Federal Communications Commission

No more analog TV for Verizon

Dan O'Shea — Tue, 25 Nov 2008 09:24:33 -0500

Verizon Communications has completely eliminated analog TV simulcasts throughout its 14-state FiOS TV footprint, with just under two months to go before the federally-mandated digital TV transition deadline on Feb. 17, 2009. Verizon first told the Federal Communications Commission in the summer of 2007 that it would phase-out analog, provided the FCC waive its ban on set-top boxes with integrated security functions. FiOS TV customers now need set-top boxes, digital converters or TVs with built-in digital QAM tuners.

Verizon is one service provider that has been aggressive and ultra-communicative about its transition to all-digital. In recent weeks, TV commercials featuring celebrities explaining the transition have seemed fairly ubiquitous as well, and Frank N. Magid Associates said in an HDTV-related report this week that the majority of consumers probably have made the arrangements they needed to make in advance of the transition. Magid also believes, however, that HD programming adoption could jump after the DTV deadline because many consumer incorrectly believe that all TV content will be presented in HD after the transition date. About 29 percent of respondents to a Magid survey made that incorrect assumption.

For more:
- Multichannel News reports on Verizon's phase-out
- Magid recently conducted a DTV survey

FCC eyes digital TV channel changes

Dan O'Shea — Wed, 05 Nov 2008 09:46:04 -0500

The Federal Communications Commission had a long, busy day Tuesday, approving several items with major wireless implications, including the Verizon acquisition of Alltel, the Sprint-Clearwire joint venture and the white spaces usage plan. In the shadow of those decision was another move worth noting: The FCC said it will investigate the increasingly common practice of Verizon Communications and cable TV operators moving analog video channels into more expensive digital service tiers as the companies make room for more high-definition channels.

"I'm certainly concerned with the increasing cable prices that consumers are facing," FCC Chairman Kevin Martin told the Associated Press. "They are getting less and being charged the same or more." The channel switching might require customers who had less expensive service packages to sign up for more expensive ones. The FCC also apparently is concerned that some service providers are confusing consumers, leading them to think the channel moves have something to do with the upcoming February 2009 digital TV transition

The FCC has notified several companies of its investigation, including Comcast Corp., Time Warner Cable Inc., Cox Communications Inc., Charter Communications Inc., Cablevision Systems Corp., Bright House Networks, Suddenlink Communications, Bend Cable Communications, GCI Company, Harron Entertainment, a unit of Harron Communications, RCN Corp. and Verizon.

For more:
- The Associated press has this report

AT&T agrees to pay FCC pay-TV fees

Dan O'Shea — Sun, 02 Nov 2008 22:37:30 -0500

AT&T has agreed to fork over Federal Communications Commission fees charged to other cable TV operators, perhaps realizing that having more than 750,000 TV subscribers would lessen the effect of any arguments against having to pay the fees.

It is not yet clear how much AT&T will contribute, but agreed in an FCC filing last week that it should pay an "equitable share." Cable TV operators have suggested in the past that telco TV providers should have to contribute to the fee base that helps the FCC with the cost of regulating the cable TV industry.

For more:
- IPTV News has this post

IPTV gets its VueKey

Dan O'Shea — Tue, 14 Oct 2008 21:48:59 -0400

The Alliance for Telecommunications Industry Solutions (ATIS) has completed tests of VueKey, a device that provides authorization for digital set-top boxes and related products. It is an adaptation of the the cable TV industry's CableCARD device, but for IPTV networks and other architectures. It still uses the CableCARD design, a fact that could help make VueKey more widely available in a relatively short time.

Verizon Communications was a key participant in the development of VueKey, though the carrier uses a cable TV-like architecture and earlier this year received a waiver on set-top security from the Federal Communications Commission. Still, IPTV service providers and possibly even cable TV companies could look to use VueKey. Members of the ATIS's IP Separable Security Incubator have successfully tested VueKey, and the ATIS sub-group, now known as ATIS's IPTV Interoperability Forum, will further standardize VueKey.

