Denise Hile

The thirty percent (30%) rule is making news again, posing restrictions on the cable industry and the control of the cable market. Regulation for the industry is not welcomed by the republican commissioners, who are looking to entice industry growth through free-markets.

Voting in favor were Republican FCC chairman Kevin Martin and the agency’s two Democrats, Michael Copps and Jonathan Adelstein – “the same majority that voted [November 27, 2007] to slash cable leased access rates by 75%” (Eggerton 2008).

According to an article in Cable and Broadcasting, “The proposals, involving retransmission issues, would give programmers and viewers—as well as some smaller cable operators—more control over cable content” (Eggerton 2008). Comcast is not eager for this ruling to go forward as it currently holds 27% of the market share of cable subscribers. Look for an appeal to be forthcoming by the cable industry.

Add the NFL Network into the mix and you have what was at first an outcry about the exclusivity of the NFL Super bowl viewing. The NFL Network was to be the only broadcast of the Super Bowl.

“The game was originally scheduled to be shown only on the NFL Network, which is available in to approximately 40% of U.S. homes, a figure that is the result of a subtle but heated row between the NFL and large U.S. cable companies over a range of issues” (Financial Post). The article goes on to state that the NFL has worked out a historical viewing of the super bowl with a three-way simulcast, the first ever.

Sources:
Eggerton, John. (2008, January 14). Cable: Fit to be Untied? FCC advances toward next cable regulation battleground. Broadcasting and Cable. Vol.138Issue2,p24-25,2p.

Hearn, Ted.. (2007, December 18). FCC Adopts 30% Cable Ownership Cap. Move Stops Comcast From Acquiring More Cable Systems. Multichannel News. Retrieved from http://www.multichannel.com/article/CA6513846.html.

Financialpost.com. (2007, December 27). NFL, networks agree to historic three-way simulcast of Patriots vs. Giants. Retrieved from http://www.financialpost.com/analysis/Story.html?id=199527.

Posted by Denise Hile at 12:02 PM | Permalink

By the time this is published, most of the speculation on the winners of the spectrum auction will be over, but the ramifications will continue to be discussed for some time. According to the U.S. Federal Communications Commission (FCC), the number of eligible competitors for the spectrum auction totaled 214, including major players such as AT&T, Verizon and Alltel

Available to the highest bidder is the spectrum blocks that are categorized as A, B, C, D, and E, with a spectrum range total of 84 MHz.. Of special interest is the spectrum categories of C and D. Spectrum block C has a requirement that the spectrum remains open to all devices and software applications. The D spectrum block will be shared with police, fire, ambulance, disaster relief, and other emergency and public services.

On the not so good to report side of the Auction’s turnout is the fact that Frontline Wireless is no longer in the picture. According to an article in Network World, Frontline’s backing out is almost scandalous. “Last week, start-up Frontline Wireless dropped out of the upcoming 700MHz wireless auction, schedule to begin [on January 24,2008]. The significance? Frontline had been expected to proffer the winning bid for what was, in effect, an FCC-sponsored ‘spectrum set-aside’ (Johnson 2008). This, as stated by Johnson, leaves a 10MHz area of the spectrum useless, since it was Frontline’s plan to provide a national network for use by emergency workers.

Sources:
Cherry, Steven. (2008). Taking Apart the 700-MHz Wireless Spectrum Auction. Retrieved from http://www.spectrum.ieee.org/jan08/5937

FCC.com. FCC Auctions. (2008). Retrieved from http://wireless.fcc.gov/auctions/default.htm?job=auctions_home

Johnson, Johna Till. (2008, January 21). Eye on the Carriers. Network World. Vol. 25 Issue 3, p21.

Posted by Denise Hile at 11:56 AM | Permalink