Ipoque and Net Neutrality in Europe

Compared with the US – they are still in the middle of the net neutrality debate – Europe managed to find an acceptable compromise within a few months.

With the United States in mind, we were expecting an endless debate and this is why we participated in the net neutrality discussion from the beginning (see blog posts). Over a year ago we made our point very clear with our white paper. We made net neutrality the topic of our sessions and speeches at several conferences. And we published OpenDPI to show everybody how DPI works and that transparency is doable – even for a network equipment vendor. Now it’s the operators’ responsibility to be as transparent as possible. This was the obvious solution from the beginning, but long time it seemed that there would be no consensus among net neutrality activists, technology vendors and operators.

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According to the Wall Street Journal, FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski has undertaken new steps to protect internet neutrality, another chapter for the concept in a somewhat tumultuous relationship with the agency.
Net neutrality is the idea that all traffic over internet connections should be treated equally. Internet services providers (ISPs) have vigorously fought against the concept, now warning in the wake of the FCC’s mood on the topic to lower investment in new internet fiber. It is their largest threat against what they view to be government meddling.
This news comes as a victory for internet customers and internet companies, both of which have been advocates of net neutrality. Consumers want to use their connections exactly as they see fit, and internet companies want to make sure that they get the same crack at the ball as anyone else. According to the story, some of the rules used to regulate phone lines will be applied to the internet.
The Hill reports that tomorrow the FCC will announce its plans to move in new a direction, a “third way.” The goal will be to “fulfill the previously stated agenda of extending broadband to all Americans, protecting consumers, ensuring fair competition, and preserving a free and open Internet.”

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How much freedom and equality there will be in the Internet of the future

The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) just called off the “closed door” network neutrality negotiations it was conducting between major ISPs, Google, Skype and the Open Internet Coalition, after news broke Wednesday afternoon that Google and Verizon had reached an independent deal on the issue outside of the FCC negotiations. The end of these talks, which had been roundly criticized because they were being held in secret, may be a sign of hope for the FCC to push ahead with the public debate.

The FCC decision comes less than 24 hours after hysterical and confused reports of a Google and Verizon deal on net neutrality began circulating around media outlets and Washington.

What it Means for the Valley and Consumers As Google and Verizon work out their compromise and promote whatever version of network neutrality works for one of the largest telecommunications companies and the largest driver of web traffic, the effect on the startup ecosystem and consumers may take a while to appear. But warning signs are already planted. For example:

AT&T tried to stop YouTube access on its phones.

Germany’s T-Mobile wants to block video content on wireless networks.

Google and Verizon are talking about paid prioritization of Google traffic.

Consider what paid prioritization means for the nascent web television industry, which right now sometimes uses Google’s YouTube as a distribution platform. It’s great that Google may pay for their shows to get prioritization, but what happens if Google doesn’t like a show, or maybe it wants to run ads the creator doesn’t like? The Internet as an equal opportunity distribution platform is subtly changed.
The U.S. broadband network was in sad shape as well, unless one was lucky enough to live in an area with a cable provider that was deploying DOCSIS 3.0 or within range of Verizon’s fiber network. An FCC survey this year discovered that 78 percent of the U.S. has only two broadband providers to choose from, while 13 percent have only one.



The numbers are important, because one of the bulwarks against nefarious activity in terms of discriminating against certain types of content is robust competition. The line of thinking is that if AT&T blocks certain files, the customer can simply find an ISP that doesn’t. In practice, this isn’t a very effective threat because in some areas, the alternatives are crappy DSL lines, satellite broadband or nothing.

The new FCC ,with Genachowski at its head, was going to change all that. He decided to champion network neutrality, not only for wireline, but also for wireless access. He was going to be a thorn in the side of the big incumbents and agitate for innovation, consumer rights and change.

  gigaom.com By Stacey Higginbotham

 The report's authors, Craig Settles and Adam Elliot, admitted that even they were surprised by the study's principal observation that competition inversely correlates with state wealth.

"We hesitate to draw what could be the obvious conclusion that, if a state's constituents become wealthier, competitiveness in broadband will drop," they conclude. "We take the position that wealth attracted or facilitated (and still does) one or two large providers to come into the area initially and establish market dominance such that their resulting barriers prevented competition from becoming widely established. It very well may be that specifically because less affluent states did not attract one of the largest providers (at least for a while), several smaller regional or local providers were able to establish stronger market positions."

