Powell Pushes Marketplace As Video Uniter

As the Federal Communications Commission contemplates whether and how to spur the creation of a universal gateway for traditional and Web video content -- per its open AllVid proceeding -- as well as spur a retail set-top market, cable operators continue to argue that the marketplace can handle, and is handling, the heavy lifting on both those fronts.

In a letter to FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski, National Cable & Telecommunications Association President Michael Powell cited the recent National Show in Chicago, and Genachowski's firsthand witnessing of the innovations there to argue that "Congress and the Commission's video device goals are already being achieved in the marketplace." Powell said he shares the Chairman's goal of "a fully competitive" retail set-top marketplace. Powell said the cable industry is committed to open web standards and technologies driven by innovation and user preferences and managed to protect content and customer privacy. All that, he suggested, is achievable and being achieved "without regulation or the need for technology mandates."