Proposed FCC rules covering cable operators’ signal quality and signal...

Proposed FCC rules covering cable operators’ signal quality and signal leakage for digital cable systems are unnecessary and should not be adopted, Verizon said in response to a notice of proposed rulemaking on the subject (CD Aug 6 p10). The NPRM’s proposals run counter to the president’s directive against adopting unnecessary regulation, Verizon said (http://xrl.us/bn54z4). Though the FCC was right to recognize that rules written for analog cable systems are outdated, “it is inappropriate to adopt rules for digital cable simply because rules may have once made sense in the context of monopoly cable operators using analog technology,” Verizon said. The NTCA and the Organization for the Advancement of Small Telecommunications Companies also questioned the need for new rules. “Rather than applying legacy rules designed for earlier systems and a less competitive marketplace to new technologies, the Associations respectfully question whether specific rules are even necessary for” pay-TV operators that aren’t using traditional quadrature amplitude modulation technology, they said (http://xrl.us/bn542i). Though complying with signal leakage rules that protect aeronautical safety remains an important goal, “burdensome new rules are unnecessary to achieve this goal,” the NCTA said (http://xrl.us/bn542n). New FCC rules should let cable operators demonstrate compliance without requiring them to buy expensive new test equipment, the NCTA said. It supported the NPRM’s proposal to adopt the Society of Cable Telecommunications Engineers’ SCTE 40 for assessing signal quality. “The cable industry has long operated under the SCTE 40 specifications,” it said. But requiring operators to prove they comply with the specifications is unneeded, it said, citing technical and competitive reasons. The National Association of Telecommunications Officers and Advisors praised the commission for taking up the issue and proposed several additional requirements to the NPRM, related to testing and recordkeeping (http://xrl.us/bn543m).