WASHINGTON — The 10 largest U.S. cable operators would begin carrying up to five channels of digital broadcasts by as early as Jan. 1, 2003, under a plan announced Wednesday (May 1) in response to government calls to speed the transition to digital TV in the United States.
In a letter to Federal Communications Commission chairman Michael Powell, a cable industry group also pledged to begin deploying high-definition set-top boxes with digital interfaces over the next 18 months. The set-tops along with digital inputs on DTV receivers and recorders would help boost sales of digital TV equipment, encouraging broadcasters to offer more digital broadcasts.
The initiative by the National Cable & Telecommunications Association (NCTA), based here, came in response to Powell's voluntary plan unveiled on April 4 to speed up the stalled transition to digital broadcasting.
"Central to these actions is our belief that the availability of high-definition television is key to creating the market incentive for American consumers to purchase HD-ready digital television receivers," said NCTA president Robert Sachs.
By Jan. 1, Sachs said, top cable operators would offer to carry signals from up to five digital TV stations or cable networks in order to meet Powell's goal of at least 50 percent of prime time broadcasts in high definition in the next TV season. The cable pledge leaves some wiggle room for cable operators to use digital signals from carriers other than broadcasters.
Companies agreeing to the plan are AT&T Broadband, AOL- Time Warner, Comcast, Charter Communications, Cox Communications, Adelphi Communications, Cablevision Systems, Mediacom Communications, Insight Communications and CableOne.
Set-top push
NCTA said the cable industry expects manufacturers to begin delivering digital set-tops with digital interfaces like IEEE 1394, the Digital Visual Interface and the High-bandwidth Digital Content Protection in quantity by the end of 2003.
Hence, operators pledged to immediately order integrated HD set-tops with digital interfaces and provide them to customers as soon as they are delivered. Cable companies would also lease digital set-tops to consumers and offer them for sale through consumer electronics retailers.
Equipment makers have long complained that the cable industry has a stranglehold on the set-top box market and wants to be able to sell digital set-tops direct to consumers.
In an April 30 filing to the FCC, the Consumer Electronics Association (Arlington, Va.) called for "regulatory intervention" to speed up compatibility between cable systems and consumer electronics products. The group wants digital cable-ready products with "plug and play" capability.
Powell welcomed the cable industry's overture. "I am pleased that the cable companies have embraced my challenge with solid commitments and I look forward to similar strides by the other industries in the coming weeks," Powell said in a statement.
Broadcasters reacted cautiously. "We're pleased the cable industry is moving toward carriage of digital broadcast signals," said Edward Fritts, president of the National Association of Broadcasters. "We look forward to the day when cable operators carry all digital broadcast signals in their entirety."