For more:
- read this post at Light Reading's Cable Digital News

TWC wants Manhattan TV market de-regulated

Dan O'Shea — Sun, 05 Oct 2008 23:09:11 -0400

Time Warner Cable filed a request with the Federal Communications Commission last month asking for the agency to fully deregulate the TV services market in the Manhattan portion of New York City. Cable TV incumbents must prove that they face "effective competition" in a market to have rate controls and other regulations relieved, and TWC believes it can with the recent addition of Verizon Communications to the Manhattan TV services market.

The bar for proof of competition is somewhat low. All TWC has to prove is that Verizon is offering a comparable service, as the number of households being served by the competing service provider is not a criterion. However, the FCC, according to Multichannel News, has not been nearly as quick to act on cable TV deregulation requests as it has been to act on telephony deregulation requests.

For more:
- see this story at Multichannel News

Verizon: Must-carry obligation unnecessary

Dan O'Shea — Wed, 03 Sep 2008 08:15:53 -0400

Verizon Communications said in a Federal Communications Commission filing that traditional legal obligations for cable TV providers to carry certain free TV stations on their networks--the so-called must-carry rule--is no longer necessary because the cable TV market is much more competitive now. Verizon is not seeking to protect the cable TV industry, only itself, as the telco becomes an increasingly successful provider of cable TV-like services.

The FCC is currently considering expanding the must-carry rule to a larger number of low-power TV stations. More than 1,700 full power TV stations and a few low-power stations currently qualify for must-carry.

It is interesting to see Verizon play the role of upstart competitor, looking for some regulatory relief on the grounds that it is not a dominant force in the market. That claim has some relevance now, but perhaps not for long.

For more:
- check out this coverage at Multichannel News

DTV transition getting dicey

Dan O'Shea — Tue, 26 Aug 2008 10:41:30 -0400

The February 2009 digital TV transition is a little more than six months away, and things are starting to get kind of confusing. The Federal Communications Commission reportedly is almost ready to issue an order that would grant small cable TV providers--who are also rural telcos in many cases--an exemption from the "must carry" rule. That is the rule, passed by the FCC almost a year ago, saying cable TV operators who don't go all-digital by next February must carry both analog and digital channels on their networks.

Doing so requires more network capacity than many of the smallest providers have, so it appears the FCC is now set to grant companies with less than 552 Mhz of activated capacity and fewer than 2,500 subscribers a three-year exemption. The National Association of Broadcasters opposes the exemption, and it does raise the concern that what was supposed to be an industry-wide transition could fall apart at a time when many programmers have made the commitment to digital programming. Many of the big cable TV service providers are moving forward too, including Verizon Communications, which has been gradually shutting off analog service in some of the markets where its cable TV-like FiOS TV service is offered.

The small market providers may not have the money to meet the must-carry mandate, but the exemption would help create an environment in which TV customers in small markets are left out of the rapidly evolving advanced TV age. Also, while the markets that the smallest cable TV operators serve are not necessarily the most competitive, an exemption would give the IPTV providers who might be eying those markets more time to perfect their own advanced services. It seems we are about to have yet another kind of digital divide on our hands.

-Dan

For more:
- see this story at Light Reading's Cable Digital News

AT&T appeals Connecticut ruling

Dan O'Shea — Tue, 12 Aug 2008 09:13:25 -0400

AT&T has formally appealed the U.S. District Court in Connecticut ruling that designated the company's U-verse IPTV service as a cable TV service. Perhaps you thought this saga was already over, and who could blame you, since AT&T has already received a state-wide video franchise from the Connecticut state legislature. However, while the franchise does not specify if the service is defined as cable TV or something else, being legally defined as a cable TV service in Connecticut could complicate matters as AT&T looks to take U-verse to others.

The Federal Communications Commission could potentially resolve this issue, but it is not clear if or when the agency would consider the matter. Meanwhile, AT&T is trying to gloss over this issue, as it looks to maintain a strong adoption pace for U-verse TV services.

