NCTA, CEA Say DOE Should Pause Set-Top Regulation Effort

If the Department of Energy insists on regulating set-top box energy efficiency standards, it would foreclose innovation and "sabotage" a voluntary agreement among equipment manufacturers and the top pay-TV operators.

In a joint Consumer Electronics Association/National Cable and Telecommunications Association letter, the two lobbying groups point out that while they continue to fight each other over set-tops at the FCC (the CableCARD vs. downloadable security issue notably), they were speaking with one voice on the issue of DOE, and that was a request that it put its regulatory proceeding on pause once again to see how the industry pledge to adhere to Energy Star ratings played out.