Public Knowledge is trying to drive a Twitter campaign to get the set-top integration ban back in satellite reauthorization legislation. Ending the ban, a provision cable operators worked to get and keep in the STAVRA bill, has bipartisan support, but also has opponents like PK and Sen. Ed Markey (D-Mass.).
During passage of the STAVRA (Satellite Television Access and Viewer Rights Act) bill out of the Senate Commerce Committee, Markey introduced, then withdrew, an amendment that would require the FCC to implement a "platform-neutral" successor to the CableCARD to insure the availability of competitive navigation devices before the ban on integrated set-tops can be eliminated, before it could lift the ban.
Public Knowledge, which wants the amendment to be added to the bill before its must-passage by year's end, asked its members to tweet the following. "#STAVRA reauthorization must not hurt consumers, learn more." The link leads to a story headlined "'Must-Pass' Legislation Must Not Harm Customers."
For the full story go to Multichannel.com.
