" Without
Biuuen Chaiges oi 0neious Conuitions.
The pioposeu iules iequiies that:
the cable opeiatoi offeis to all existing basic-only subsciibeis who ieceive
Neuicaiu the equipment necessaiy to uesciamble oi ueciypt the basic
seivice tiei signals on up to two sepaiate television sets without chaige foi
five yeais fiom the uate of enciyption.

Commenteis seek claiification that "without chaige" iemains genuinely without
chaige, anu that the iules piohibit any soit of hiuuen fee oi iate inciease. Foi
example, unsciupulous cable opeiatois might pioviue high-functionality boxes foi a
fee as the uefault, anu iequiie consumeis to "opt out" to fiee low-functionality boxes.
0i cable opeiatois might iequiie consumeis to ieplace theii box oi ieapply foi a
fiee box eveiy yeai unless they agiee to lease a box. Alteinatively, cable opeiatois
might pioviue a high-cost box foi the tiansition peiiou, then chaige consumeis an
equipment oi seivice fee aftei the fact.
Commenteis stiess that they anticipate that the majoiity of cable opeiatois have
no such intention anu that they intenu to act in goou faith. Commenteis also note
that theie have been no complaints about Cablevision with iegaiu to its piogiam.
Expeiience inuicates, howevei, that it is best to avoiu confusion fiom the beginning.
Even wheie an opeiatoi behaves in goou faith, theie can be legitimate uisagieement
between customeis anu cable opeiatois ovei theii iights, as well as confusion on
1u
the pait of customeis. Inueeu, because the tiansition peiiou foi the Cablevision
waivei has not yet expiieu, the Commission uoes not yet have any expeiience by
which to juuge whethei basic tiei subsciibeis will expeiience confusion anu "bill
shock" when the tiansition enus.
Foi this veiy ieason, Commenteis uo not suggest any mouification of the iule. All
Commenteis iequest is that the Commission state cleaily in the final oiuei that the
box pioviueu by the cable opeiatoi must be genuinely fiee foi the tiansition peiiou,
anu that if eligible consumeis believe that a cable opeiatoi is attempting to chaige
them thiough some hiuuen fee oi imposing oneious conuitions to uiscouiage theii
ieceiving assistance, the Commission will take appiopiiate action.
2. The Rule Shoulu Requiie Auequate Notice Befoie The Enu of the
Tiansition Peiiou to Avoiu Bill Shock.
Eligible consumeis ieceiving a five yeai subsiuizeu set-top box may not iealize
when the tiansition enus that cable opeiatois may now lawful impose iental fees. In
auuition, inuiviuual cable opeiatois may seek to use the tiansition as an oppoitunity
to inuuce low-income subsciibeis to puichase oi lease moie expensive seivices oi
equipment then necessaiy to maintain basic seivice. The Commission shoulu
theiefoie auopt a ielatively mouest set of obligations to ensuie that the national
tiansition to uigital cable goes smoothly fiom beginning to enu.
Fiist, the Commission shoulu iequiie cable opeiatois to give sufficient notice in
auvance so that consumeis will have auequate time to consiuei alteinatives if they
cannot affoiu the auuitional iental fees. Commenteis iecommenu that the
Commission iequiie cable opeiatois to begin notifying low-income subsciibeis with
fiee set-top boxes on each monthly bill foi the S months pieceuing the enu of the
11
tiansition. The notice shoulu cleaily state the amount of the new chaige anu when
the new chaige will begin. This will pievent consumeis who may have foigotten that
the subsiuy is intenueu as a tiansition fiom incuiiing unwanteu chaiges.
Seconu, the Commission shoulu iequiie that the monthly chaige foi any
equipment pioviueu to eligible low-income consumeis unuei the tiansition
piogiam shoulu be the lowest iental fee the cable opeiatoi geneially chaiges foi its
lowest-functionality set-top box. Cable opeiatois shoulu not be peimitteu to
establish a high-piice uefault, anu iequiie eligible consumeis to ieplace theii boxes
oi iequiie them to affiimatively iequest the lowest cost box. Any subsciibei taking
pait in the piogiam is a low-income subsciibei, anu the cable opeiatoi (anu the
Commission) shoulu assume that the uefault foi such subsciibeis is the least
expensive option available.
This pioposeu change is not meant to limit eithei the legitimate maiketing
activities of cable opeiatois oi the ability of basic tiei subsciibeis to puichase oi
lease moie sophisticateu equipment anu seivices. This shoulu not pievent cable
opeiatois fiom offeiing bettei equipment foi a fee, eithei uuiing the tiansition oi as
pait of the enu of the tiansition. Its sole puipose is to piotect low-income basic tiei
subsciibeis fiom acciuentally ieceiving equipment oi seivices they uo not want anu
cannot easily affoiu.
II. The Commission Can Better Assure the Compatibility of Consumer Electronics and
MVPDs By Moving Forward With AllVid
The best way to implement Section 624A of the 1992 Cable Act is not thiough
iules like the basic seivice tiei enciyption iule, which limits the uesign flexibility of
cable netwoiks anu uoes not account foi the technological uiveisity of NvPBs, but
12
thiough Allviu, a technological anu policy solution that is expiessly uesigneu to
avoiu those shoitcomings.
Allviu will be moie effective than the basic tiei enciyption iules, uoing moie to
"assuie|j compatibility between |viueo uevicesj anu cable systems."
8
0nlike the
basic tiei enciyption iules, Allviu will pioviue foi compatibility between all of a
pioviuei's seivices, incluuing piemium channels, anu thiiu-paity uevices, anu will
(puisuant to Section 629 of the Communications Act) woik acioss all NvPBs, not
just cable systems. 0nce wiuely auopteu, Allviu-compatible television sets will be
able to access a subsciibei's complete piogiamming lineup without exteinal
conveitei uevices. Allviu will make it possible foi useis to watch theii NvPB
piogiamming on computeis, tablets anu smaitphones within the home, without
having to uepenu on customizeu anu piopiietaiy "apps" with limiteu content
availability. At the same time, Allviu will pioviue value to vieweis who subsciibe to
only lowei piogiamming tieis anu watch viueo on only one television, making theii
home enteitainment configuiations simplei anu cheapei, while pioviuing them the
option to switch between cable, satellite, anu telco IPTv pioviueis without costly
anu confusing uevice upgiaues. Finally, Allviu will piomote the auoption of
bioaubanu by making Inteinet-ueliveieu viueo moie accessible to less technical
useiswhich will pioviue fuithei competitive piessuie on NvPBs.
0ne fuithei benefit of Allviu is uiiectly ielevant to this pioceeuing is that, if it
implements Allviu, the Commission will no longei have to consiuei the policy
implications of the technological uesign of NvPB systems, as it is uoing heie. Allviu

