Paul Gluckman

A 2nd prominent RCN subscriber in as many weeks has written the FCC to complain that his cable operator dropped the ball on CableCARDs and doesn’t deserve the CableCARD waiver it’s seeking.

Cable operator RCN “disregards its obligations to provide CableCARDs to consumers upon request as required by the FCC,” and so should be denied its CableCARD waiver request, a Harvard Business School professor and RCN subscriber told FCC Chmn. Martin in a letter last week. However, the professor, David Yoffie, didn’t tell Martin the whole story when he alleged RCN refused to supply him with the 2 CableCARDs he needed for his new TiVo Series3 DVR, RCN said in an ex parte filed at the Commission. And Yoffie was politically motivated to urge the FCC to reject RCN’s petition because he’s on the Intel board, and Intel has opposed other waiver requests at the Commission, a senior RCN executive told us.

Unknown factors lent traction and speed to an FCC order, now circulating, that would make CE retailers post analog- cutoff warnings at point of sale near legacy analog TVs still being sold (CD April 12 p1). The order is expected to get a vote at the Commission’s April 25 open meeting unless members approve it earlier.

A “recommended practice” that CEA published over 2 years ago to promote widespread use of common terminology and screen icons for easing restrictions on use of transmitting portable electronic devices (T-PEDs) on commercial aircraft (CD Sept 23/04 p8) has been upgraded and published as a formal CEA standard. CEA-CEB18 outlines recommended terminology and screen icons for the “transmit and operational status” of T-PED devices, said working group Chmn. Joseph Morrissey of Motorola Labs. Though CEA-CEB18 is voluntary, “adoption of consistent terminology and indicators by airline operators, hospitals and wireless device manufacturers is greatly encouraged, and would facilitate improved user understanding and management of growing electromagnetic interference issues in an increasingly noisy RF world,” Morrissey said.

Harris is disavowing the accuracy of its own ex parte presentation filed at the FCC April 3, in which it alleged that broadcasters’ foot-dragging and other factors had put DTV transmitter installations woefully behind schedule for the Feb. 2009 analog cutoff. The ex parte is dated Nov. 1, 2006. Originally filed at the FCC last fall, it was filed again at the Commission’s request, a Harris spokesman said. He said he didn’t know why that request was made. Many of the conclusions in the ex parte no longer are valid because DTV transmitter installations have increased significantly since, he said, but an updated tally of installations isn’t available. About 297 new digital transmitters need to be ordered, manufactured and installed for the analog cutoff, equaling 15 months capacity of the U.S. transmitter industry, Harris said in the ex parte. “To drive the required timing for installation crews, transmitter ordering would need to commence on an even order basis approximately 23 months prior to analog sunset, or end of March 2007,” Harris said. In conveying “feedback from the field,” Harris said many broadcasters don’t believe Feb. 17, 2009, “will remain as a fixed date for analog sunset,” Harris said: “Most believe that there will be a transition period after analog sunset during which they will have time to build out their RF system for the final DTV channel assignment.” Asked to respond to the Harris ex parte, NAB Exec. Vp. Dennis Wharton said his group “recognizes Congress established a Feb. 2009 date for ending analog television, and our stations are working aggressively toward meeting that deadline with minimal disruption to consumers. We also look forward to working with the FCC to accommodate the minority of stations who have extenuating circumstances that could prevent them from meeting the 2009 date.”

Opposition has arisen to the FCC giving temporary waivers of the DTV tuner mandate sought by 2 makers of bathroom mirrors with analog TVs built in (CD April 2 p8). The FCC set March 1, 2007, “as a reasonable and prudent date” to require that all TV receivers have ATSC tuners, engineer Norman Coltri of Medford, N.J., told the Commission. “The underlying purpose of the rule would be frustrated” if the mirror-makers got waivers, Coltri said. Kohler, a Wis.-based maker of bathroom and kitchen appliances, wants to have until Jan. 1, 2008, to build DTV tuners into bathroom mirrors with optional integrated TV receivers. Electric Mirror of Edmonds, Wash., makes mirrors with built-in TVs for hotels with closed-circuit video systems; it wants a 6-month waiver. Electric Mirror justifies its request on grounds that a waiver would ease its niche product’s DTV transition. Kohler says granting it a waiver wouldn’t thwart the FCC effort to ensure consumers can view over-the-air DTV after the Feb. 17, 2009, cutoff. Filing in the FCC docket for Kohler’s waiver request, Coltri asked the FCC to deny all such petitions. “The petitioner did not show any unique circumstances that would apply to their waiver, other than the desire to market a device prior to that device being capable of compliance with the rules that apply to all other manufacturers and importers,” he said. If the FCC gives the waiver “in total or in part,” it should impose conditions, including that the product’s display carry “secure stickers” warning that it won’t work properly after Feb. 2009, he said. If a device is sold through installers, Coltri said, only the “final consumer” should have the right to remove the notice and 30 days to “object to the condition” and receive a full refund.

There’s ample money in the pot -- and perhaps millions to spare -- to cover consumers who redeem DTV converter box coupons for “untethered” over-the-air analog TV sets, NTIA said in an economic analysis of its coupon program’s final rules. At our request, NTIA gave us a copy of the analysis explaining the program’s costs and benefits to the public. Such reports customarily are required under executive order for large govt. programs.

Though the law says consumers may request DTV converter box coupons from NTIA beginning Jan. 1, 2008, NTIA already has begun receiving coupon requests from consumers, retailers were told in a conference call briefing Wed. sponsored by the CE Retailers Coalition (CERC) and NARDA.

Two companies want temporary waivers of the DTV tuner mandate so they can make mirrors with TVs built in. The mandate, which took effect March 1, requires that TV sets sold with analog tuners also have digital tuners. Kohler, a Wis.-based maker of bathroom products, wants until Jan. 1, 2008, to build DTV tuners into a line of bathroom mirrors with optional integrated TV receivers, said an FCC notice published Fri. Electric Mirror of Edmonds, Wash., makes mirrors with built-in TVs for use by hotels with closed- circuit video systems and seeks a 6-month waiver, the notice said.

RIAA made “misrepresentations” to Congress in telling the House Telecom Subcommittee in summer 2006 it was close to a deal with broadcasters on audio flag protections for digital radio, NAB Exec. Vp Dennis Wharton told us in response to our Mon. report (CD March 26 p6).