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FCC’s Martin Defends DTV Transition Efforts

Jun 19, 2007  •  Post A Comment

Federal Communications Commission Chairman Kevin J. Martin is defending the agency’s efforts to complete the digital TV transition. The agency has started prosecuting TV importers attempting to evade new DTV equipment standards but has been hampered in its education efforts by lack of funding from Congress.
He also said he has circulated a notice of proposed rulemaking asking whether the FCC should require all broadcast licensees to make public service announcements about the transition and provide logs every 90 days detailing their on-air promotional efforts.
Responding to concerns raised by House Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman John Dingell, D-Mich., and Rep. Ed Markey, D-Mass., chairman of the committee’s telecom panel, that the FCC wasn’t acting aggressively enough, Mr. Martin agreed that the FCC needs to do more.
He said that the FCC should ensure that cable subscribers can get all the signals coming from local broadcast TV stations and aren’t forced to rent a set top box to see some stations or to see the full HDTV signals of local stations.
“One of the most exciting features of digital technology is the advent of HDTV. If consumers buy a new expensive HDTV, they reasonably expect to get high-definition signals.”
He said his view is that system operators should either provide analog versions of all channels being locally broadcast or if they switch to a digital system, they should provide free converter boxes to all customers. In addition operators should be carrying the full HDTV local digital systems.
Mr. Martin said the FCC has requested $1.5 million from Congress to publicize conversion but that the money so far hasn’t been provided. He said the money would be used to provide local oriented PSA campaigns, for handouts and for displays at grocery stores and other locations.
Mr. Martin said some importers have attempted to evade requirements that new TVs include digital tuners and the agency is working with U.S. Customs to enforce the requirements, including one proposal for a $2.9 million fine against Syntax Brillian Corp.

17 Comments

  1. WITH ALL THE FCC’S RULES AND REGULATIONS. IN WHICH THERE NEEDS TO BE RULES AND REGS FOR THE CABLE INDUSTRY, IS THE CUSTOMER THE ONES BENIFITTING FROM THE CHANGE? IN THE RURAL AREAS IN THE COUNTRY, THE OLDER GENERATION DOES’NT WANT TO HAVE A BOX IN THERE HOUSE THEY DONT WANT TO GO AND BUY A NEW HDTV SET. THEY WANT TO TURN ON THERE TV SETS AND WATCH THERE ANALOG SIGNALS. IF THE FCC MANDATES THAT ALL CABLE OPERATORS TO GO TO A ALL DIGITAL FORMAT WHICH COST A LOT OF MONEY TO IMPLEMENT, WHICH DOESNT NEED TO HAPPEN THE SIGNAL FROM THE PROVIDER IS A CLOSED SYSTEM NOT OVER THE AIR.

  2. Few people also realize that the government has earmarked $1.5 billion of public funds to pay for the transition. This money will go towards the converter boxes for people who still receive broadcast signals with analog sets.
    Funny how Congress seems to be forgetting the $1.5 million to keep citizens informed of all these changes.

  3. The thing to remember is that cable companies, in general, are private businesses that do not get government funding. Maybe the big cable companies can afford many of these government imposed changes but most of the “Mom and Pop” cable companies can not and some will end of shutting down and going out of business or selling out to either a telco or another cable company.
    The 1.5 million is for settops to only those people that do not have cable or IPTV.
    I work for a cable company and right now we have a telco getting ready to put fiber to the home in one of our communities and the telco has admitted that the money is government funded and will be used to offer voice, internet, and video services.
    My point is that this telco is receiving government funded money to compete against a private business. Understand that we, the cable company, are not eligible for the same government funded money. The cable company has to actually survive on expenses vs. profit and does not receive these massive handouts by the government and/or from the USF (Universal Service Fund).
    It is just another unfair advantage that telcos have over privately owned cable companies. A few years ago a Telco overbuilt one of our cable systems,using government money, and spent $1 million dollars to deploy a fiber to the curb system for about 250 subscribers. Now try and make that pay off in a reasonable amount of time. Any legitimate business couldn’t.
    In the end, the FCC and/or government with all their rules and regs will create a monopoly.

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