Michael's Insight

Special Saturday Storm Recovery Update: Slow Progress

An ice storm is a complete oxymoron.  On one hand, an Insight associate of mine, Roger (who loves to share his wonderful pictures), captured its magnificence with this photograph.  On the other hand, dozens of people, including people in Kentucky, Indiana and Ohio, lost their lives due to the countless hazards these storms create.

LG&E and Vectren crews continue to work intensely, round-the-clock, to restore power throughout their service areas. Our task is to try to stay right behind them so we can repair damage to our network that was undetectable until the power was restored.  We know that the rate of power restoration is beginning to increase now as electric crews arrive from other areas to help out.  As of this morning, the Courier-Journal reported that nearly 175,000 LG&E customers were still without power.

We continue the slow and careful recovery throughout our service areas.  I am pleased to report that Northern Kentucky, Columbus and Bowling Green are working on repairing residual issues but they are rapidly returning to normal.    Lexington is almost there but Louisville and Evansville both have a quite a way to go.  We have nearly 300 portable generators providing power to our plant where power is interrupted along the way to other homes that have electricity.  All of our critical technical locations are back on regular power since our main headend that serves all of the Louisville market was restored yesterday.  Prior to that, we were operating on generators. 

Insight employees are on round-the-clock duty.  Even those in districts that are nearly back to normal are filling in over the weekend to help the heavy work load in the harder-stricken areas.  If you are trying to call us and having trouble getting through, please accept our apology.  Our call centers are certainly overloaded and we are trying very hard to handle all of your inquiries. 

Recovering from a disaster of this magnitude is hardly easy and never flawless.  Individual service issues that might seem so simple under normal circumstances can become very complicated when we are attempting to restore service to so many in the shortest possible time.  And a special thanks to all of the men and women at Insight, as well as all the other utilities and telecommunications providers, for working so selflessly to restore their services to their customers. 

Storm update - 1/30

Insight's crews continue to work 24/7 to restore service to the thousands of customers in our footprint that have lost service due to the ice storm. As I noted in yesterday's update, one of the issues that Insight faces in restoring cable, broadband Internet and phone service is the record number of customers who have lost electric power. In Kentucky alone, over 607,000 households have lost electricity. E-ON US has posted some helpful information about the number of outages in the Kentucky counties that they serve, along with a detailed map of outages in Louisville.

Many of Insight's outages will be cleared up once power has been restored. Other issues will be easier to diagnose and repair once power comes back.

Insight crews will continue to work through the weekend to restore service to customers. Our employees - from telephone operators to crews in the field - have worked tirelessly during this emergency situation to take customer calls and fix downed lines. Thanks to them and for your patience as we work to get each customer reconnected to service.

Survey of online HD video services

Which HD video Web service is the best? [CNET News]

CNET profiles the various high definition online video services, comparing the various sites' features for users looking for the best looking quality and value in online HD video. YouTube, Facebook, Vimeo, DailyMotion, SmugMug and Blip.tv each offer users HD Flash video, and all are profiled by CNET. Results of CNET's testing are compiled in an easy-to-read chart comparing the features of each video service. YouTube, which has recently added HD quality videos and 16:9 display ratio was judged to be the best of the bunch in HD quality.

With the proliferation of HD video cameras, HD quality online video is quickly becoming very popular. Recently I've gotten my hands on a small handheld HD video camera, and I'm looking forward to posting some videos on my blog. I'll be using this guide to determine whether I'll be using Facebook or YouTube to embed my videos.

NCTA's Kyle McSlarrow on the Broadband Stimulus Package

Congress is currently focused on President Obama's proposed economic stimulus package, which includes some $9 billion in broadband stimulus. The National Cable and Telecommunications Association's President and CEO Kyle McSlarrow has posted a YouTube video on the different issues involved in the broadband stimulus at the NCTA's CableTechTalk blog. Here's Kyle's video.

U.S. House fails to pass DTV deadline delay

More Details On Proposed DTV Delay: This Just Gets Better And Better [Techdirt]

Amazingly, three weeks before the deadline, the confusion that surrounds the DTV delay legislation is still on the rise. A bill passed the Senate that would move the digital television transition deadline from February 17th to June 12th last week.  Unfortunately, the DTV delay legislation failed yesterday's vote in the House of Representatives. It needed a 2/3 vote for passage, and it fell well short of that margin, while receiving a majority of members' votes.

