[opendtv] News: Ich Bin Berliner/ GAO, NCTA Scrutinizing Germany's DTVTransition
- From: Craig Birkmaier <craig@xxxxxxxxx>
- To: OpenDTV Mail List <opendtv@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Tue, 6 Apr 2004 13:27:40 -0500
Ich Bin Berliner/ GAO, NCTA Scrutinizing Germany's DTV Transition
April 6, 2004 12:00am
Source: PBI Media, LLC. All rights reserved.
CableFAX: Vol. 15 No. 64
As the FCC's Media Bureau floats around a DTV=20
transition plan based in part on Berlin's digital=20
migration, many eyes are turning to the German=20
city for lessons learned. All analog TV in Berlin=20
was switched to digital Aug 4, '03, with 2010 set=20
as the hard date for the rest of the country. A=20
GAO report commissioned by then-House Commerce=20
chmn Billy Tauzin (R-LA) on how Berlin used a=20
hard deadline to structure its digital TV=20
transition should be ready by June, Rep Fred=20
Upton (R-MI) says. Upton heads the Commerce=20
subcommittee on Telecom and the 'Net and expects=20
to hold a hearing on the DTV transition once the=20
report's complete. Meanwhile, NCTA dir of science=20
and tech Steven Mace and deputy counsel Michael=20
Schooler recently visited the German capital and=20
briefed the FCC late last month, an FCC filing=20
says. (The timing of the briefing, we're assured,=20
was coincidental and not in response to the Media=20
Bureau's DTV proposal to recalculate the 85%=20
threshold. NCTA has not issued any comment on the=20
plan.) Schooler and Mace's main takeaway: The=20
transition was smooth, but the inherent=20
differences between Germany and the US make it=20
impossible to expect the same strategies to work=20
exactly the same here. Germany lacks many=20
advanced services (including HDTV), has fewer=20
channels (most are via broadcasters) and doesn't=20
use subscriber fees to support programming. The=20
lack of HD certainly puts Germany poles apart=20
from the US, with NCTA reporting that=20
broadcasters there aren't interested in the=20
technology and HD sets aren't available. Plus,=20
there's not enough spectrum available to support=20
HD terrestrial broadcast. In its presentation,=20
the NCTA staffers noted while the transition has=20
resulted in new digital channels, German cable=20
operators were carrying virtually all of them
already in analog (German operators have the=20
discretion to carry analog or digital, but=20
currently carry only analog). After highlighting=20
several differences, the presentation concludes,=20
"It's highly uncertain whether those unique=20
circumstances exist even elsewhere in Germany.=20
They do not exist in the US."[Copyright 2004 PBI=20
Media, LLC. All rights reserved.] .end=20
(paragraph)<<CableFAX -- 04/05/04>>
<< Copyright =A92004 PBI Media, LLC. All rights reserved. >>
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