So it may be that policy makers have to come up with a more sophisticated way of thinking about "competitiveness" and its virtues. In poorer, more rural states, having a host of probably cash-poor competitors on the market doesn't necessarily mean better broadband. The Federal Communications Commission's latest report (please read this report TWICE) on Internet competition found that only 72 percent of consumers in "competitive" Arkansas had access to 200Kbps or greater cable modem service in 2008.

arstechnica.com

 There is no clear and generally applicable definition of net neutrality. It is a principle that is described differently by different people coming from different regional, social and scientific backgrounds. Technical definition would be that all IP packets should be treated equally on a best-effort basis. But net neutrality is not a technical principle but a social paradigm that strives to preserve the Internet in a perceived state of maximum freedom and equality among its participants. Hence, ultimately, society will have to decide about how much freedom and equality there will be in the Internet of the future. Here we will focus on the more technical aspects of net neutrality.

So.....
Let's reach 2 million for Net Neutrality! Save the Internet?

from savetheinternet.com :




Urge Congress and the FCC to support Net Neutrality.

FCC's 700 MHz auction

Results from the FCC's 700 MHz auction emerged last Friday. Sister publication CableFAX Daily offered this rundown on the MSOs engaged in this auction, the amount they bid and what they got:

• Cox Communications; $304.6 million; 22 licenses, including blocks in New Orleans and Las Vegas
• Vulcan (linked to Charter Communications); $112 million; two A Block licenses.
• Bend Broadband; $6.7 million; one Oregon-based license
• Bresnan Communications; $3.9 million; three licenses in MT.

Cable's competitors unleashed much greater amounts of cash. CableFAX reported that Verizon spent $9.63 billion (some 22 times as much as the total listed above) on all of the regional C block licenses; AT&T spent $6.7 billion on 227 licenses; and Echostar acquired 168 E Block licenses for $711 million.

By Jonathan Tombes
www.cable360.net

Cable’s Top 10 Causes of Insomnia in ’08

CableFAX executive editor Michael Grebb took time out from the nonstop assault of the Consumer Electronics Show to put together his list of the most important issues cable operators have to contend with this year.

1. FCC. Need I say more? FCC chairman Kevin Martin is on a Cable Holy War of some sort—although we’re not sure what religion he’s defending. Regulationism? In any event, cable’s strategy of waiting out Martin over the next year in hopes that a new president will replace him with someone else has its pros and cons. The pros are that alliances with sympathetic FCC commissioners make keeping Martin in a box relatively doable over the next year. The cons are that the next FCC chairman could be even worse for cable. Hey, it could happen, though I have to admit it seems unlikely.

Who is Kevin Martin and why is he saying those terrible things about cable?

2. Competition. No one can dispute that Verizon’s success rolling out FiOS—along with the looming threat of AT&T’s U-verse—creates a serious problem for cable: The loss of basic subs. That’s likely to continue in ’08 as cable operators try to catch up with some of the features FiOS and U-verse have heaped upon the marketplace with their greenfield, spend-till-we-drop infrastructures. Things aren’t much better on the DBS side, with Dish Network and DirecTV continuing to apply pressure on cable in the HD space. The two-pronged attack is a big ’08 challenge for cable, which on one hand must keep ramping up broadband speeds and improving VOD and other TV navigation features but on the other must keep adding more capacity-draining HD to the mix to compete with both satellite and telco offerings. Tough stuff, but cable’s up to the challenge.

3. The Digital Transition. Not much to say here. Cable has to step up—even though the transition is really more the responsibility of the broadcast industry. But let’s not harp on that. In Washington, policy makers expect cable to do its part, working with broadcasters and consumer electronics companies to ensure a smooth transition. As we approach that fateful February ’09 deadline, it won’t get any easier to educate consumers and play nice with those other industries.

4. The Capacity Crunch. Have you noticed that cable is running at capacity? No? Do you live on another planet? The consumer demand for faster broadband speeds and more HD channels isn’t going away—especially as more video on the Internet fuels broadband demand and the digital transition pushes more of them to buy big-screen HDTV sets. The good news is that ’08 should mark the first year that switched digital video starts its march into the cable mainstream. Not a moment too soon.

