Senators To Martin: Avoid A La Carte Mandates

Senate Commerce Committee Chairman Daniel Inouye (D-Hawaii), Sen Ted Stevens (R-Alaska) and Sen Kay Bailey Hutchison (R-Texas) wrote Federal Communications Commission Chairman Kevin Martin on Monday trying to persuade him to focus on the digital television transition instead of his battles with the cable television industry. The said the FCC's overriding mission, through actions undertaken by its Media Bureau, was a smooth DTV transition scheduled for Feb 17, 2009. "Pursuing contentious policy initiatives, such as the unbundling of wholesale subscription television channels, would divert attention of the bureau at this critical time," Chairman Inouye said. In their letter, the senators said the FCC's focus on the TV transition was vital because not all stations were ready to shut off their analog transmitters and because "too many consumers" were totally unaware of the DTV transition or were uncertain about how many digital-to-analog converter boxes they would need. "We find these facts troubling," the senators concluded. "In order to ensure both broadcaster and consumer readiness, we suggest that in the months ahead you focus the FCC Media Bureau's resources on managing the switch from analog to digital signals."