Representatives Anna Eshoo (D-CA) and Nathan Deal (R-GA) wrote a bipartisan letter to FCC Chairman Kevin Martin asking him to join with the other four commissioners to implement a short moratorium on the right of local broadcasters to pull their signals off of cable and satellite systems. The moratorium would last for about three months during the digital transition.
The Representatives are right to be concerned because the government is receiving an increase in applications for digital converter coupons from cable customers. From who? From cable customers who lost LIN TV signals many of which are major network affiliates. They lost them when LIN declined to renew carriage rights or extend their old deal while they continued to negotiate with two cable operators. Time Warner and Bright House. ...
"It is concerning that some of these coupon requests could come fromconfused Time Warner Cable and Bright House customers who might notneed converter boxes and very likely would not have applied forcoupons but for the fact that LIN TV's broadcast signals were dropped,"Eshoo and Deal said.
Both Eshoo and Deal support a so-called quiet period mandated bythe FCC in which no TV signals could be pulled. Their quiet periodwould start before Dec. 31. 2008 before thousands of current carriagecontracts expire.
Although four FCC members have agreed to seek public comment onvarious quiet period dates. Martin has so far refused to join them,despite expressing general support for a quiet period in Housetestimony in September.
This is a no-brainer. What harm would there be to have everyone take a three month timeout from consumer-affecting negotiation tactics while the nation goes through a confusing but critical process? There are limited dollars available for the coupon program and the last thing we need particularly in these economic times is to issue them unnecessarily to those who don't need them.
Representatives Eshoo and Deal are long-standing well-respected members of the House Telecommunications Subcommittee. I know them both from when I testified before their committee and I can tell you unequivocally they know this stuff as well as anyone. For the sake of the American TV consumer. I hope their sage advice is heeded.
ThePrecursor Blog highlights several new Comcast broadband speed tiers asa success of broadband competition in the absence of excessiveregulation. Part of Comcast's recent announcement include a 50 Mbpstier that is part of their DOCSIS 3.0 upgrade. The pricing of the newComcast speeds are allowing Comcast consumers to double their speed atthe same cost according to the prices listed in this article.
What Mr. Cleland doesn't say is that many of the biggest supporters ofnet neutrality regulation are very large Internet companies. Theycloak their agenda of self-protection by draping it in the flag ofconsumer protection. They really seek to stifle competition by makingit nearly impossible for entrepreneurs to invent and distribute thenext new thing.
On a more global level whether or not toregulate industries is going to be a very different debate in 2009. Nomatter who wins the presidential election the world's financial woesare shaping the discussion. True the banking system and home mortgageindustry have made some serious mistakes. However. I would contendthat much of the problem was actually caused by something I call"informal regulation."
For years it's beenthe policy of several administrations and Congress to "encourage" moreand more home ownership. One of the main ways they encouraged thatsocial agenda was to nudge banks toward more lenient lending policies. In practical terms that simply means they have to lend to less creditworthy borrowers. And that's exactly what the bankers did.
Butthat doesn't mean we should start regulating everything that moves. Broadband is a huge business and consumer success. It is still a majorcreator of sorely needed jobs here at home. Millions of customers aresigning up every year.
Never forget. The current regulatoryenvironment has encouraged investment and entrepreneurship. Let's staythe course and let consumers judge with the decisions they make inbroadband's highly competitive environment.
GigaOm interviews one of Time Warner Cable's network engineers about the architecture of cable broadband Internet and how responsible network management endeavors to provide an enjoyable online experience for all users on the network. Time Warner Cable is testing download caps and the interview covers that issue as well. There's also YouTube video of the interview.
The chairman and publisher of the New York Times talks candidly about the future of newspapers in the Internet age and how the New York Times has adapted to the changes. CNET covered the NYT's Arthur Sulzberger Jr as he keynoted the WebbyConnect conference. When asked if newspapers in a printed format will exist in 10 years. Sulzberger told the audience that the answer is "we can't care" what the answer is.
Sulzberger's comments about the NYT's decisions to adapt to the importance of web search by eliminating its digital subscription service and upcoming integrations of blog content to the NYT's site are a couple examples of the continuing evolution of the NYT.
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Related article:
http://www.michaelsinsight.com/2008/10/members-of-congress-support-a-meaningful-moratorium-on-retransmission-concent-disputes.html
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