5. Cable’s Busy Calendar. Everyone knows about the NCTA board’s effort to scale back the number of cable-related events that executives feel obliged to attend during the course of the year. It’s an understandable goal that recognizes the corporate drain of all this travel. But the potential pitfalls of going too far are obvious: At a time of increasing competition, an uncertain economy and unprecedented technological change, do we really want cable’s top execs holed up in their offices bouncing ideas off of their internal echo chambers? Might it make sense to stay engaged with outside voices and stay abreast of the latest developments? My advice: If you choose not to travel much in ’08, then make sure you subscribe to CableFAX.

6. Wall Street. Has cable ever been hated this much on Wall Street? Well, the truth is that cable has gone through these periods of financial negativity before (most recently following the 1992 Cable Act’s passage and subsequent years of FCC regulation). But cable’s implosion over the last few months—at least in terms of stock price—has been unique in its speed and breadth. After all, Wall Street was singing cable’s praises less than a year ago. What happened? Verizon happened, that’s what. Those basic sub losses have spooked the Street. Cable has got to turn that trend around in ’08, and do it while also growing other areas of its business. And as it spends, spends, spends to keep up with the Joneses, cable operators are doing so in one of the worst credit crunches we’ve seen in years. Good thing it’s a high cash-flow business!

7. Diversity. America is changing. And with a more diverse customer base comes the need to hire a more diverse workforce. Cable understands this and has made strides at just about every level. But, as always, much work remains to be done. Anyone who attended the last NAMIC conference knows that many minority cable execs feel as if they still face certain workplace hurdles that their white counterparts don’t. Reasonable people can disagree about the state of diversity in cable, but the important thing is to keep those lines of communication open in ’08.

8. Commercial Services. Did you think I was going to say “wireless”? Well, mobility is certainly sexier than commercial services, but when you look across the cable spectrum in ’08, it seems clear that commercial services markets are a more immediate opportunity for top-line growth. Better yet, stealing commercial customers from the telcos hurts their numbers just as they’re stealing cable’s basic subs. Sometimes life has its little bonuses.

9. The On-Demand Consumer. Customers are simply not willing to live by cable’s rules anymore. They want content when they want it. They want content where they want it. Hell, they even want content the way they want to create it. And they want to share all of it with their friends. Yet we live with the legacy of licensing deals and copyright concerns that pre-date all of this consumer liberation. Over the next year, cable will need to work with countless other industries to make sure that it stays in touch with this big consumer trend. Cable can’t drop the ball. Others will pick it up. Very quickly.

10. Customer Service. All of these new technologies and consumption trends are great, but the heated competitive environment means cable can’t rest on the customer-service gains it has made in recent years. Customers are used to all of that improved customer service now. They want more. And cable has to deliver it in ’08. That means CSRs who are knowledgeable and can answer any question—no matter how technical or obscure. It means giving your best customers freebies and random thank-you gifts. If I spend $250 a month on the triple play, why shouldn’t I be treated as a VIP? Thinking about the next generation of customer service will be a big challenge for cable this year. Period.

By Michael Grebb

FCC Chairman Kevin Martin: We Listened On Open Access

The 700 MHz spectrum license auction, which begins later this month, was a big topic in the chat between FCC Chairman Kevin Martin and CEA president and CEO Gary Shapiro this morning at CES. Martin said that the DTV transition in February 2009 is “hard date,” and opening up the spectrum for wireless broadband is a key part of the future of communications in the US.

700 MHz auction: Martin said his and other commissioners’ experiences at last years’ CES helped shape some of their positions on the 700 MHz spectrum license auction, which begins later this month. In particular, the talk of the difficulty of getting new services and devices onto wireless networks helped lead the Commission to put open-access rules on one of the blocks of licenses. He also talked about the importance of adding buildout requirements to the licenses in the auction: “We put very strict buildout requirements in because we want people to be buying spectrum and building it out and putting it to use,” Martin said, and not just buying it up to stockpile it and keep it out of others’ hands. He later added that the 700 MHz spectrum is important for building out the US’ broadband footprint.

