New Cable TV Set-top Box Standard Goes Into Effect

Validates Greywale Service Provider Energy Strategy Business Drivers!

(go to http://greywale.com/greywale-communiques for additional information)

KEY POINTS

1.       It was a voluntary agreement.

a.     Agreement was made between the US Department of Energy (DOE), Natural Resources Defense Council, the American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy, the Appliance Standards Awareness Project, the Consumer Electronics Association and the National Cable and Telecommunications Association (NCTA)

  2.     It is a “Non-regulatory” standard

   a.     The non-regulatory agreement provides a framework for the DOE and pay-TV industry   to work together on efficient, high-performing set-top boxes that leverage technological improvements.  It achieves what would otherwise be done through regulatory standards.

3.     It sets numerical targets

a.      The target improvement in STB efficiency is 10 to 45 percent, depending on the class of the STB device,  by 2017.

4.     It requires reporting and auditing

a.       The agreement requires the industry publicly report specific set-top box energy use and requires an annual audit of service providers by an independent auditor to ensure boxes are performing at the efficiency levels specified in the agreement.

5.     Originated from non-traditional telecom agencies.

a.     The impetus for this came from the U.S. Department of Energy not the F.C.C.

6.     It has wide industry support

a.        From the U.S. Department of Energy

                                                       i.      “Agreement signatories include pay-TV providers (listed according to number of customers) Comcast, DIRECTV, DISH Network, Time Warner Cable, AT&T, Verizon, Cox Communications, Charter Communications, Cablevision Systems Corp., Bright House Networks and CenturyLink; and manufacturers Cisco, ARRIS (including Motorola), and EchoStar Technologies. Energy efficiency advocates Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC), the American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy (ACEEE), and the Appliance Standards Awareness Project (ASAP) are also signatories to the agreement.”

(go to http://greywale.com/greywale-communiques for additional information)

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