Consumer groups endorsed CEA's 2-way plug-and-play proposal over cable's, asking FCC Chmn. Martin to open a rulemaking to solicit comments on the proposal, as he's expected to do (CD June 11 p1). The letter, sent by Consumer Federation of America, Consumers Union, Electronic Frontier Foundation, Free Press, Knowledge Ecology International, Media Access Project, New America Foundation, Public Knowledge and U.S. Public Interest Research Group, is an early salvo in an emerging battle over who controls how cable users access programming: consumer electronics makers or cable operators. The consumer groups also want more of a say in the ongoing 2-way plug-and-play negotiations.

The signatories to the letter fear cable operators' plans for separable security in set-top boxes and digital cable-ready TV sets will exclude 3rd-party vendors from accessing interactive programming like VoD, they said. "Consumers who use third-party CableCARD devices rather than proprietary set-top boxes may be penalized and not able to use the full range of services they subscribe to," the letter said. And cable, by artificial means, is linking its OpenCable Application Platform (OCAP) to rollout of CableCARD's successor technology -- downloadable conditional access (DCAS), they said: "OCAP gives control of the look and feel of a device over to the cable operator. By limiting a hardware manufacturer's ability to innovate and differentiate its products, OCAP reduces choice and competition in the marketplace..."

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