XM-Sirius (NSDQ: SIRI) and Echostar-DirecTV: Shapiro attempted to draw Martin on whether approval of the XM-Sirius merger would bode well for a merger between Echostar (NSDQ: DISH) and DirecTV (NYSE: DTV). Martin wouldn’t talk about the pending approval of the satellite radio merger, but spoke about how XM (NSDQ: XMSR) and Sirius said they’d offer different subscription and content plans to consumers, allowing them more choice over the content they receive at a variety of price points. The implication was that this was an important declaration by the radio companies in terms of their chances of regulatory approval, and Martin said that it would be important for satellite TV companies to offer consumers more control and choice as part of any future merger plans.

On ISP traffic blocking: Shapiro brought up consumer groups’ complaint to the FCC about Comcast (NSDQ: CMCSA) blocking BitTorrent traffic; Martin said network operators should be able to use “reasonable network management practices”, but should declare those practices openly and transparently. Martin also said the FCC will investigate the situation to see if anyone is being discriminatorily blocked, and it has the power to act, if so.

Open, open, open: Martin said that the push for openness is an important one for wireless, cable and other networks, and that the ultimate end goal is networks that operate like the traditional phone network, where users can attach any compatible device, but stressed that’s an incremental task. “We have to make sure we put in place the building blocks to make sure [the opening of wireless networks] is real,” he said. “Are we there yet? No. But there’s a common goal everyone agrees on.”

On fair use: Martin stressed the importance of maintaining consumers’ fair use rights, but said it must be balanced with some protection for content companies. “What the content companies have a legitimate concern about is that you don’t want to allow a consumer to turn into a broadcaster of content,” Martin said. “I do believe that fair use and what consumers are able to do within their home and their device needs to be protected… Consumers have an expectation that’s reasonable and fair that they’ll be able to use content.”

White-spaces spectrum: The FCC will begin testing of new devices “very shortly” to see if they can not interfere with existing broadcasts, after failed test of first round of white-spaces devices. Martin said he wants to ensure that spectrum is being fully utilized and not wasted in any given market, but said that can’t come at the expense of interfering with existing spectrum holders’ broadcasts.

A la carte cable pricing: Martin said he’s doing “everything he can” to bring about a la carte pricing, and that cable rates have doubled since the Telecommunications Act of 1996 was put into place, while prices of everything else under the FCC’s purview has fallen. A la carte is the ideal answer to consumer complaints about cable pricing, since it would allow them to pay for only what they want, and if individual channel prices are too high, they won’t pay them, making a la carte a “true market” solution.

What’s big in 2008? The 700 MHz spectrum will dominate January and February, as well as the one-year countdown to the February 2009 DTV transition. Also important this year for the FCC will be revamping the FCC’s broadband deployment data so it can better understand the penetration of high-speed internet access. Consumer issues including traffic blocking will also be big this year.

FCC 700 MHz auction rules

Comcast + Panasonic = tru2way ?

Comcast: Cable to Standardize Technology

Facing pressure from regulators, the cable TV industry plans to make good on a promise to standardize its technology and open the door to televisions and other gadgets that don't need cable boxes to receive video-on-demand programs and other interactive services.

An industry initiative, to be renamed "tru2way" after a decade in the works, is expected to allow electronics manufacturers to make TVs and other gear that will work regardless of cable provider. By making devices compatible, the standard also could encourage the development of new services and features that rely on two-way communication over the cable network.

Comcast Corp., the nation's largest cable provider, will roll out the platform in all its markets by the end of 2008, Chief Executive Brian Roberts said in an interview with The Associated Press ahead of a speech Tuesday at the International Consumer Electronics Show.

Time Warner Cable Inc. is even closer to completion, Comcast executives said. A spokesman for No. 3 provider Cox Communications Inc. said the company will have "widespread deployment" this year.

"Our business model has changed completely, from a closed, proprietary model to an open architecture that will work across cable companies — not just across Comcast," Roberts said. "That was a Herculean job to accomplish."

Craig Moffett, senior analyst at Sanford Bernstein, said the industry is sending a hands-off signal to the Federal Communications Commission. Last summer, FCC officials said they would soon take on the issue of two-way compatibility between consumer electronics and cable systems.

"They don't have a lot of friends at the FCC right now. The cable industry has every reason to be nervous," Moffett said. "I suspect a lot of this is trying to beat the FCC to the punch."

CableLabs, the cable industry's research and development arm, which Roberts leads, was to announce Monday that its OpenCable platform, which began development in 1997, will now be branded as "tru2way."