Even if the House bill is resurrected by changing the rule that required a 2/3 majority, they made a few minor changes in the legislation requiring the Senate to reconsider the bill. Assuming those pass the Senate - and remember, one senator can halt the bill's progress with an objection, the date will change to June 12 -- oh, by the way, right in the middle of the NBA championships.  

I'm being told now that the situation is very fluid, and it's again very much up in the air whether we'll see a DTV delay. 

And if you're not confused enough, I reported yesterday that some TV stations in Louisville will stick with the original DTV deadline of February 17th, regardless of what action Congress takes (or does not take). Given how confusing all these on-again, off-again DTV deadlines are becoming, I wonder, more than ever, if it simply serves consumers best just to stick with the original date.  February 17th has been ingrained in consumers' minds with the millions of dollars of advertising and education provided by the cable industry and broadcasters. There is an simple alternative bill in the House that would release more funding for the siezed-up Federal Coupon Program.

Google and partners launch network management monitoring tools

Google and Friends Release Net Neutrality Measuring Tools [Slashdot]

Google, in partnership with the New America Foundation and the PlanetLab Consortium, have taken aim at ISP network management, with the release of Measurement Lab (or M-Lab), a set of online tools that allow broadband users to test whether ISPs are managing peer to peer traffic. Google is promoting M-Lab as a way to crowdsource gathering data about ISP network management practices. Undoubtedly, Google and its partners want to use any data they gather through M-Lab in their effort to lobby Congress for net neutrality regulation.

I've written extensively about how and why Insight manages its network to ensure a high quality of service to all Insight Broadband users, including those who frequent P2P applications.  Indeed, based on our customer research and independent surveys, we're pretty good at it.  Our broadband customers rate us as one of the best ISP's in the nation and number one in Kentucky.  Remember, when you peel the net neutrality onion, the noise swirling around the debate is less about consumer freedom and much more about inter-industry positioning for a leg up on the information superhighway into your home. 

A tool that tests network management techniques and compiles data in the name of transparency seems harmless enough. What concerns me is the potential misuse of this data to attempt to convince policymakers to embark on a regulatory scheme that restricts network owners' and ISPs' ability to manage their networks. Responsible network management has the goal of creating the best possible experience for every user on the network. Competition between telcos, cable operators, and wireless providers provides all the motivation we need to act responsibly on behalf of our customers.  Management tools that are implemented to satisfy regulations instead of consumers will only degrade their experience.

And, perhaps, even better position Google and their advertisers in your face.

CNET reports ISPs to partner with RIAA on copyright enforcement

Sources: AT&T, Comcast likely to help RIAA foil piracy [CNET News]

Two of the nation's largest Internet service providers are reported to have joined forces with the recording industry to combat music piracy. According to CNET, cable operator Comcast and AT&T, among other ISPs, have agreed to partner with the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) to respond to music piracy among users on their networks. While neither company confirms their participation in the RIAA's copyright protection program, CNET calls the plan a "graduated response program."

There don't appear to be any hard-and-fast rules for the program yet, other than a take-down notice for copyright offenders and a series of stepped up responses that could result in an ISP termination of a user's account if there are enough serious copyright violations.

The program marks a new enforcement tactic of the RIAA, which recently vowed an end to the numerous copyright infringement lawsuits that had been leveled at Internet users who traded in illegally copied music. 

Winter storm update - 1/29

205,000 in Louisville without power [Louisville Courier-Journal]

Our crews continue to work around the clock to restore service that has been impacted by the ice storm. The full extent of those without electrical power has risen to 200,000 in Louisville alone, with additional thousands affected in other parts of Indiana, Kentucky and Ohio. Kentucky's Public Service Commission is calling the outages the second worst next to the outages we had in the fall due to Hurricane Ike. We're in emergency operating mode, with our call center operators and crews working 24/7 to restore service to our customers.

