CableCARD glitches drive multiple truck rolls from cable operators, NCTA tells FCC

Relatively few cable subscribers are requesting CableCARDs from cable operators, and those that do are forcing Comcast (Nasdaq: CMCSA), Time Warner Cable (NYSE: TWC), Cablevision (NYSE: CVC) and other MSOs to visit subscriber homes more than once to get the devices running on TVs, DVRs from TiVo (Nasdaq: TIVO) and other consumer electronics devices. Those are just a couple of highlights from a report NCTA filed at the FCC this week. 

Just 516,000 CableCARDs capable of decrypting cable programming on CE devices without using a traditional set-top have been deployed by Cablevision, Charter Communications (Nasdaq: CHTR), Comcast, Cox Communications and Time Warner Cable, NCTA said Monday. The operators have also deployed more than 32 million CableCARDs in set-tops that they lease to customers since 2007, when the FCC--looking to allow consumers to access pay TV programming on new devices--began requiring major MSOs to use CableCARDs to decrypt programming on their own boxes.

While most cable operators offer subscribers a self-install option for CableCARDs, the NCTA report shows that the security devices are forcing operators to execute multiple truck rolls in order to get the CableCARDs working properly. With an average of 1.5 truck rolls per CableCARD install, the security devices are creating the biggest headache for Charter. Time Warner Cable averages 1.4 truck rolls per install, followed by Cox (1.1), Comcast (1.04) and Cablevision (1.0).

Cable subscribers nationwide don't see consistent installation fees and monthly charges to lease CableCARDs, according to the NCTA report. Cablevision charges $34.95 for a CableCARD install and a monthly fees of $2. Comcast doesn't charge monthly fees to lease a CableCARD, and bills subscribers $26 if the CableCARD install requires a separate truck roll, or $7.15 if the install is part of a visit to the home to install other services.

Cox Communications bills subscribers with installation fees of $24 and monthly lease fees of $1.99. Time Warner Cable systems charge $2.37 monthly on average to lease CableCARDs, and a $28.16 installation fee.

The NCTA report shows cable MSOs and subscribers are encountering a wide variety of technical issues with CableCARDs, including:

• Comcast subscribers have lost service when they attempt to move CableCARDs from one device to another. "CableCARDs do not automatically work properly when moved to a different device as the card and the host must be paired in the headend control system. Comcast personnel and control systems are not equipped to handle moving CableCARDs in this manner so these situations require escalation to restore service in the new device," Comcast said in a report that was included in the NCTA letter to FCC secretary Marlene Dortch.

• Charter subscribers report missing channels from CableCARD devices, or problems tuning channels. The MSO says it resolved the issues by swapping CableCARD devices and retraining customer service representatives on how Charter supports various devices.

• Common CableCARD issues reported by Cablevision included subscribers who report pixilation on digital channels and black screens on premium channels. The MSO resolved some of its CableCARD issues by having subscribers reboot their devices.

While CableCARDs haven't created a big market for devices such as connected TVs and set-tops from CE manufacturers that can decrypt cable programming, the FCC hopes to replace the CableCARD approach with a proposal to create universal AllVid devices that would make it easier for subscribers to access live and on-demand content on devices other than cable set-tops.

Related articles:
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Cable deployments drive TiVo subscriber growth
AllVid expected to be next hot issue for FCC