For more:
- see this coverage at Multichannel News

Related articles:
U-verse was left with cable TV designation last month. U-verse report
AT&T was given a state-wide franchise last fall. AT&T report

Verizon continues analog phase-out

Dan O'Shea — Tue, 15 Jul 2008 10:50:06 -0400

Verizon Communications earlier this year began the process of phasing out analog broadcast in some of its East Coast markets. On July 21, Maryland and Northern Virginia will be added to the program, which already has seen Verizon stop using analog signals for its FiOS TV services in New Jersey, Massachusetts and New York.

The telco informed the Federal Communications Commission last year that it would eliminate analog channel delivery in advance of the agency's all-digital mandate set to take effect in February 2009. The move allowed the telco to qualify for a waiver on deploying set-top boxes with embedded security functions.

For more:
- see this post at Multichannel News

Related articles:
The digital TV transition may help cable TV providers competitively. Digital TV report
Verizon phased out analog transmission in New York in April. Verizon report

Conn. ruling leaves AT&T with cable TV designation

Dan O'Shea — Tue, 15 Jul 2008 10:18:05 -0400

It has been nine months since AT&T got the green light for a statewide video franchise in Connecticut, but the saga of its search for the right legal and business conditions to operate in the state continues to play out. Late last week, a Connecticut judge dealt the telco's efforts another blow when she backed an earlier court decision that defined AT&T's U-verse offering as a cable TV service.

This controversy has been playing out for the last two years, when Connecticut Department of Public Utility Control declared that AT&T's services should not be defined as cable TV because they are based on Internet technology. AT&T has argued that the statewide video franchise given it by the Connecticut legislature last fall renders the debate over definitions moot. That franchising law does not take into account whether a service is defined as cable TV or something else.

The issue likely will remain hot until the Federal Communications Commission weighs in on whether or not AT&T's video efforts fall under the governance of federal Cable Act.

For more:
- read this report at Multichannel News

Related articles:
AT&T's path for a statewide video franchise was cleared last fall. AT&T report
AT&T recently targeted Tennessee for a U-verse roll-out. AT&T report

Franchise ruling swings regulatory favor to telcos

Dan O'Shea — Tue, 01 Jul 2008 09:39:25 -0400

The TV services arena continues to be one in which there is often trade-off between regulatory set-backs and regulatory progress for telcos.

Telcos were recently dealt a blow in their efforts to compete against cable TV companies when the Federal Communications Commission voted Verizon Communications couldn't use information about voice customers it was losing to cable TV companies in order to win the customers back. That decision hinted that telcos at large would face an uphill battle trying to win back customers who departed for cable land, even as they continue to gain video momentum.

However, the regulatory wind direction has changed back slightly in favor of telcos. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit in Cincinnati issued a ruling last week that backs up the FCC's attempt to impose some control over municipal-level cable and video franchising. The ruling supported the FCC's position that municipalities need to approve or reject franchise applications within 90 days, or they are considered approved. It also affirmed the notion that telcos not be required to provide video service to low-income areas as part of franchise agreements.

This ruling provides a little payback, indicating that franchise approvals at the municipal level will start to accelerate. It may be payback the telcos don't necessarily need anymore, since they have continued to receive franchise authorization from state-level governments in a number of states. Still, the decision will help ensure a single community can't put too high a price on its municipal video rights.

Interestingly, the one commonality between these two moves--the FCC ruling and that court decision--is FCC Chairman Kevin Martin's support for the telco cause. He is the only dissenter in the FCC's ruling against Verizon, and the court ruling re-affirms a position he strongly supports. Martin continues to be a friend to telcos, and something less to their cable TV foes.

-Dan

For more:
- see this report at The Wall Street Journal

Related articles:
Martin's attacks on cable reportedly left him isolated at the FCC last year Martin report
The FCC recently ruled Verizon couldn't use information about customer switches to woo the customers back FCC report
The FCC has taken heat over cable TV issues before FCC report