FCC decision could boost SDV market

Supporters of switched digital video (SDV) have something to cheer about amid difficult times, as the Federal Communications Commission reversed an earlier ruling by the FCC Enforcement Bureau that would have resulted in fines for at least two cable TV companies using SDV technology. The bureau had sought to fine Time Warner Cable and Cox Communications because of allegations they intentionally prevented unidirectional CableCARD-based devices such as TiVo DVRs from accessing content on SDV tiers, unless customers purchased a special adapter.

The ruling could be a boon to key SDV platform vendors BigBand Networks, Motorola and Cisco Systems. Those companies have had some SDV wins, but in 2008, the sector was perceived to be hit by slower spending, and in recent months Motorola reportedly cut jobs within its SDV group. The technology provides spectrum and bandwidth relief by sending programming only when users request it, and because of that might also be connected with more DOCSIS 3.0 deployment

For more:
- Light Reading's Cable Digital News has this story [1]

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Cisco developed an SDV tuning adapter last year [2]
SDV spending was down in the second quarter 2008 [3]