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 NEWS  News  media  Information  202  /  418-  0500  Fax-  On-  Demand  202  /  418-  2830  TTY  202/  418-  2555  Internet:  http://  www.  fcc.  gov  ftp.  fcc.  gov  Federal  Communications  Commission  445  12  th  Street,  S.  W.  Washington,  D.  C.  20554  This  is  an  unofficial  announcement  of  Commission  action.  Release  of  the  full  text  of  a  Commission  order  constitutes  official  action.  See  MCI  v.  FCC.  515  F  2d  385  (D.  C.  Circ  1974).  FOR  IMMEDIATE  RELEASE  NEWS  MEDIA  CONTACTS 
 December  19,  2002  David  Fiske  at  (202)  418-  0513  Michelle  Russo  at  (202)  418-  2358 
 STATEMENT  OF  FCC  CHAIRMAN  MICHAEL  K.  POWELL  REGARDING  CABLE-  CONSUMER  ELECTRONICS  AGREEMENT  ON  “PLUG  AND  PLAY” 
 “Plug  and  play”  cable  compatibility  is  a  key  piece  of  the  digital  television  puzzle.  In  a  “plug  and  play”  world,  consumers  will  be  able  to  plug  their  cable  directly  into  their  digital  TV 
 set  without  the  need  of  a  set-  top  box. 
 “Plug  and  play”  will  be  good  for  the  future  of  these  industries,  good  for  the  digital  transition,  and  most  importantly,  good  for  consumers. 


 I  commend  the  cable  and  consumer  electronics  industries  for  their  extraordinary  efforts  in  reaching  this  agreement.  This  shows  what  progress  can  be  made  when  both  sides  are  committed 
 to  finding  solutions  rather  than  jockeying  for  regulatory  advantage. 
 The  agreement  contains  certain  requests  for  FCC  action.  We  will  act  expeditiously  on  those  requests  after  other  interested  parties  have  had  the  opportunity  to  comment. 


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