BBT Wants in on FCC’s Set-Top Action

Count Beyond Broadband Technology (BBT) among the organizations that are willing to help the FCC and its chairman, Tom Wheeler, pursue a successor to the CableCARD.

BBT, a cable-backed consortium founded in 2005 that has developed a downloadable security system for set-tops and other devices, has already contacted the chairman’s office to let it be known that BBT would like to be part of the working group that ends up tackling the task, Steve Effros, a BBT partner and its director of strategic development and communications, told Multichannel News in an email.

Effros, the former head of industry lobbying group once known as the Cable Telecommunications Association (CATA) and who is currently a regular CableFAX columnist, noted that the BBTSolution, the organization's security platform, can be made to support a range of platforms, including IP and QAM, among others. And while BBT’s initial focus was on the set-top box, the company has been exploring broader applications of its technology. In its FAQ, BBT holds that if BBTSolution chips were included in smart TVs or devices such as Roku boxes, TiVo DVRs, Apple TVs boxes or even Chromecast streaming adapters, then any OTT streaming video programmer could allow consumers to use those devices while maintaining full security of their programs while also assuring privacy and confidentiality of their customer lists.

For the full story go to Multichannel.com.