Cablelabs has awarded qualified status to Motorola for Cablecards. This was formerly known as point-of-deployment (POD) removable security modules. Motorola joins Scientific-Atlanta as having achieved qualified status for Cablecards. An official release informs that the Cablecard architecture is a key component of the cable operator-consumer electronics manufacturer “Plug-and-Play” agreement announced in December 2002.

The Cablecard is a critical element in enabling manufacturers and retailers to engage in retail sale of interoperable navigation devices, such as set-top boxes and integrated digital television sets that enable consumers to identify and select their programming. Cablecards enable a device to decode encrypted, or scrambled, content delivered from the cable system.

The release informs that the US cable industry, through OpenCable, began working on the next-generation set top in 1997. Later the Fderal Communications Commission acknowledged OpenCable as the most efficient vehicle by which to accomplish its regulatory objectives. OpenCable took on the technology mission of achieving interoperable, specification-based advanced digital video functionality allowing retail sale of set tops developed by multiple manufacturers.