STATEMENT OF
COMMISSIONER MEREDITH A. BAKER
Re:  Implementation of Section 304 of the Telecommunications Act of 1996: 
Commercial Availability of Navigation Devices, CS Docket No. 97-80, 
Compatibility Between Cable Systems and Consumer Electronics Equipment, PP 
Docket No. 00-67.
I support today’s balanced decision to update our CableCARD rules.  We take important 
steps to bring more transparency and certainty to the provisioning and installation of 
CableCARD devices consistent with our obligation under Section 629 to promote a retail 
market for navigation devices.  We do so in a manner that balances appropriately the need 
to promote the retail set-top box market, protect the consumers that rely on that market, 
and account for the cost and complexity of those changes on cable operators and cable 
customers.  In doing so, I appreciate that the Commission has learned from past failures by 
adopting a more flexible approach to technological mandates and interface requirements.
I also strongly support the concrete steps we take to provide greater certainty to cable 
operators to invest in next-generation broadband networks.  For too long, our set-top box 
policy has had the unintended consequence of interjecting legal uncertainty and costs into 
the efforts of operators to invest in their broadband networks.  Specifically, today’s action 
ensures that costly network upgrades are not necessary to support retail navigation devices 
for switched digital solutions and that high definition digital adapters can be economically 
and efficiently distributed across cable platforms nationwide.