ACA to FCC: Curb Broadband-Reporting Requirements
Trade Group for Small Cable Operators Cites Expense of Nine-Digit ZIP-Code Technologies
By Linda Moss -- Multichannel News, 6/18/2007 8:36:00 PM
The American Cable Association argued that further broadband-reporting requirements by the Federal Communications Commission will actually harm broadband deployment rather than spurring new growth.
In ACA comments filed with the FCC last Friday, the lobbying group for small cable operators cited the requirements it objects to -- namely: reporting the number of subscribers on a ZIP-code basis; reporting based on nine-digit ZIP code; providing demographic information; and reporting voice-over-Internet-protocol deployments in a manner different than that currently used for broadband deployment.
In its comments the ACA noted, “The commission admits that it is ‘skeptical that the analysis of customer totals submitted at the five-digit level of aggregation could significantly increase’ its ‘understanding of the dynamics of broadband availability and deployment.’”
It’s the ACA’s position that the FCC would be better served by reaching out to consumer-interest groups and individuals to report this information rather than increasing consumer costs with costly billing-code enhancements and reporting requirements that serve no useful business purpose.
A recent survey of ACA members concluded that 75% of the billing systems deployed by the surveyed members do not have nine-digit ZIP code capability. Thus, requiring smaller operators serving rural areas to purchase nine-digit ZIP-code technologies merely for FCC reporting purposes is counterproductive, according to ACA’s comments. The money and resources could be better spent deploying advanced services, the trade group said.
“Our members are doing the best they can to deploy advanced broadband services as deep as possible into the areas they serve,” ACA president and CEO Matt Polka said in a prepared statement. “These additional reporting requirements are nothing but a burden that will slow our members down as they look to expand broadband service in their rural marketplaces.”