Cable providers and device manufacturers have long disagreed over the technical specifications for two-way communication among their devices. There are TVs and set-top boxes in the market that can receive digital programming, but they can't talk back to the network, which would allow advanced interactive services. That leaves consumers with having to rent a box from the cable company.

And even with the new standards some discord remains.

Though the cable industry has inked separate deals with electronics companies, including Panasonic, Samsung and LG, consumer electronics giant Sony isn't on board.

The FCC — where Chairman Kevin Martin supports a more open and competitive environment — is also considering a different standard put forward by a group of consumer electronics companies.

CableLabs said it has inked licensing agreements with Intel Corp. and Broadcom Corp. to develop chips to run the software. And Microsoft Corp. is expected to integrate the standard into future versions of its Windows operating system for personal computers.

Comcast foresees "tru2way" branding on TVs, set-top boxes, PCs and other devices to signal their compatibility with cable systems.

On Monday, Panasonic and Comcast plan to unveil a slew of products that will be compatible with "tru2way," including a plasma high-definition television, high-definition digital video recorders and a portable DVR.

"You'll see a number of new 'tru2way' devices, and this is just the beginning," Roberts said. "This is Day One."

The Panasonic Viera Plasma HDTV with "tru2way" will go on sale this year. Panasonic's portable DVD player and recorder, called "AnyPlay," lifts off a docking station and allows consumers to watch the programs they've recorded anywhere they like, on its 8.5-inch LCD screen. It is to go on sale in early 2009.

Other products are expected to reach retail stores as early as the end of 2008. The timeframe gives cable leverage over the competing standard proposed by consumer electronics makers, whose devices might not make it to retail until 2009 at the earliest.

Moffett said cable operators are telling the FCC that the industry can work with consumer electronics makers on two-way cable-compatible products.

"That could tip the scales in their favor," Moffett said.

Cable's consumer electronics makeover

Historically, cable has been left out of the gadget circus. But at this year's CES, Comcast's Brian Roberts is trying to boost the business's presence.

NEW YORK (Fortune) -- Comcast CEO Brian Roberts says he remembers walking around the Consumer Electronics Show five years ago with Time Warner Cable CEO Glenn Britt. He recalls seeing a big presence from his rivals in the satellite-television business. His own industry, by contrast, was nowhere to be found.

"So we met with the board of [industry research arm] CableLabs and decided to go to Japan and Korea to visit the CEOs of the major [consumer electronics] companies," Roberts told me in a conversation over the weekend. "And we asked them, 'What do we need to do to work better with your industry'?"

This week, at CES 2008 in Las Vegas, Roberts is unveiling some of the fruits of those discussions - and, in so doing, he hopes to generate some much-needed positive buzz for the cable industry. In a joint announcement Monday with electronics maker Panasonic (MC), Roberts presented a cable-ready plasma television set (i.e., no set-top box) and a portable Digital Video Recorder that lets consumers take their stored cable programs with them on the go.

Both products are powered by technology called "tru2way," which cable companies are adopting; Roberts describes it as an open platform that will allow developers and electronics companies to write applications that can be widely deployed across the entire footprint of cable companies supporting tru2way. The biggest consumer benefit of tru2way is that it can be built into television sets, eliminating the need for discreet set-top boxes - an aesthetic benefit to consumers trying to avoid clutter as they upgrade to sleek flat-panel sets.

Roberts, who also will give his first-ever CES keynote address on Tuesday (and will reveal a few more new products at that time), says of his CES appearance: "I think it is a way for us to tell our employees and our customers how excited we are about what is happening at Comcast."

He says his speech Tuesday won't be aimed at investors, but it wouldn't hurt to get Wall Street excited about the sector. Cable stocks performed miserably in 2007: Comcast (CMCSA) shares, trading at about $17, were down about 40% last year. Shares of Time Warner Cable (TWC), which is controlled by FORTUNE and CNN/Money parent Time Warner (TWX, Fortune 500), were also down 40%. Investors are concerned about fresh competition from telephone companies such as Verizon (VZ, Fortune 500) and AT&T (T, Fortune 500) now offering video services, and stepped-up pressure from DirecTV and Echostar, which boast broad high-definition lineups.

And indeed, the satellite industry has done a good job of partnering with the consumer electronics industry. In recent years, DirecTV, for example, has worked with some electronics makers and retailers to encourage consumers to switch to satellite from cable when buying a new plasma television. TV makers had found some consumers returning their sets complaining of poor picture quality; the buyers didn't realize they needed a new cable box in order to get channels in high-definition.

