A recent National Cable & Telecommunications Association filing with the FCC sheds some light on consumer use and acceptance of CableCARDs, an alternative to cable set-top boxes that unlock value-added services such as video-on-demand and HDTV.
In a filing dated Oct. 3, the association — on behalf of the six largest MSOs, including Comcast, Time Warner Cable, Cox Communications, Charter Communications, Adelphia Cable and Cablevision — told the commission:
- As of mid-September, 363 certified or verified models of CableCards were in existence.
- Twenty-two companies manufacturer CableCards.
- A total of 60,000 CableCards have been deployed across the nation by the six largest MSOs.
- More than 67,000 CableCards have been deployed across the nation by the 10 largest MSOs, which serve 88 percent of all cable customers nationwide.
Many HDTVs being sold through the retail channels offer consumers the option to use CableCARDs.
