Publication Type: Statement
Date: 1/10/2007Contact: Brian Dietz, 202/258-2881
"The denial of cable's waiver requests would mean that, starting in July, consumers would be paying a new $600 million tax, costing cable customers another 2-3 dollars per month. It is incomprehensible that the FCC would deny these waiver requests at a time when Congress and the Administration have made the digital transition a national priority and are trying to manage the costs to consumers. We urge the Chairman and the Commission to move in another direction on this issue and grant cable's requests to relieve consumers of this potential burden."
NCTA is the principal trade association for the U.S. cable industry, representing cable operators serving more than 90 percent of the nation's cable television households and more than 200 cable program networks. The cable industry is the nation’s largest broadband provider of high speed Internet access after investing $100 billion over ten years to build a two-way interactive network with fiber optic technology. Cable companies also provide state-of-the-art digital telephone service to millions of American consumers.