The cable industry's new open platform should solve some of those problems. Now a cable operator can remotely upgrade a customer's channel line-up, say, or deliver new applications, without the customer needing to acquire a new in-home device.

Roberts says he hopes 2008 marks the start of an important partnership with the likes of Panasonic, LG, Samsung and others. "Our presence at CES is a chance to tell CE companies and software applications developers that we are here, we are open and we need your innovation to help us win," he says.

Roberts, 48, talks a lot about winning these days. The competitive playing field, which once seemed stacked in cable's favor (it was first with broadband Internet access and first with the "triple play" of voice, video and data), now looks remarkably level. To beat back phone and satellite insurgents, the historically insular cable industry is going to need help. "We have to innovate, have an open architecture and interoperate between cable companies, and our customer service has got to continue to reach new levels of excellence," Roberts says. "We also have to have the most content, which we clearly do. Put together, we have a winning strategy."

Comcast customers, employees, and certainly its investors, hope he's right.
Fortune Magazine

FCC announces names of 700MHz wireless auction bidders

The US telecoms regulator the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) yesterday published the names of applicants wishing to bid in the much-anticipated January auction of wireless spectrum in the 700MHz band. Among the 266 names listed a few come as no surprise: Google, which earlier this year said earlier this year made it clear it was willing to pay up to USD4.6 billion for licences in the ‘C’ block of spectrum, has thrown its hat in the ring along with cable operator Cablevision Systems, mobile chipmaker Qualcomm, satellite TV provider EchoStar and telcos AT&T Inc and Verizon Wireless. However many of the other names to make the regulator’s original 3 December deadline are far less well known, such as GreenFly LLC, Paul Bunyan Rural Telephone Cooperative Inc, Vulcan Spectrum (backed by Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen) and Guam Cellular & Paging. Another company raising eyebrows over its desire to be involved in the telecoms sector is Chevron USA.

A total of 96 applicants have thus far been approved, while 170 companies including AT&T, Verizon and MetroPCS have been marked as having incomplete applications for undisclosed reasons by the FCC. The deadline for submitting applications has been extended to 4 January. The auction, scheduled to begin on 24 January, could raise as much as USD15 billion for the US Treasury. It will comprise five blocks of spectrum, with the ‘C’ block in particular, expected to fetch considerable sums because of its size and its ability to penetrate obstacles, which means it could be used to establish a next generation, high speed data network.

FCC Approves Plan to Eliminate Cross-Ownership Ban

Broadcasters and Newspapers Could Be Owned By Same Company in One Market

WASHINGTON (AdAge.com) -- A divided Federal Communications Commission approved what could be the biggest change in the country's media ownership rules in more than a decade, allowing cross-ownership of newspapers and broadcasters in the same market.

On a 3-2 party-line vote, the FCC approved Chairman Kevin J. Martin's plan to eliminate its more than 30-year-old ban on cross-ownership. Instead, newspapers will be able to buy any broadcast station that isn't among the Big Four networks in the top 20 markets; publishers may also be able to buy broadcasters in smaller markets by promising to add at least seven hours of news a week to the acquired stations' programming.

Last-minute changes
In a last-minute change, the FCC gave permanent waivers to newspapers and TV stations in 42 markets that already have cross-ownership, some in violation of the new rule. All will get permanent waivers, a move that will allow Gannett to keep the Arizona Republic and a Phoenix station; Media General to keep four stations and newspapers; and Shamrock Communications to keep a broadcast property and newspaper in Scranton, Pa.

The FCC also added a new exception that will let TV stations and newspapers buy "failing" rivals, despite the new requirement, and allow News Corp. to keep two TV stations in New York as well as the New York Post.

By taking its vote, the FCC rejected all calls for delays from consumer groups and senators who warned the FCC didn't sufficiently understand the potential impact consolidation would have on local programming. Others warned that the rule change reduced opportunities for minority-owned and women-owned businesses to buy broadcast properties, and that enough time hadn't been provided for the public to comment on a final proposal.

Despite the vote, the fight is far from over. Some legislators promised to try to overturn the FCC vote in Congress.

