Cable Operators Lobby FCC on CableCARD Extension Requests
Cable operators lobbied the 8th floor for extensions of the CableCARD deadline even as some industry officials are privately skeptical the requests will be granted. Fueling such skepticism were comments by FCC Chmn. Martin that he will take a hard line on granting some requests (CD Jan 11 p1). FCC officials believe Martin is poised to deny NCTA’s request but is in no hurry to follow through because he has already telegraphed his intentions to industry.
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Some cable officials are taking Martin’s comments at face value. Lobbying the Commission assumes that the Media Bureau hasn’t completed decisions on the petitions, regulatory attorneys said. “These are undecided waivers,” a communications lawyer said: “If the announcement is ‘everything will be decided on their own facts,’ we'll take them at their own word.”
Charter was the only company to lobby the 8th floor after Martin’s speech, ex parte filings show. A company executive and outside counsel discussed the CableCARD request Wed. with aides to Comrs. Adelstein, McDowell and Tate. The aides got a handout listing CE companies supporting for the extension, including Cisco, Motorola, Pace, Panasonic, Samsung and Thomson. In July, Charter requested a deadline extension for 7 models of low-cost set top boxes. It said it would support CableCARD in half of new devices once the deadline takes effect.
A day before Martin’s comments at CES, Time Warner Cable Pres. Glenn Britt discussed with him NCTA’s petition for the deadline to be pushed back for all cable operators until the deployment of downloadable security or Dec. 31, 2009, whichever comes first. Also at the meeting, according a Jan. 10 ex parte: Office of Strategic Planning Chief Catherine Bohigian. CEA has said cable has had plenty of time to comply with the FCC integration deadline, already extended. “We believe the Commission should continue to use a reasonable, rational approach to addressing each petition on its individual facts,” a CEA spokesman said, “as the Commission has wisely done with the petitions it has already reviewed and acted on.”
Martin isn’t believed to feel a need to quickly act on pending waivers -- at least not before Thurs.’s Senate Commerce Committee FCC oversight hearing. “My expectation is that Verizon is a done deal, so the FCC can delay issuance as long as they wish,” a communications lawyer said: “NCTA’s request is effectively denied by issued orders and his remarks. I don’t believe he feels pressure to resolve it in print before oversight hearings.” The Media Bureau is expected by FCC and industry officials to approve Verizon’s request, to ease telco entry into video. Action on cable operator waivers is a priority for the industry, another lawyer said, saying he hopes for “action as soon as possible.” If the Media Bureau denies CableCARD extensions, some parties will probably appeal to the full Commission, the attorney said. The faster “the bureau acts on all of these,” he said, “the sooner you get a shot at the full Commission, which should make the policy.”