cable communications act

[sangu72]

Anyone knows what the effect of passing this law (if passed) will be?

I read this article in the Times (http://www.nytimes.com/2007/11/27/opinion/27tue3.html?ref=opinion) and I was wondering if this will have any impact on Satellite providers and what kind of outcome to expect.

Thanks!

[phrelin]

The best summary is from FCC Chairman Continues To Target Cable Despite Protests from Fellow Commissioners, Republicans (http://www.paidcontent.org/entry/419-fcc-chairman-continues-to-target-cable-despite-protests-from-fellow-com/) as follows:
The most predictable aspect of Tuesday's FCC meeting may be its unpredictability. Chairman Kevin Martin is trying to push through several measures, including a last-minute piece of bureaucrat-ese that would escalate the commission's ability to regulate the cable industry. But that particular push is getting so much push back, it may not stay on the agenda. ...

WSJ: "As of Monday night, the commissioners were still haggling over details. Drafts of several proposals remained incomplete and one FCC official described negotiations as "a total mess." Monday, FCC Chairman Kevin Martin's four fellow commissioners were even "seriously talking about how to not have the meeting at all," another FCC official said."

Edit: (Tom Robertson) I reduced the amount of quoted material from a copyrighted source.

See additional article:

FCC Cable-Regulation Plan Is At Risk Amid Outside Pressure, Internal Squabbling (http://www.mediachannel.org/wordpress/2007/11/27/fcc-cable-regulation-plan-is-at-risk-amid-outside-pressure-internal-squabbling/)

[HIPAR]

Anyone knows what the effect of passing this law (if passed) will be?



If I understand this correctly, the law was passed .. in 1984! It's only now that the 70/70 provision of the law might be applicable.

Any telecommunications law passed way back in 1984 is in severe need of revision.

Back then:

a) There was no Internet or IPTV
b) DBS wasn't a factor
c) FIOS wasn't even heard of
d) The world was pretty much analog

Chairman Martin obviously is trying to usurp power based upon outdated legislation to push some kind of anti-cable vendetta. I hope he won't succeed.

http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2704,2223449,00.asp

--- CHAS

[phrelin]

If I understand this correctly, the law was passed .. in 1984! It's only now that the 70/70 provision of the law might be applicable.

Any telecommunications law passed way back in 1984 is in severe need of revision.

Back then:

a) There was no Internet or IPTV
b) DBS wasn't a factor
c) FIOS wasn't even heard of
d) The world was pretty much analog

Chairman Martin obviously is trying to usurp power based upon outdated legislation to push some kind of anti-cable vendetta. I hope he won't succeed.

http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2704,2223449,00.asp

--- CHAS


So far he didn't succeed.

What the FCC did do is back off its requirement that the cable companies carry all the digital signals resulting from the change-over to digital - meaning some stations are broadcasting up to 4 signals and cable will not have to carry the additional signals.

Which leads us back to the fact that the whole regulatory scheme is out of date.:nono: