Martin: FCC to Classify IP Video
FCC Chairman Kevin Martin says he's 'sympathetic' to the franchising woes of new IPTV players
June 9, 2005
CHICAGO – Supercomm 2005 – Amid growing apprehension over an unsure regulatory environment in which IPTV is once again emerging, Federal Communications Commission (FCC) chairman Kevin Martin told a crowd of telecom execs here Tuesday that the commission should and will take a position, likely by late 2005 or early 2006.
Martin spoke to a crowd of about 400 conference-goers here in what was only his second appearance as chairman, the first taking place at the National Cable & Telecommunications Association (NCTA)conference in March (see FCC's Martin: Markets Rule and FCC Chairman to Address Supercomm).
“I think the Commission needs to go on and try to decide what we’re going to do with these IP-enabled services and decide what kind of rules should end up applying to them,” Martin said from a bulky leather chair, his image cast by two huge video screens on either side of the stage.
“At the beginning of the year, when Chairman Powell was still there, the hope was that we would do something on that by the end of the year or the beginning of next year, and I think that’s still the timeframe for us to identify and address some of those types of issues."
That is the very same timeframe given by SBC Communications Inc. (NYSE: SBC) for the closely watched commercial rollout of its IPTV services (see SBC, Microsoft Defend Lightspeed). The two events are unmistakeably linked.
The question, simply put, is whether the commission will regulate IPTV like a data service or like a television service. If Martin gave any clue to the commission’s future action on the issue, it had to be considered positive for telecom carriers:
“I think the prospect of having additional competitors in the video business is important to facilitate, and not have local franchising agreements presenting a barrier, as we hear people complaining about." The RBOCs are hoping IPTV will be ruled a data service and as such be exempted from the arduous task of acquiring the local franchising agreements cable providers must obtain (see SBC Sees IPTV Interference).