FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION
WASHINGTON
OFFICE OF
THE CHAIRMAN
August 11,2015
The Honorable Anna G. Eshoo
Ranking Member
Subcommittee on Communications and Technology
Committee on Energy and Commerce
U.S. House of Representatives
2125 Rayburn House Office Building
Washington, D.C. 20515
Dear Congresswoman Eshoo:
Thank you for your letter about competitive availability of cable set-top boxes and other
equipment used to access multichannel video programming services.
As you note in your letter, Section 106(d) of the STELA Reauthorization Act of2014
("STELAR") directed the FCC to establish a working group to "identify, report, and recommend
performance objectives, technical capabilities, and technical standards of a not unduly
burdensome, uniform, and technology- and platform-neutral software-based downloadable
security system designed to promote the competitive availability of navigation devices in
furtherance of section 629 of the Communications Act of 1934." I established DSTAC to meet
this statutory directive, and have asked the Committee to include in its report how to meet the
obligations of both section 629 of the Communications Act, as the umbrella statutory mandate,
and section 106 of STELAR.
DSTAC has been moving full-steam ahead - holding six full, public committee meetings
since it was formed and holding working group meetings four days per week. FCC staff is
working to keep DSTAC on task to complete the required report to the Commission by
September 4,2015. All DSTAC meetings are public, and any non-members can make comments
at those public meetings, including about the issues you raise in your letter.
I appreciate your interest in this matter and your tireless efforts to encourage competition,
innovation, and consumer choice in the set-top box market. Please let me know if I can be of
any further assistance.
Sincerely,
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Tom Wheeler