Andrew Jay Schwartzman, president-CEO of the Media Access Project, called the FCC action "an extreme and unjustified change" and said today he would challenge the latest FCC action in court. "Unless Congress intercedes, we're going to have to go back to court to make sure the public isn't harmed by this ill advised action," he said.

Previous attempts to re-write rules
Today's vote caps a saga that began in 2004 when a previous attempt to ease media ownership rules under former Chairman Michael Powell was rejected by an appellate court and sent back to the FCC. Mr. Powell had proposed far broader changes that would have allowed one company to own three TV stations, eight radio stations, the local cable system and the local newspaper in big markets.

Mr. Martin offered a more limited proposal, but it would still be the biggest change in FCC rules since Congress passed a revision of communications rules in 1996.

The cross-ownership proposal was offered by Mr. Martin and supported by Deborah Taylor Tate and Robert McDowell, but angrily opposed by Democratic commissioner Michael J. Copps and Jonathan Adelstein.

"It's a terrible decision," Mr. Copps said. "In the final analysis, the real winners today are businesses that are in many cases quite healthy, and the real losers are going to be all of us who depend on the news media to learn what's happening in our communities and to keep an eye on local government."

Both he and Mr. Adelstein charged that the last-minute changes were offered in the dead of night with no public input, and represent a major concession to broadcasters.

Mr. Martin, Ms. Tate and Mr. McDowell all argued that the rule changes were "modest" and Mr. Martin rejected that there was any rush to judgment.

'Impossible to achieve consensus'
"I reject the claim that the process has been unfair or too rushed," he said. "For a year and half I have attempted to respond to legitimate concerns. At each step as I was crossing the goal line the goal line was moved. I've finally reached a view that it is impossible to achieve consensus."

The vote was among a series of major steps the FCC took on Tuesday. The commission also:

Approved a series of proposals in a bid to aid minorities acquire broadcast stations. Minority groups criticized the proposal, saying the proposals mostly benefit small businesses rather than minority-owned companies and could hurt minority companies.

Revisited and reiterated its rule barring any single cable company from serving more than 30% of the nation's cable subscribers. An appellate court has sent the rule back to the FCC for review.

A third proposal -- to launch a rule-making proceeding to examine whether new examples of product placement and integration of products into TV shows are warranted -- was delayed.

By Ira Teinowitz

Guide to Buying an HDTV ready for DTV transition

Congress passed a law on February 1, 2006, setting a final deadline for the DTV transition of February 17, 2009. Most television stations will continue broadcasting both analog and digital programming until February 17, 2009, when all analog broadcasting will stop. Analog TVs receiving over-the-air programming will still work after that date, but owners of these TVs will need to buy converter boxes to change digital broadcasts into analog format. Converter boxes will be available from consumer electronic products retailers at that time. Cable and satellite subscribers with analog TVs should contact their service providers about obtaining converter boxes for the DTV transition.

This is a very exciting time for consumers, manufacturers and broadcasters. But, there are still some questions as we approach this date. CE.org/hdtv is your one-stop resource for information, numbers, education and updates. Click on the links below to learn the ins-and-outs of this breathtaking new era in TV!

In May 2007, CEA mailed a packet of information regarding the digital television (DTV) transition to all members of Congress. Electronic versions of these documents are available below:

DTV Letter to Congress 05-08-07
Sample Letter to Constituents
Key Points on the DTV Transition
CEA HDTV Education Efforts
CEA DTV Issue Brief - 2007
Key Resources - Contact Sheet
myGreenElectronics Fact Sheet

FAQ on the DTV Transition
NTIA - Preparing For The DTV Transition
NTIA Consumer Fact Sheet
FCC DTV Fact Sheet - Updated July 19, 2007

