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ACA Calls On The FCC To Give Relief To
Small Operators In Set-Top Box Proceeding
The American Cable Association is calling on policymakers who are considering new set-top box regulations to recognize the public interest in ensuring
the availability of affordable, high-functionality set-top boxes to small and medium-sized cable operators.
"Small cable operators' customers suffered when federal regulations drove up the cost of set-top boxes that are necessary for consumers to receive the
wide range of advanced services that they desire, including DVR functionality," ACA President and CEO Matthew M. Polka said.
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ACA Backs Small Operators In Filing Program
Access Complaint Against Comcast
The American Cable Association strongly supported four small cable operators in northern California in filing a federal complaint against Comcast Corp. to stop the country's
largest operator from engaging in discriminatory conduct in the sale of two regional sports networks (RSNs) in the San Francisco and Sacramento television markets.
The complaint was filed at the Federal Communications Commission, which has the legal authority to bar cable operators from engaging in unfair methods of competition or
unfair or deceptive acts or practices in the sale of cable programming in which they have an ownership interest. The cable operators lodging the complaint were
WaveDivision Holdings, LLC, Horizon Cable TV, Inc., Stanford University, and City of San Bruno, Calif.
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- Public Interest Groups Call For Antitrust Probe Of TV Everywhere (The Washington Post, 01/04)
Public interest groups on Monday will call for federal antitrust watchdogs to investigate an industry-wide strategy by television service providers that they say will strap users to unnecessarily high monthly subscription fees and stifle competition.
- Cable TV Standoffs Threaten Viewing Costs, Choices (ABC News, 01/04)
Many questions remain for cable TV viewers nationwide even after Fox and Time Warner Cable settled their noisy spat with a New year's Day agreement.
- Fox-Time Warner Cable Deal Could Mean Billions For Broadcasters (The Washington Post, 01/04)
Time Warner Cable's agreement to pay News Corp. for over-the-air television programming has opened the door for broadcasters to demand as much as $5 billion a year from pay-TV providers and their subscribers, analysts said.
- U.S. May Prevent Cable TV From Withholding Sports (Business Week, 12/30)
U.S. regulators said they will consider preventing Comcast Corp. and other cable-TV companies from withholding some sports telecasts from competitors.
- FCC's Levin: Broadband Plans Don't Threaten Future Of Broadcasting (Broadcasting & Cable, 12/27)
FCC broadband advisor Blair Levin tells B&C that he does not think any of the commission's plans for spectrum reclamation "threatens the future of over-the-air broadcasting."
- Cablevision to Petition Supreme Court on Must-Carry (Broadcasting & Cable, 12/22)
Cablevision's New Year's plans include taking on must-carry in the Supreme Court, if it can convince the court to take the case.
- SHVERA Extended By 60 Days (Multichannel News, 12/21)
The Congress has agreed to extend the Satellite Home Viewer Extension and Reauthorization Act by 60 days.
- FCC Eyes Average Internet Speeds for Rural Areas (The Wall Street Journal, 12/21)
With two months to go until the FCC is scheduled to unveil its plan for improving broadband service across the U.S., agency officials seem to be settling on relatively modest speeds for rural areas.
- Sneak Peek At FCC National Broadband Plan Gets Mixed Reviews (Ars Technica, 12/17)
With slightly more than 60 days to go before the Federal Communications Commission has to send a National Broadband Plan to Congress, the agency sneak-previewed a sort of plan-for-the-plan on Wednesday at its regular monthly meeting.
- Genachowski Urges Industry To Volunteer Low-Cost Broadband (Multichannel News, 12/16)
Fcc chairman Julius Genachowski Wednesday called on ISPs to come up with a low-cost basic broadband offering to help drive adoption by low-income households.
For more news, visit the Headlines Page on the ACA website.
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Small markets and rural areas across the country are receiving video, high-speed broadband, and phone services from more than 900 small and medium-sized independent operators represented by the American Cable Association (ACA).
ACA's membership comprises cable, phone, and fiber-to-the-home operators and municipalities, who deliver these affordable basic and advanced services, such as high-definition television, next generation Internet access, and digital phone, to more than 7 million households and businesses, some of whom have no other means of receiving these vital services.
These communications services are considered by most to be essential for individuals, companies, and other entities, like schools and hospitals, and are crucial to America's economic prosperity, particularly in smaller markets and rural areas.
The ACA works to ensure its members are treated fairly in the marketplace and in Washington, so that small and medium-sized independent operators may continue to thrive and deliver affordable video, broadband, and phone services to Main Street America. Through active participation in the legislative and regulatory process, ACA and its members advocate for the interests of their customers, their companies, and their communities to help ensure the continued viability of their hometown's way of life.
For more information, visit www.americancable.org, or contact:
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