8
47 0.S.C. S44a(b)(1).
1S
is uesigneu to pioviue a common in-home inteiface anu set of stanuaius that all
NvPBs woulu suppoitthe same way that, foi instance, in-home WiFi woiks the
same way iegaiuless of whethei Inteinet connectivity is pioviueu thiough cable,
BSL, fibei, oi satellite. Allviu uoes not encouiage oi uiscouiage any paiticulai back-
enu technology. Bigital cable, IPTv, anu satellite aie all the same unuei Allviu.
NvPBs aie fiee to use whatevei technologies they finu most appiopiiate to ensuie
signal secuiity anu use banuwiuth efficiently. 0nuei Allviu, no cable system will
neeu to petition the FCC foi a waivei oi a iule change when it neeus to upgiaue its
system. This not only benefits NvPBs anu consumeis, but allows the Commission to
uiiect its iesouices to moie piessing matteis.
III. Hybrid services may be considered all digital in limited circumstances
Seconuaiy analog components of a piimaiily uigital seivicesuch as an analog
channel that only pioviues infoimation on how to subsciibe to a seivice, oi an
analog channel that pioviues emeigency infoimation, shoulu not pievent a system
fiom being consiueieu, foi iegulatoiy puiposes, all-uigital. Bowevei, if an opeiatoi
pioviues any of its piogiamming channels in analog foim, its hybiiu system shoulu
be consiueieu all-uigital foi iegulatoiy puiposes only if anu only if (1) It uoes not
enciypt any channels it pioviues via analog tiansmission, anu (2), consistent with
one of the piimaiy factual justifications foi this iule change, it uses iemote
activation anu uoes not iequiie a seivice visit to begin seivice.
9


9
The Commission's conclusion that iemote activation is not "feasible" foi hybiiu
systems is incomplete. NPRN 9. While site visits aie iequiieu to pievent theft of
seivice with unenciypteu anu analog seivice (eithei to physically connect a home oi
to iemove viueo tiaps), theft of seivice is likely to be a 5"&:(.(:94 issue if a hybiiu
system's most valuable piogiamming is offeieu uigitally anu enciypteu. In any event,
14
CONCLUSION
As the Commission founu in the NPRN, conveision of cable systems to uigital
anu elimination of the piohibition on enciyption of the basic tiei offeis significant
public inteiest benefits. Commenteis wholeheaiteuly anu enthusiastically suppoit
these goals. The mouifications anu claiifications suggesteu above aie minoi in scope
anu impose little buiuen on cable opeiatois. At the same time, auoption of the
mouifications pioposeu above will contiibute significantly to the public inteiest
benefits of the pioposeu iule change by pioviuing gieatei claiity anu piotection foi
vulneiable, low-income subsciibeis. Commenteis uige the Commission to move
swiftly to auopt a final iule.

Respectfully submitted,

John Bergmayer
Senior Staff Attorney
PUBLIC KNOWLEDGE
1818 N St. NW, Suite 410
Washington, DC 20036
November 28, 2011

any hybiiu pioviuei can tiansition to all-uigital if this woulu pioviue it bettei
system secuiity.