Useful info from DTV.gov
DTV FAQ

1. If I have an older analog television, will I have to throw it away after February 17, 2009?
2. If I want a new TV, will I have to buy a High Definition TV (HDTV) to watch digital broadcast television after the transition?
3. How can I be sure that I am buying a digital TV (DTV)?
4. How do I know if I already have a digital TV (DTV)?
5. What is the difference between “Integrated” DTVs and DTV or HDTV “Monitors”?
6. What about my VCR, DVD player, camcorder, and gaming console? Will I be able to use them with a digital television set?
7. How do I get DTV or HDTV programming?
8. Will I need a special antenna to receive DTV over-the-air?
9. How do I know if I already have digital programming through my cable or satellite TV service?
10. My cable operator offers a digital cable package. Is this the same as HDTV?
11. Do cable TV networks, like CNN, MSNBC, Lifetime, etc., have to switch to digital broadcasting as well?
12. Can my cable system move programming to a digital tier that makes me subscribe to digital service?
13. Can I hook up more than one TV and video recorder to a single digital-to-analog converter box?
14. What about my portable, battery-powered analog TV? Will I be able to use it to watch broadcast TV after February 17, 2009?
15. I have an old antenna that attaches to my TV with two wires. Will I be able to use a converter box with this antenna?
16. What will happen to the old analog TVs that will be replaced by DTVs? Will there be an effort to recycle them?
17. Will the February 17, 2009 date for the end of full-power analog television broadcasting be pushed back?
18. What are low-power (LPTV), Class A, and TV translator stations and how does the DTV transition affect them?
19. Will digital-to-analog converter boxes (used to convert over-the-air digital TV broadcasts for viewing on analog sets) also convert digital closed captioning?
20. Will I be able to use parental controls like the V-chip with digital TV the same way I now can with my analog TV?

Guide from PC World: HDTV Essentials

More HDTV for Your Money

LCD, DLP, or plasma? Big, bigger, or biggest? We lab-tested 15 screens to find the best values in next-generation TV.

New HDTVs Bring Higher Def, Better Color

Increased resolution, new peripherals and connections promise the best TV yet.

The Lowdown on HDTV

Five-and-a-half things you should know before you buy your first HDTV.

Quick Guide to HDTVs : Yahoo! Tech

The Basics
There are four main types of HDTVs :

Plasma
Pros: Very large screens available; vibrant color quality can't be beat
Cons: Screen brightness can dim over time; fragile; expensive

LCD
Pros: Thinnest and lightest of all TVs
Cons: Max size is limited for now; very expensive; can create ghosting in action scenes

Projection
Pros: Cheaper than comparably sized flat-panels
Cons: Thicker than flat panels; lamps burn out and are pricey

CRT
Pros: Bargain-basement prices; best overall picture
Cons: Enormous at large sizes; limited maximum screen size; hogs power; yesterday's technology

What Matters Most

Screen Size

You won't see the benefits of HDTV if you sit too far away; at 10 feet you need at least a 35-inch set.

Read More Search : under 27" / 27' to 42" / Over 42"

Inputs

HDMI offers a simple, all-digital connection for both video and audio in a single cable.

Read More

Resolution

720p and 1080i are the two major HD standards; but the high-end 1080p is even better.

Read More Search : 720p / 1080i / 1080p

Installation
Bring a friend; CRTs and larger projection TVs are huge and can weigh hundreds of pounds. Fancy wall-mount kits for LCDs and plasmas usually cost extra.
Read More

Top Lobbyists Swarm FCC Over Plug-and-Play

The FCC is hearing comments on whether it should adopt the cable industry’s OpenCable Applications Platform (OCAP) as a standard for nationally deployable two-way set-top boxes, and big-time representatives of major corporations are busy sharing their views with the commission.

Oct. 26, Comcast boss Brian Roberts and two of his top henchmen met with four of the five commissioners to plug OCAP and oppose DCR+, the solution proposed by the Consumer Electronics Associations.

The same day, officials from HBO, Starz!, Disney, News Corp., Viacom and NBC Universal managed to met with the legal advisors for all five commissioners to talk up OCAP, according to a FCC filing.

These companies and others, including many consumer electronics makers, have touted OCAP as the only platform would incorporate advanced functionality into consumer devices.

“Consumers reasonably expect that something called a ‘digital cable-ready’ device will let them have access to all of the cable services that are part of the package they have purchased,” the National Cable and Telecommunications Administration told the FCC this week. “But DCR+ devices, were they ever to be built, could only receive a limited number of existing services, will receive no new future services, and will not let cable consumers see and use cable services in the way that they purchased them.”

NCTA also says DCR+ products will not be available in time for the 2008 holiday shopping season, whereas OCAP products are already available. NCTA also wants OCAP technology to be the standard for all multichannel video providers, not just cable.

CEA has countered that DCR+ is an alternative, lower-priced solution that would give viewers a choice; it has also said that the FCC would abdicate too much authority to industry consortium CableLabs under the NCTA plan.