NRTC, DISH Comment on Multichannel Biz

The National Rural Telecommunications Cooperative used its comments on competition in the multichannel business to ask the question: How many rural households get cable?

In a filing sent to the Federal Communications Commission, the NRTC said recent research suggests that 22 states have less than 70 percent of homes passed by cable. Among rural states, North Dakota is reported to have a pass rate of less than 80 percent, and Idaho and Iowa are less than 70 percent, the cooperative said.

That contrasts with claims from cable interests that up to 97.1 percent of U.S. households are passed by cable, and EchoStar's assertion (at least the assertion listed in the NRTC document) that the cable pass rate is in excess of 90 percent.

Of course, the NRTC's effort to point out cable's lack of presence in rural areas is tied with its concerns about the pending merger between EchoStar and DirecTV. "By grossly inflating the extent of cable coverage in rural America, DirecTV and EchoStar continue to advance the false impression that the commission need not worry about the impact of their proposed merger on tens of millions of consumers across rural America," the NRTC said.

In its comments, EchoStar said cable's continuing price increases are "proof both of the continuing (and increasing) cable dominance and of DBS's current inability to discipline cable."

The company said its proposed merger with DirecTV would promote better competition. "Only a strengthened DBS provider carrying local broadcast signals in every market and offering greater choice in services will be able to effectively restrain cable's market power," the company said.

From SkyReport (Used with Permission)