This paper will examine the communications channel of an addressable cable system from several standpoints, and bring into focus issues of critical importance as dependence on the "addressability" nature of modern systems becomes more central to their utility. Contemporary marketing trends indicate the future use of addressable boxes will involve extensive use of programmable or downloadable functions (tiering, tagging, addressable box features) in order to enable/disable box functions, facilitate pay per view, or other novel methods of generating revenue.
The following topics will be examined:
While the motivations for addressability originally focused on dealing with churn and late (or non) pays, current developments go beyond that. Examination of the relevant control channel issues will ensure that future system requirements aren't sacrificed by addressing limitations.