The FCC plans to take up at its Sept. 10 agenda meeting an order ...

The FCC plans to take up at its Sept. 10 agenda meeting an order on regulations concerning how to create a digital TV standard for “one-way” cable services. The order will cover rules to facilitate the connection of customer premises equipment purchased from retail outlets to multichannel video programming distributor systems. Speculation on the item has centered in recent weeks on whether the FCC will accept, in whole or in part, the “plug-&-play” agreement between the cable and consumer electronics industries that would create a digital TV standard for one-way cable services. That agreement includes a package of commitments and FCC rules, including new encoding rules that would set the standard on how copyright holders could limit the ability of consumers to manipulate content with certain code names. In other areas, the FCC is set to consider a proposal to review its cost- based pricing rules for UNEs. Separately, the FCC will consider a proposal seeking comment on the conditions under which Secs. 251(c) and 271 of the Communications Act should be deemed to be “fully implemented” under Sec. 10(d) of the Act. Additionally, the International Bureau will present a report on the commercial satellite industry. The report will be the first in a new series of annual reports the Bureau has planned. The Wireless Bureau and the FCC’s National Coordination Committee (NCC) on Public Safety will report on the NCC recommendations for interoperable public safety use of the 700 MHz band. In other areas, the FCC will consider a proposal on how to change spectrum regulations to facilitate the rapid rollout of different kinds of wireless services in rural areas. Finally, the Commission will consider a separate notice of proposed rulemaking on changes to Parts 2 and 15 of its rules, which cover unlicensed devices, to provide flexibility in the design and authorization of such devices.