The treacherous conditions of roads in many places have placed an added obstacle to the work. We're also focused on the fact that the Super Bowl is four days away, so restoring cable television for the game is as high a priority for us as it is for our customers. Of course, we're dependent to some degree on how quickly the electric utilities restore power connections, so please be patient with us as power company crews tirelessly fix downed electric lines.

Cable's Digital Conversion

Matt wrote me an email after reading an article on EngadgetHD last week about cable operator RCN converting to an all-digital video platform.  He asks,

...I know that everything cost money...I just wanted to see where you stood on this.  I think RCN has the right idea here.  

RCN is completing something that most other cable operators are in the process of doing -- eliminating or nearly eliminating their analog signals and converting those networks to digital.  Indeed, Time Warner in New York City has already completed this conversion as well.

In order to accomplish this change (which is unrelated to the broadcast TV digital transition), cable operators first must take a number of interim steps.  Insight is about to begin that process in the coming weeks.

The first step of the conversion will be to "simulcast" our classic analog channels in digital.   Customers who have digital video service will not have to tune to a new channel in order to find the digital format of their favorite classic channels -- their set top box will do all the work.  But digital channels, even in standard definition, tend to look better than analog channels on large TV screens, so customers will probably see an improvement in their pictures.  Analog customers will be unaffected by this change.  Over time, we will decrease the number of customers who rely on analog by installing new all-digital set top boxes for all new installations.  At some point in the future, we will convert any remaining analog customers to digital.  Although that may require a converter where none is needed today, it is not going to happen soon and many people, by then, will have already converted their equipment to digital.

Unfortunately, simulcasting doesn't save us bandwidth, instead, it takes up more bandwidth and bandwidth is a limited resource on any cable system.  We do that temporarily so we can begin to install new all-digital set top boxes and decrease the number of customers who rely on analog receivers over time.  Once the number of analog customers is reduced to a small and manageable amount, we will convert them to digital.  Then, we can turn off the analog channels and allocate much, much more bandwidth to new and advanced services, including many more HD channels and super-fast Broadband connections.  This is a multi-year plan but watch for us to it in motion during the first half of this year. 

So Matt, as you can see, we totally agree with you.

Louisville television stations may stick with February 17th DTV deadline

DTV May Go Ahead as Planned…Here [The 'Ville Voice]

Even though Congress looks poised to approve a bill delaying the national digital television transition from February 17th until June 12th of this year, it appears that at least some of the  television stations in Louisville, Kentucky will proceed with their digital transition on the earlier date. The 'Ville Voice interviews two Louisville television station managers who indicate that there are plans underway for at least some Louisville stations to make the switch to digital on February 17th. 

While the congressional DTV delay would set the new deadline at June 12th, individual stations are free set a different transition date. If you're watching Louisville television over-the-air, I'd recommend that you prepare for the digital switch in February. And, like I've said a hundred times before, if your televisions are connected to cable, we've got you covered.  You're already prepared for the digital transition - no matter when it occurs in your area or for your favorite TV station.

Weather Impacting Service

The wintry weather is impacting our network and our crews are working round-the-clock to repair damages caused by ice, fallen tree limbs and other hazardous conditions.  Louisville Power reported that 75,000 customers have lost power as of 6 am.  We have seen their and phone company crews working hard to restore service.   So far, this is nothing like the unprecedented effects of Hurricane Ike, when nearly 300,000 Louisville Power customers lost power (knocking furiously on wood) but we are experiencing isolated service outages in specific neighborhoods throughout our service area.

Because of the icy road conditions, regular maintenance (including installations and repair service) may have to be postponed and rescheduled.  Our apologies to those affected but we must do our part to keep the roads clear of nonessential traffic and to reallocate our resources to emergency repairs.

The dedicated men and women at Insight are in emergency operating mode today and will work tirelessly to answer your calls and repair the damages until service is back to normal.

Digital television deadline delay approved by U.S. Senate

Senate OKs delay of digitial TV transition [CNET News]

If you're still unprepared for the digital transition, it looks like you're going to get a reprieve from the federal government. Last night, the U.S. Senate voted unanimously to postpone the digital television transition from February 17th until June 12th of this year. The DTV Delay Act was approved via a bipartisan compromise in the Senate. Tomorrow morning, a similar bill will be reviewed in the House of Representatives Energy and Commerce Committee.

