The traditional q-and-a between CEA President Gary Shapiro and the FCC chairman is underway and Martin already has sent a loud—although certainly not unexpected—message to the large cable operators: no more blanket waivers for cable operators looking to postpone the separation of signal security and programming technology. He singled out Comcast and other large carriers.
Net neutrality: Martin: “The current debate, the next level, is really around a term that people are frequently using that means different things to different people: non discrimination. “ He explained that the FCC takes that to mean that “if I offer youy a deal for capacity or carriage than I’ve got to give the same deal to someone else,” But, he said, some advocates interpret the term as meaning the network can’t offer different levels “That;s not non-discrimination that’s non-charging.”
(Shapiro, who praised Martin so much at one point that the people next to me made kissing sounds, asked “was this the most intentionally confusing debate?") Martin said if you own the underlying infrastructure you should be able to charge different rates for different levels of service. If the consumer opts for a lower-cost package and then can’t access certain content because they bought lower capacity, that was their choice. Bottom line: consumers can’t be blocked.; carriers can sell tiers. “Consumers should have access to everything that is available to them free over the internet.”
Mobile TV: Martin mentioned touring the floor yesterday and being impressed by mobile TV technology. He spoke of both Qualcomm and Samsung, not indicating a favorite. Martin:  “I think the ability of consumers to watch television on cell phones is going to be very popular.”
Update: My friend Ted Hearn explains the details of the set-top box issue at Multichannel News. The cable operators are expected to deploy set-tops that are CableCARd-only effect this July. Late this afternoon, Hearn reports, the FCC rejected Comcast’s request and issued a couple of modified waivers to two other operators.