Swisscable against digital TV encryption

 Swisscable, the trade association of Swiss cable TV companies, is vociferously opposing the encryption of digital television. In a press release issued on Friday, the association lists a number of arguments against further regulation of the market. This is in response to a motion by Simonetta Sommaruga, President of the Consumer Protection Foundation, which will soon be discussed in the National Council. The motion demands that all free programs in the digital television sector be distributed unencrypted in cable networks. Alternatively, the motion calls for the introduction of an open operating system standard for all hardware providers in Switzerland. Swisscable rejects both demands: in a functioning market, there is no need for additional regulation. If the motion is accepted, cable television distribution would be discriminated against, the association emphasizes emphatically. Providers of digital cable television and digital television via the telephone network would be massively and unilaterally restricted in their entrepreneurial freedom compared to satellite TV, terrestrial television, Internet TV and mobile TV.
As Swisscable goes on to write, cable network companies must also be able to serve their customers with personalized and interactive offers such as video-on-demand in the future. This is only possible thanks to encryption, which does nothing other than deliver a specific content to a specific customer.
Switzerland is also still in a transition phase from analog to digital television. It is to be expected that an international standard will be established for digital television in the next three to five years. The association believes that creating an isolated solution for Switzerland now would not only make no sense, but would also be too expensive.