In the comments filed late yesterday, NCTA suggests that the cable industry has made significant investments in facilities, equipment and programming to spur the nation’s digital television transition and will be ready for the complete switch-over to digital when the 85 percent test is triggered. However, NCTA also contends that cable carriage of digital broadcast signals alone will not end the transition; rather, the key to the return of the analog spectrum is developing a solution that will make digital signals available to over-the-air viewers with analog TV sets. Without the development of such a device, 81 million television sets – nearly a third of all TV sets in the U.S. – will not be able to able to receive digital signals, rendering them obsolete. NCTA also suggests that the FCC should retain the simulcasting requirement in order to ensure a quicker and smoother transition from analog to digital.
Press Releases
April 21, 2003
NCTA FILES COMMENTS WITH FCC REGARDING DIGITAL TELEVISION TRANSITION SECOND PERIODIC REVIEW
In the comments filed late yesterday, NCTA suggests that the cable industry has made significant investments in facilities, equipment and programming to spur the nation’s digital television transition and will be ready for the complete switch-over to digital when the 85 percent test is triggered. However, NCTA also contends that cable carriage of digital broadcast signals alone will not end the transition; rather, the key to the return of the analog spectrum is developing a solution that will make digital signals available to over-the-air viewers with analog TV sets. Without the development of such a device, 81 million television sets – nearly a third of all TV sets in the U.S. – will not be able to able to receive digital signals, rendering them obsolete. NCTA also suggests that the FCC should retain the simulcasting requirement in order to ensure a quicker and smoother transition from analog to digital.
Rob Stoddard and Brian Dietz, 202-775-3629