Comcast Begins to Sunset CableCARD

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Cable giant will stop providing the video security devices on October 24

CableCARD

Comcast has begun notifying customers via their billing statements that starting October 24, it will no longer be issuing CableCARD security modules. 

Comcast told LightReading that it will provide affected customers with a free year's usage of a streaming device and guide them to use the Xfinity app. It will also continue to support existing CableCards after October 24.

Also read: Charter to Cut Off CableCARD Support

The move comes a little more than two years after ended support for the device, and four years following the end of the FCC's requirement of its usage. 

Creation of the CableCARD was mandated as part of the Telecommunications Act of 1996 and designed to force cable operators to provide their customers a choice of using third-party set-tops. 

The module was developed to allow third-party devices sold at retail to be used in the cable TV ecosystem. However, only a handful of gadgets in the market today still support CableCARD. 

Daniel Frankel
Daniel Frankel

Daniel Frankel is the managing editor of Next TV, an internet publishing vertical focused on the business of video streaming. A Los Angeles-based writer and editor who has covered the media and technology industries for more than two decades, Daniel has worked on staff for publications including E! Online, Electronic Media, Mediaweek, Variety, paidContent and GigaOm. You can start living a healthier life with greater wealth and prosperity by following Daniel on Twitter today!