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Friday, Jul. 10, 1998
FCC may make cable companies go digital
New technology offers sharper pictures, better sound
Associated Press
WASHINGTON - With two-thirds of Americans getting their TV via cable, regulators are wondering whether to make cable companies carry broadcasters' new government-ordered digital signals.
The Federal Communications Commission, in a 5-0 vote, decided Thursday to look into the matter. There's a possibility the agency could come out with a final decision on what to do before the end of the year, FCC officials said.
Whatever the FCC ultimately decides will affect the channel lineups cable companies offer their customers.
During a planned transition to digital, local stations will be allowed to have two channels, one for digital, the other for analog. Some stations will begin digital broadcasts in November. Eventually, all stations are required by the government to go digital before 2006.
Digital technology offers broadcast viewers sharper pictures and better sound than they now receive. The technology also gives the broadcasting industry, which fought to make the leap to digital, opportunities to offer new services, for free or for a fee, such as stock quotes and other data transmissions to users of personal computers.
At this point, the FCC is considering a variety of options. They include mandating immediate carriage of broadcasters' digital signals, not mandating carriage and phasing in carriage requirements for some or all local digital TV stations, said Bill Johnson, deputy chief of the FCC's Cable Services Bureau.
Although the proceeding is very wide open, ``the tenor of it is there's going to be a carriage obligation,'' Johnson said.
Most cable systems lack the channel space to carry both digital and analog signals, but upgrades are under way to provide the space.
If the FCC orders a blanket commitment for cable to carry digital broadcast signals, cable systems without open channels would have to drop dozens of cable networks to make room, cable executives say.
FCC Commissioner Michael Powell called for the commission to proceed cautiously. There are an ``astonishing number of unknowables . . . which are in the control of consumers'' - namely - their appetite for broadcasters' new digital signals, he said.
The Supreme Court has upheld provisions that currently require cable systems to carry broadcasters' analog channels.
Small-market stations worry most that no one will watch their new signals unless they are distributed by local cable systems.
The National Association of Broadcasters wants the FCC to adopt a digital carriage requirement. But the cable industry opposes that and prefers voluntary agreements.Post your comments about local news eventsFront Page || Main Index || News || Business || Texas || South Texas Outdoors || Birdwatching || Sports || Entertainment || Selena || Education || South Texas Attractions || World Wide Web