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Subcommittee on Telecommunications and the Internet
September 25, 2002
Thank you, Chairman Upton for calling this
important hearing on the Committee's staff discussion draft regarding the
transition to digital television. I, like many of my colleagues have been
involved in the transition since its earliest stages over a decade ago.
Achieving a successful and timely transition to digital television is a top
priority of mine. It is important for consumers and I think it is
essential for the future viability of the broadcasting industry. So
it is with great interest that we have this hearing to come together to discuss
potential solutions to break the logjam that has been holding up the transition.
This transition has been underway for over 10
years and we are not as far along as we need to be. The staff discussion
draft is just that - a discussion draft - and I invite the witnesses to
express their thoughts. I look forward to receiving more today from the
witnesses and in the coming weeks. Most of the provisions have been put in
there in an effort to create a comprehensive communications policy regarding the
transition to digital, while other provisions have been included with the
express intent to elicit spirited discussion, alternatives and ultimately viable
solutions - where no clear viable answer is readily apparent.
We do not begin this legislative process lightly.
The FCC was tasked with shepherding the transition through. Unfortunately,
many issues remain unresolved-creating uncertainty in the marketplace and for
consumers. I am pleased that the FCC has put in place a DTV Task Force and
am appreciative of its work. But time is running short - and I urge the
FCC to give this transition its utmost attention.
As I have said before, we
always prefer marketplace solutions to government involvement. And
industry players have much to be proud of -- they have met on their own
- and with me in informal roundtables over the last 10 months -- in an
effort to see what more can be done. And progress has been made but these
private, inter-industry negotiations seem to have come to their end point and
time for the DTV transition is running out. Time is not on our side. Right
now this transition is on a collision course with consumers and we must act now
to turn things around. The promise of this transition for the broadcasting
industry holds many benefits not only for it but also for consumers and it is
time for us to ensure that communications policy enables consumers to realize
these benefits. I have a real concern about consumers being forced to go
out and spend money for a converter box - and will end up getting nothing new
for the additional cost. This cannot be allowed to happen.
So it is with an eye
toward the consumer that we offer up this staff discussion draft.
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Consumers
reasonably expect that in the future their TVs will receive broadcast
signals just as they do today. The FCC decided to ensure this with its
DTV Tuner Order in August. The costs of incorporating DTV tuners into
televisions set should fall quickly as all sets include these tuners. The
five year phase-in schedule does not require the smallest and least
expensive sets to include tuners until 2007, by which time the cost of this
technology will undoubtedly be lower. The staff discussion draft
affirms this approach.
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Consumers
reasonably expect that their consumer electronics equipment, including TV
sets will work with their cable system. Given that over 70 percent of
consumers receive their broadcast signals via cable this makes sense.
Portability of consumer electronics equipment, and nationwide
interoperability with cable television systems and digital television
receivers - equivalent to today's "cable-ready" analog televisions
-- is an essential element to ensuring consumer acceptance and sufficient
penetration of DTV. The staff discussion draft requires this.
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·Consumers
reasonably expect to be able to purchase a reasonably priced basic cable
ready digital television set. The staff discussion draft ensures that
consumers are not forced to buy a Cadillac when all they want is a Buick.
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Consumers,
in exchange for purchasing new digital equipment, expect to enjoy exciting
new content. The staff discussion draft affirms the FCC's authority
in this critical area of the transition. Content is key to a
successful transition. The staff discussion draft puts some focus on the
FCC's current proceeding - and specifically requires it to
implement a "broadcast flag" content protection solution.
But what are the limits of content protection?
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Consumers
also expect to continue to enjoy the ability to home record in the digital
age - we affirm this in the staff discussion draft. We need to determine
what companies require in order to release - and continue to release -
quality content over the air. We also need to determine what can we do
to stop the unauthorized distribution of content. What are the limits of
what we can do - what is a workable, viable solution?
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Consumers
reasonably expect that when they purchase a HD set they will be able to view
HD programming being offered by the network. The staff discussion
draft requires network affiliates to pass-through the HD signal without
degradation - or "downresing" it to a lower resolution.
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The
transition to digital is going to be a difficult one for consumers.
The staff discussion draft eases the burden a bit by assuring the commercial
availability of converter boxes by requiring cable operators to separate
security and non-security features of the boxes. But it stops in its
tracks, the FCC's rule that will prevent cable operators from offering
integrated set-top boxes. Integrated boxes may very well be more
convenient and less expensive for consumers - at the very least there is
another choice for consumers.
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Consumers
should be able to make informed purchasing decisions on equipment and
content. The staff discussion draft contains consumer notice
provisions. I would like to personally thank Mr. Boucher for his work
in this area and I look forward to working with him on this, as well as a
number of other issues, in the future.
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The
staff discussion draft leaves open for now - the issue of multicast
must-carry. There are deep concerns among members of Congress that, if
consumers have to buy special boxes to convert sets to digital and all they
get is same old signal, then what good is the transition? There's no extra
value. I look forward to hearing some creative answers to this
important question from the witnesses this morning.
Obviously the devil is in
the details and some of the details contained in the staff discussion draft are
intended to highlight the difficulty of this transition. I want debate. I
want proposals. I want solutions. Because make no mistake - this
transition will not fail. It will occur - that is a certainty. And
it will be a success. We are all in this together - and by working
together we can ensure that consumers are the ultimate beneficiaries of the
wonders of digital technology through this digital transition.
Thank you.
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