It's all but certain that the delayed deadline will become law in the next few days, as President Obama has indicated his support for a DTV delay. But, adding confusion to the whole process, the delay isn't mandatory. Part of the compromise on the legislation allows television stations to make the digital transition prior to June 12 if they wish -- shutting down their analog broadcasts to free up radio spectrum for first responders. So while we won't be talking about February 17th any longer as the DTV deadline, individual television stations have the freedom to transition on June 12th or set their own transition date.

Just think.  Now you can hear me remind you that cable television viewers won't have any trouble regardless of when stations make the change to digital broadcasts for an extra four months

Hulu to air Super Bowl ad

Hulu to shock the world with Super Bowl ad [CNET News]

The popular online video streaming site Hulu, which broadcasts Fox and NBC Universal content has announced that it will be airing an ad during this Sunday's Super Bowl on NBC. Hulu is pomising that viewers are going to learn "the secret behind Hulu" in the ad. I'd much prefer to be watching the Giants defend their Super Bowl title, but since they won't be, I will look forward to what usually is the best set of TV ads on any TV program all year.

Nearly half of HDTV owners don't receive HD programming

Study: Only 56% of U.S. HDTV Owners Receive HD Programming [Multichannel News]

There must be quite a few households out there with televisions capable of receiving high definition programming that don't take advantage of the wide variety of great programming available on HD channels. According to research firm In-Stat, only 22 million of the estimated 39 million households with a HDTV actually receive HD programming because they don't have the proper equipment or they don't hook up their equipment properly. While that number sounds low overall, it's still an increase of 40 percent over last year. And while standard definition channels definitely look better on an HDTV, viewers are really missing out on some great television if they're not watching HD programming.

One nation plans to tax and subsidize piracy

Isle of Man Plans Unlimited Music Downloads [New York Times]

The small island nation Isle of Man is trying a different approach to combating the piracy of copyrighted work on the Internet - the government has decided to add a tax to every Internet user to pay for the cost of pirated works. In exchange, Internet users can copy and trade copyrighted works without paying for them. The taxes will be collected by a new government agency that will distribute the taxes to copyright holders based on how often their works are downloaded by inhabitants of the island.

The recording industry representatives quoted in this article appear to be skeptical of this model's chances of success in combating piracy. Based on the low percentages of broadband users that engage in peer-to-peer file trading, I question whether this model forces Internet users as a whole to subsidize the piracy of a very small percentage of Internet users.

DTV delay likely to be decided this week

DTV Delay Gains Ground [Multichannel News]

President Obama's goal of delaying the digital television transition may be on track for a vote in the U.S. Senate this week. Senate Republicans have reached a compromise with Senator Jay Rockefeller over the provisions in a bill that would delay the digital transition until June 12th. The current deadline is February 17th.

The compromise may add even more confusion into the marketplace.  It allows stations to voluntarily convert prior to the cutoff date which, if they do, probably will catch many people unprepared.  It will also mean that the call centers being set up by the cable and broadcast industries may not be open for business when a station goes off.

While it's still not completely clear whether the compromise delay bill will have enough votes to pass in the Senate, if it does, it will likely be put on a fast-track for passage in the House of Representatives, where a similar bill now sits in the House Energy and Commerce Committee.

Much of the impetus behind the delay legislation is the fact that the federal government's digital converter box coupon program has run out of money and is currently placing coupon requests on a waiting list. Republicans in both the House and Senate have filed legislating allocating an additional $250 million in tax dollars toward the coupon program - aimed at allowing the program to begin processing coupon requests again in advance of a February 17th or June 12th transition deadline.

6.5 million households are unprepared for the digital television transition

Nielsen Says 6.5 Million Homes Still Not Ready DTV Transition [Multichannel News]

Twenty-four days until the currently set digital television transition deadline of February 17th Nielsen has released the latest numbers on the households unprepared for the digital transition. 6.5 million homes or 5.7 percent of all American households still aren't ready for the transition. That means 1.3 million homes have gotten themselves prepared to receive digital television since last month, but it's still a lot of homes that won't have a television signal a month from now unless they get with the program.

