When a casual session with reporters following his appearance at the NBA Tech Summit turned to a la carte pricing and set-top box limitations, FCC Chairman Kevin Martin offered his usual example of what’s wrong: cable. But when he was reminded—ok, by me, since I have a DirecTV (NYSE: DTV) TiVo (NSDQ: TIVO) that’s functionally crippled—that cable isn’t alone when it comes to limiting services and access on set-tops or alone on programming prices, Martin insisted, “I’m not picking on cable ... cable is the easiest analogy.  You’re absolutely right; the same rules apply. Generically, our term is MVPD—multichannel video provider. It’s not just cable, it’s also satellite or telephone companies, whoever’s providing your multichannel video services. All these rules should be the same for all of them…. These are the rules that apply to everyone.” He also talked about the 700 MHz auction, bandwidth management, a la carte, competition, and Sirius-XM (NSDQ: XMSR). Some highlights:

Set-tops: Asked how the FCC would handle it when more people were getting their TV over their ISP broadband connection, Martin said: “That’s where the commission has an important role, to make sure that we’re having a level playing field ... one of the things we have to do is create a competitive environment for set-top boxes and make sure the operator is not artificially restricting the ability of consumers to use technology to get actual information off the internet and into their television set. If competition is going to be the solutions to any of these concerns, you’ve got to make sure people are allowing technology and competition to occur.

A la carte: Despite all the talk about a la carte, the idea that consumers would pay only for the channels they want to get, Martin said he wanted to be clear: “I haven’t proposed we adopt a rule that requires all this.”

White spaces: Asked about the testing of devices that would use unused spectrum between broadcast channels, Martin said: “What we’re trying to do is make sure the spectrum can be applied as efficiently as possible and that we’re putting as many services in.” He said the FCC was willing to also test outside Washington and had asked interested parties to suggest alternative locations.

Network management: When I asked if Comcast’s (NSDQ: CMCSA) defense of its bandwidth management helped the company, Martin skipped past that: “I think that what’s important is we’re going to have—hopefully in public—a debate about these network management practices and what’s most appropriate. ... I continue to believe that the most important thing is that the details of networking practices should be disclosed so that everyone understand what those practices are … You’re selling certain broadband speed to consumers and they have an expectation that’s what they’re going to get. If they’re not getting that because of some of these network management practices that may be ok, but you have to explain. Martin said it can’t be content specific, although he doesn’t seem to have a problem when it comes to keeping out illegal content.  [You have to make sure] you’re not favoring just certain kinds of content as a network management practice … It wouldn’t be a network management practice if every time someone tried to go to Amazon (NSDQ: AMZN) you’re redirected to Barnes & Noble. That would be a business relationship … The network management needs to be disclosed both to the people writing applications and to consumers—and then I think it has to be treating everyone equal.”

Sirius-XM: Traditionally the commission doesn’t act on those after the Department of Justice --99 out of 100 times the Department of Justice goes first and the Department of Justice hasn’t acted yet on that merger. We have some more information we requested at the beginning of the year from the companies so that we’re trying to finalize our conclusions but we’re coordinating with Department of Justice. I don’t have a timeline.