Comcast’s $45 billion buy of Time Warner Cable will benefit consumers and businesses by giving them access to next-generation broadband, video, voice and other services with national and global scale, it claimed in a public interest statement filed with the FCC Tuesday. Comcast ensures benefits like high-speed broadband services available on bundled and standalone bases, a nationally acclaimed and comprehensive low-income broadband adoption program, the most robust and advanced VOD and TV Everywhere experience and a commitment to diversity and inclusion, “and to providing accessible solutions to people with disabilities,” it said (http://bit.ly/1lOr7ei).
Comcast’s $45 billion buy of Time Warner Cable will benefit consumers and businesses by giving them access to next-generation broadband, video, voice and other services with national and global scale, it claimed in a public interest statement filed with the FCC Tuesday. Comcast ensures benefits like high-speed broadband services available on bundled and standalone bases, a nationally acclaimed and comprehensive low-income broadband adoption program, the most robust and advanced VOD and TV Everywhere experience and a commitment to diversity and inclusion, “and to providing accessible solutions to people with disabilities,” it said (http://bit.ly/1lOr7ei).
The FCC should avoid imposing regulations and rely instead on voluntary agreements allowing more Americans to send emergency texts to 911, CTIA said in comments filed in response to a January rulemaking notice. The FCC agreed to seek further comment on issues including whether to impose a text-to-911 mandate on interconnected over-the-top (OTT) text providers like Apple’s iMessage or Samsung’s ChatOn (CD Jan 31 p3).
The satellite industry is drawing attention to data that it perceives as flawed in forecasting the amount of spectrum needed for terrestrial wireless services. It’s engaging in a discussion on the matter along with the criticality of its services in the C band in preparation for the World Radiocommunication Conference in 2015 (WRC-15) in Geneva Nov. 2-27, 2015. A contentious agenda item would consider opening the use of the C band to international mobile telecommunications (IMT) entities.
With Viacom programming blacked out for Cable One subscribers, cable operators are ratcheting up complaints about fees charged by programmers, while one programmer insists its fees remain low. Cable One CEO Tom Might said total programming costs for the cable operator have gone up 50 percent in four years, “while total viewing is exactly flat.” This increase has to be passed through to Cable One customers, “who now have to pay a lot more for their same viewing,” he said in a press release. Video subscribers are starting to make other choices, like accessing content online or through other over-the-top solutions, he said. Viacom channels were dropped from Cable One’s lineup this week due to a retransmission consent dispute (CD April 2 p16). Disney/ABC, Viacom, NBCUniversal and other large companies represent the majority of Cable One’s programming increase, and broadcast retransmission demands make up the rest, he said. “As a result, an increasing number of lower income consumers are being priced out of the video subscription marketplace each year.” Several of the programming groups, including Viacom, “have substantially less viewership than they did when we last negotiated, yet they still ask for enormous increases at renewal time,” he said. Cox Communications offers a comprehensive video package and balances the specific programming provided with the cost of that programming, a Cox spokesman said. “Programming acquisition represents our highest operational cost and it is increasing at levels that cannot be sustained long-term.” Most of the increase is due to retrans and sports programming, he said. To keep programming costs down, broad distribution for emerging independent networks is key, said Charles Herring, Herring Networks president. Herring, a smaller programmer, tries to find opportunities to fulfill customer programming needs at a cost-competitive price, he said. “With broad distribution, required programming operational revenue can be spread out across a larger base of subscribers, thus reducing the affiliate fees … charged to each” multichannel video programming distributor. Herring’s newest channel, One America News Network, gained national distribution on Verizon FiOS TV and smaller regional cable providers, he said.
Text-to-911 is only an interim solution, and work should continue toward the goal of delivering all 911 calls through emergency services Internet Protocol networks (ESInets), said the National Association of State 911 Administrators (NASNA) in an FCC filing Wednesday in docket 10-255 (http://bit.ly/1gqOq5K). Some public safety answering points have not taken steps to accept 911 texts “because they would rather implement the superior, soon-to-be-available native IP to CPE [customer premises equipment] solution than spend finite resources implementing an interim solution,” NASNA said. “Particularly given the current funding environment, this is completely understandable.” The FCC should “vigorously exercise its regulatory power to facilitate the nationwide implementation of NG911,” said NASNA. Responding to questions raised by the commission, NASNA said providers should provide users with access to 911 without additional costs, and “either absorb any additional costs or develop a business model that will cover any additional costs.” Any rules developed during the proceeding should be mandatory with no safe-harbor provisions, NASNA said. “Rules are more effective [than voluntary arrangements] in terms of leveling the playing field, setting a clear path forward and actually achieving the goal."
The Federal Emergency Management Agency weighed in on an FCC public notice (CD March 13 p10) asking whether the commission should make broadcasters switch to a “designated hitter” system to send emergency alert system (EAS) messages in languages other than English when the foreign-language station is off-air. A one-paragraph FEMA comment posted Wednesday in docket 04-296, 26 days before initial responses are due to the Public Safety Bureau request (CD March 31 p15), backed the Minority Media and Telecommunication Council’s work to extend EAS warnings to those who don’t speak English. FEMA cautioned that using text-to-speech (TTS) technology to send such non-English warnings of bad weather, natural disasters and other events has “limitations.” A designated hitter approach would have stations in the same market of one that’s off-air distribute alerts in the language used by the knocked-out broadcaster.
Competitive providers and state public utility commissions raised several concerns about AT&T’s IP transition wire center trials, in comments posted by the FCC Tuesday. CLECs said AT&T hadn’t addressed their concerns about wholesale access when the copper is removed, nor described its proposal (CD March 3 p3) in sufficient detail. State regulators questioned how the IP services in the proposed wire center trials would work with 911 and battery power, and said the trials shouldn’t spur any permanent policy changes on the IP transition until AT&T addresses those deficiencies. Other ILECs supported the proposal. AT&T has asked to do time-division multiplexing-to-IP trials in Carbon Hill, Ala., and Kings Point, Fla.
President Barack Obama wants to end the Patriot Act Section 215 phone surveillance program as it exists now, he confirmed Thursday. In a January speech (CD Jan 21 p1), Obama asked the Justice Department and intelligence officials to draft a plan to move the bulk collected phone metadata away from the hands of the government to either the phone companies or a third party. He asked for such a suggested path by this Friday, when the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court (FISC) order authorizing phone surveillance expires.
President Barack Obama wants to end the Patriot Act Section 215 phone surveillance program as it exists now, he confirmed Thursday. In a January speech (WID Jan 21 p1), Obama asked the Justice Department and intelligence officials to draft a plan to move the bulk collected phone metadata away from the hands of the government to either the phone companies or a third party. He asked for such a suggested path by this Friday, when the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court (FISC) order authorizing phone surveillance expires.