Leading set top manufacturers, including Scientific Atlanta and Motorola, have signed CableLabs' POD-Host Interface License Agreement (PHILA) over the last two weeks.

The PHILA is a portion of the CableLabs OpenCable project; companies that sign the accord receive a license to deploy proprietary technology necessary to manufacture OpenCable set tops. CableLabs recently told the Federal Communications Commission that the three companies who have signed the PHILA are Pace Micro Technology PLC, Motorola Broadband Communications sector and Scientific Atlanta.

According to CableLabs, the agreement focuses on the copy protection technology of the connecting point between an OpenCable point-of-deployment (POD) card and the OpenCable set-top box. This interface is the link that allows a retail cable box to be portable across a variety of different cable system headends by standardizing the communication between individual addressable POD modules and the connected set-top terminals or navigation devices. 

CableLabs is a research and development consortium of cable television system operators representing the continents of North America and South America. The company also plans and funds research and development projects that help cable companies take advantage of future opportunities and meet future challenges in the cable television industry. 

CableLabs president and CEO Dr Richard Green says : "Having three large consumer electronics manufacturers show their interest in making OpenCable boxes by signing the PHILA validates the cable industry's commitment to this advanced digital service provisioning platform."