Small operators are often drowned out by the wild rumpus that is major providers vying for attention for their video, voice and Internet services. But millions of people in “hometown America” and rural regions do get their services from these small ops, and their tighter margins make for unique technology and regulatory challenges.
The American Cable Association, which has nearly 800 small and medium-sized independent operator members, held its Summit 2016 in Washington, D.C., last week with broadband delivery issues topping the agenda.
“Although traditional TV service remains important, broadband Internet is your future,” ACA Chairman Robert Gessner observes. With that in mind, he told Summit attendess that the ACA’s advocacy was focusing on three things: Keeping regulations competitively and technologically neutral; preventing market consolidation that harms consumer choice; and protecting smaller providers from “undue market power.”
Gessner related a couple of recent victories. One was the FCC ruling that every cable operator in the country, no matter the size, is considered subject to effective competition and no longer bound to local price controls. He said that confirms that the Commission understands that ACA members face robust competition from the likes of Dish, DirecTV and additional MVPDs. This ties in with the second win that Gessner pointed out — the FCC now requires Dish and DirecTV to pay a share of FCC Media Bureau regulatory fees.
On another front, Gessner took issue with the FCC’s “unlock the box” proposal that would require new technical mandates to open all set-top boxes to third-party use.
“ACA thinks this proposal is horribly misguided. It would inappropriately insert the government into a market teeming with participants, innovation and tens of millions of satisfied consumers,” Gessner says.
Rep. Mike Pompeo, member of the Energy & Commerce Committee, also spoke at the ACA Summit and said he expects broad bipartisan support for legislation that would exempt ISPs with 250,000 subscribers or fewer from the FCC Open Internet enhanced transparency requirements. (For related news, read this recent story.)
“This legislation recognizes the differences in costs of regulatory compliance on small businesses. The FCC has recognized an exemption on a temporary basis. Our effort is to codify what the FCC has done and make it permanent so you can operate without these expensive rules that don’t make a lot of sense to the smallest businesses in America,” Pompeo says.
He went on to tell attendees that he expects to see support of around 350 votes or more. “There’s a reasonable chance that this will make it across the House floor,” he notes. “I’m confident the Senate will pick it up as well. I think this is something we can actually get done.”