The latest numbers from the government's digital converter box coupon waiting list reveal that 2 million households are waiting for one from the federal government. Assuming every one of those 2 million purchase a digital converter box with their coupon, that means that 4.5 million homes would still be unprepared if the coupon program were reactivated immediately.

DTV Vote Delayed; Virus infects over 9 million PCs

Waxman Postpones DTV Delay Vote [Multichannel News]

Here's the latest on the potential for an extention of the digital television transition deadline - we're in a holding pattern. Senator Jay Rockefeller's bill that would delay the transition until June 12th has been delayed in the Senate due to objections raised by other senators. Senator John McCain has raised concerns about Rockefeller's bill on the basis that first responders won't be receiving their part of the spectrum that will be freed up by digital television on the original date of February 17th. Over in the House, a similar piece of legislation that would delay the DTV date had its committee vote postponed by House Energy and Commerce Committee chairman Henry Waxman.

The waiting list for digital converter box coupons from the halted federal government coupon program now stands at 2 million households. We're 25 days away from February 17th, and no one is yet sure whether the digital television transition will occur on that date or later. 

Watch this issue through the end of this week.  If there is no movement by then, it's time for the supporters of the delay to throw in the towel and get on with it.  Real money is being spent right now by cable operators and broadcasters to be prepared for the onslaught of expected phone calls when the transition occurs.  A delay will force us to duplicate some of that spending and probably confuse the market even more.

As I've previously written, a further delay won't solve the problem of educating consumers who remain unprepared at this late date -- they are the same people who waited until the night before a term paper was due to begin to write it.  Instead, Congress should either make more funding available for the coupons to restart sending them out or change the rule that prohibits reissuing of new coupons until old ones expire.  The experience has been that only 50% of those sent out are redeemed so, if they assume a 75% redemption experience (instead of the current 100%), many more coupons could be sent out immediately without the need for new funding.

Inauguration day web traffic up substantially; Huge credit card breach disclosed; CES HDTV listing

Inauguration Day, by the numbers [CNET News]

It was a banner day for broadband users who flocked to news, social media and video streaming web sites to watch and interact with others during President Obama's inauguration yesterday. While it wasn't the busiest day for the Internet, it was one of the busiest. At around noon Eastern time, content delivery network Akamai estimated that 5.4 million web visitors per minute were accessing online news outlets. CNN.com served up more than 18.8 live video streams, and allowed viewers to interact with Facebook friends through Facebook Connect (more on that later).

Twitter users tweeted at four times the normal rate during the inauguration and Facebook reported that 4,000 users were updating their status every minute during the ceremony.

It wasn't all good news for the Internet, though. CBSNews.com was deluged by traffic, causing problems with its video stream. According to NewTeeVee, ABC.com, C-SPAN and CNN's online video streams had trouble at some point during the ceremony. Online video streams were unreliable to the point that at least one NewTeeVee blogger was an OldTeeVee watcher for the day.

Martin's Parting Shot; Cable companies developing place-shifting television technology

Martin Opens New Comcast Net Data Probe [Multichannel News]

It was an extraordinary act of lame-duck abuse.  Even after outgoing FCC Chairman Kevin Martin had packed up his office and turned off the lights, he couldn't restrain himself from taking one last swipe at the cable industry and Comcast in particular.  Last Friday was the Federal government's last business day until tomorrow because of Martin Luther King Day and the inauguration of President-elect Obama.  But, according to Multichannel News, Martin had staff working over the weekend to open (or reopen) a probe of Comcast's practices of network management.

We request that Comcast explain why it omitted from its filings with the [FCC] the distinct effects that Comcast's new network management technique has on Comcast's VoIP offering versus those of its competitors," the FCC said in a Jan. 18 letter signed by two hand-picked Martin aides, General Counsel Matthew Berry and Wireline Competition Bureau chief Dana Shaffer.

Under more normal circumstances, the agency would have been focused on exclusively managing their short-term challenges since the election.  This move spotlights another obsessive attempt to impact long-term policy well after a new administration takes over.

