[opendtv] News: Powell Disinclined to Multicast Must-Carry
- From: Craig Birkmaier <craig@xxxxxxxxx>
- To: OpenDTV Mail List <opendtv@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Thu, 9 Sep 2004 08:24:12 -0400
http://www.broadcastingcable.com/article/CA451665?display=Breaking+News&referral=SUPP
Powell Disinclined to Multicast Must-Carry
By John Eggerton -- Broadcasting & Cable, 9/8/2004 3:25:00 PM
Federal Communications Commission chairman Michael Powell told the
Senate Commerce Committee Wednesday that he is not inclined to give
broadcasters multicast must-carry, nor, he said, is there any
consensus among the other commissioners to change the agency's
interpretation of what constitutes a broadcaster's primary digital
signal.
That answer came in response to a question--during a hearing on
public safety spectrum--on whether granting multicast must-carry
would speed the transition to digital and thus the reclamation of
spectrum for public safety uses.
When asked whether he suppported multicast must-carry, Powell shot
back that the suggestion that the FCC has not already decided the
issue is "absolutely false."
Powell pointed out that it was the commission of 2001, of which he
was a member, that came to the conclusion that Congress did not
intend broadcasters to be entitled to multicast must-carry, though
adding that it is a different commission, with the exception of
himself, that could come up with a different decision on
reconsideration.
For his part, though, Powell said he was not sure that multicasting
would necessarily be an "advantage" to the transition, adding that
some argue it might even retard it. Powell also said he had "serious
constitutional questions" about digital must-carry beyond the primary
signal as the 2001 FCC defined it.
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