McSlarrow Not Optimistic NCTA Will Get CableCARD Waiver
LAS VEGAS - NCTA isn’t optimistic its CableCARD waiver will be granted by the FCC because 5 waivers granted have little to do with the group’s broad request, said Pres. Kyle McSlarrow. The 3 set-top box integration and navigation ban waivers given Fri. (CD May 7 p1) were based on unique circumstances that don’t seem to relate to NCTA’s request, McSlarrow said at the NCTA show here. He spoke to us after a DTV panel at which participants including NTIA Dir. John Kneuer and FCC Comr. Tate reiterated that public education about the transition is paramount.
Sign up for a free preview to unlock the rest of this article
Export Compliance Daily combines U.S. export control news, foreign border import regulation and policy developments into a single daily information service that reliably informs its trade professional readers about important current issues affecting their operations.
McSlarrow called the CableCARD waivers granted “one- offs” and a “hodgepodge” that does little to help the industry grapple with what NCTA has described as high costs for set-top boxes complying with the ban. Charter got a waiver because of its “financial difficulties,” and the orders Fri. for GCI Cable and Millennium Telecom were based on those companies’ agreeing to start all-digital networks before Feb. 17, 2009, McSlarrow said. Bend Cable got a waiver in Jan. because it’s going all digital, something CEO Amy Tykeson planned to do regardless of FCC action, he said: “Amy was already doing that. That was her business plan… Nobody’s going to switch out their network or provide a whole lot of boxes in order to avoid the integration ban.”
“I have no indication they're going to grant the NCTA waiver,” McSlarrow said. The group sought a waiver for all cable operators, but FCC Chmn. Martin has suggested publicly he’s not inclined to grant such broad requests (CD Jan 11 p1). Such a stance is bad policy because it does nothing to address the fact that there’s little market for cheap set-top boxes, McSlarrow said: “It’s so maddening the FCC doesn’t get it.” The availability of CableCARDs at retailers “solved the problem,” he told reporters: “There is no market for midprice or lower-price boxes at retail, because leasing [from the cable operator] beats it every time.”
The DTV transition offers a marketing opportunity for cable because the industry may be able to tout the fact that cable customers can get digital signals without buying new gear, McSlarrow said. Panelists agreed that public education is crucial to ensuring no one, especially seniors, is left without broadcast TV. Kneuer said consumers can “manage the transition on their own” by buying TV sets with digital tuners or DVD players with the tuners or by subscribing to satellite or cable. “There is no need to wait until February” 2009, he said: “You can go buy a set-top box now where you will… find that TV receives 4 times as many channels as now.” An NAB official touted the benefits of DTV, and said 92% of U.S. stations already are broadcasting in digital.
Consumers may also be helped by a vibrant market for DTV converter boxes which likely will reduce the prices of the gear, Kneuer said. The cheapest converters won’t retail for much more than $60 if CE industry predictions come true, he said: “If this is a very competitive marketplace,” the boxes may cost even less. The FCC will be “touring the country” in its DTV outreach, Tate said, “not just doing shows like this, but setting up in smaller forums.”