I am confident that the incoming administration and the FCC will, starting tomorrow, begin to focus on the most critical issue facing telecommunications in the first quarter of 2009 -- the digital transition.  Whether or not the February 17th date is delayed, the FCC has a critical role in ensuring a smooth transition.  As I previously reported, it took the Obama transition team about one nanosecond to figure out that there was no infrastructure in place to handle millions of calls that surely will be made when the analog channels go off. 

Working together, cable operators and broadcasters have offered a solution to be prepared to receive the calls.  Let's hope that's the beginning of a new spirit of cooperation between industries and government.

Watch tomorrow's inaugural coverage from your television or streaming online video

Cable Coverage of the Inaugural [CableTechTalk]

The historic inauguration of the nation's forty-fourth president, Barack Obama, is tomorrow. And as with any big event, there are many ways to catch all the action from your television. CableTechTalk has all the bases covered. From BET's coverage of the BET Inaugural Ball to Disney Channel's Kids Inaugural: We Are the Future to C-SPAN's and the national cable news networks day-long coverage of all the events, there's plenty of options on your television to see all the festivities.

If you're wanting to catch the inaugural events on your computer, there are several streaming video options from a variety of sources. NewTeeVee has a running list of the web coverage of President-elect Obama's inauguration. Topping that list, with the most extensive online video coverage, is C-SPAN's Mogulus streaming site. C-SPAN and it's great coverage of the inaugural events are brought to you by a coalition of the nation's cable companies. It's a 25 year-old coalition that has made C-SPAN the go-to network for coverage of our nation's leaders.

Enjoy watching history transpire tomorrow as we inaugurate our nation's next president.

Net Neutrality Included in Economic Stimulus Bill; Hawaii's DTV Transition; You Tube's TV Website; HDMI -- The Best Connection?

Democrats sneak Net neutrality rules into 'stimulus' bill [CNET News]

We live in a great nation, but it's not perfect.  We could greatly improve is our legislative process which is filled with loopholes.  And yesterday is a perfect example of that.  Seems like there's going to be billions of dollars for broadband! 

Now, I'm not going to opine on the necessity to pass an economic stimulus package nor whether it should be two hundred billion or a trillion dollars.  But I am going to react to delivering a TKO to those who urge caution before deciding ending all discussion about net neutrality policy.  It's as if people in Washington have decided that it's not even worth hearing from the folks who are experts in broadband networks and the technology that makes them work so well.

It first appeared that President-elect Obama's call for increased broadband availability would not be part of a proposed economic stimulus bill. But details of the proposed stimulus bill, released yesterday, revealed billions of dollars of grants for broadband development and deployment. The U.S. Department of Commerce would have the check writing authority for the grants under the bill.

Here's the catch.  All recipients of the grants - whether they're cable companies, telephone companies, or local or state governments - must agree to a set of network neutrality principles adopted by the FCC in 2005. Those principles have never been formally adopted as part of the FCC's rule-making process, and are the subject of a lawsuit currently being argued in front of a federal appeals court.  I have argued that those principles are flawed in that they are open to tremendous interpretation and might cause broadband operators to have to implement more intrusive network management policies than we currently use to keep our networks running smoothly.

Furthermore, the bill suggests that funds go to locales that are "unserved and underserved."   Come on folks.  What is under-served?

I get providing funds for unserved areas.  It's a bit like the rural electrification of America.  But why under-served?  Who are we relying on to interpret what is under-served?  Who will decide to write billions of dollars to add more broadband in areas that already have broadband?  And, by the way, who will receive those funds?

Aren't there enough legitimate places to spend the bailout money?  With the economy in perilous decline, now is the time for Washington to turn over a new leaf and stop spending money unnecessarily.

I hope the Senate considers this issue to be too important to be simply tacked on to the bailout legislation as the House apparently has done.

DTV delay still in disarray while Hawaii switches to digital today

Rockefeller Working DTV Delay Bill [Multichannel News]

The disagreement among policymakers in DC on the possible delay of the digital transition continues. I've linked to the latest update from Multichannel News. Senator Jay Rockefeller, Chairman of the Senate Commerce Committee, is in the process of drafting legislation that would delay the February 17th digital transition deadline for a yet-to-be-determined period of time. Rockefeller suggests the delay might be 90 days while others are pushing for a 6 month delay.

