[Infowarrior] - Comcast sued for not selling set-top boxes, CableCARDs

[Richard Forno]

Comcast sued for not selling set-top boxes, CableCARDs

By Nate Anderson | Published: December 26, 2008 - 08:05AM CT

http://arstechnica.com/news.ars/post/20081226-comcast-sued-for-not-selling-set-top-boxes-cablecards.html

Cheryl Corralejo is mad at hell at Comcast, and she isn't going to  
take it anymore. The object of her righteous crusade? Cable box  
rentals. Corralejo wants to own her box outright, and she has filed a  
class action complaint on behalf of all other Californians who  
desperately want to stop paying monthly fees just for a bit of  
decryption equipment.

The case, filed in federal court in California, began in late November  
and was recently unearthed by Multichannel News. Comcast has yet to  
respond.

The gist of the case, according to a copy of the complaint seen by Ars  
Technica, is rental fees. Corralejo argues that Comcast has a monopoly  
over video service in her area and that it uses that monopoly power to  
force her to use decryption equipment, which Corralejo cannot purchase  
outright. After only a few months, alleges the complaint, end users  
have already paid Comcast more than the box is worth.

Reading the complaint through is an odd experience, because the first  
pages sound like something written when the whole CableCARD debate was  
pending before the Federal Communications Commission. In the end, the  
FCC forced the industry to separate out its decryption equipment into  
a physical CableCARD that could be acquired separately from a cable  
company box and could be inserted into any third-party video gear that  
supported it. In other words, renting a cable box has not actually  
been a requirement of cable operators for years.

On page six, the complaint finally gets around to the point,  
acknowledging it but arguing that CableCARDs aren't the equivalent of  
set-top boxes. The complaint quotes from Comcast's own website, which  
points out that "the full range of interactive services" may not be  
available with a CableCARD, as current host devices generally support  
only one-way operation.

In addition, Corralejo complains that the CableCARD still has to be  
rented from the company; it cannot be purchased outright. There's  
simply no way to avoid some form of rental fee. (Comcast's website  
indicates that the first CableCARD a customer needs is included in the  
monthly bill, however; only additional CableCARDs cost money,  
currently "up to $2.05" a month.)

These practices are called "unlawful tying" under the Sherman  
Antitrust Act, as well as a violation of California's business and  
professions code.