The news that the federal govenrment's digital converter coupon program has halted sending out additional coupons and has an estimated waiting list of 1.3 million households touched off this debate last week. That was followed up by the president-elect's transition team announcing support for a delay of the February 17th deadline. And yesterday, FCC Commissioner Robert McDowell highlighted a particular concern that I've noted before - the ability for the federal govenment to handle the telephone calls from those television viewers that wake up on February 17th to static.

Regardless of what Washington decides to do with the Februrary 17th deadline, Hawaii will become the first state in the union to make the switch to digital televison today.  State officials decided to move up its digital transition deadline because the Hawaiian Dark Rumped-Petrel bird, an endangered species, nests in the television transmission towers on one of the islands.  Apparently, the digital equipment switch would have disturbed the birds' nesting if the deadline were not moved up a month. Hawaii's experience will involve the largest switch of television viewers to digital broadcast to date. 

Although it may offer the first widespread test about just how much chaos to expect on February 17th, there are some complications.  According to Leslie Wilcox, the President of PBS Hawaii,  who said on her blog that coverage of the new digital signals may also be reduced because broadcasters were forced to move one of their transmission towers on one of the islands to an altitude some 5,000 feet lower than their current placement.  Another complication -- they didn't receive some necessary equipment for their new tower on time and one of the islands will be without PBS for, "a couple of weeks," unless the viewers have cable or satellite. 

Wilcox also reported long wait times already at the call center set up to receive inquiries.  These calls were generated prior to the actual elimination of the analog signals -- they came from viewers simply reading the "explanatory" crawl at the bottom of the screen warning people of the impending switchover.  I know that the Obama transition team has focused on that very issue and I believe they have a pretty good plan to "man the phones" on February 17th.

Let's keep our fingers crossed. Hawaii, we're all counting on 'ya. 

And, Aloha!

New FCC Chairman to be announced by President-elect Obama; Chrome coming for Macs; Cable modem hacker arrested

With Genachowski, Adieu To A La Carte? [Multichannel News]

Yesterday, the Wall Street Journal and New York Times reported that President-elect Barack Obama intends to nominate Julius Genachowski as the next chairman of the Federal Communications Commission. Currently a venture capitalist in the DC area, Genachowski was a Harvard Law School classmate of the president-elect and is widely regarded as tech-savvy, as he helped craft the Obama campaign's Internet strategy.

This article in Multichannel News profiles the likely changes at the FCC regarding a la carte cable programming under a Genachowski chairmanship. While a la carte has been a pet peeve for outgoing Chairman Kevin Martin, the issue is likely to take a back seat to other issues according to the Commission watchers quoted in this article.

Even though some would say this is a loss for consumers, I don't agree.  I've written here before that a la carte initially sounds like a great idea -- being able to pick the cable networks you want on your lineup and avoid having to pay for the ones you don't watch.  But, a la carte fails to take into account that cable programming relies on advertising dollars, which is driven by viewers many of whom surf through the channels and happen to land on a particular network. Take away those viewers, advertising revenue dries up, and one of two things has to happen -- either consumers have to pick up the tab or the network has to make due with much less. 

Frankly, in this economy, even more networks would simply cease to exist, limiting choice and diversity.  The current cable distribution model provides for a wide-ranging lineup of programming at a very good price. Think about the endless entertainment and information options available on expanded basic cable for about $2 a day.  Add all the digital offerings and it's still less than $3 a day.

I look forward to a fresh regulatory approach at the FCC under a Chairman Genachowski.  He brings great credentials and life experience to the job and I'm hopeful that the key regulatory agency will focus on the big, important subjects confronting telecommunications policy.  Let's quickly begin to discuss the important policy issues openly and honestly.   For cable, that includes things like net neutrality, broadband deployment, our own digital conversion, and network management practices.  We can work together to set policies that encourage investment, nurture competition and result in world class, 21st century telecommunications services for the American people. 

We all want that.

And please.  No more midnight meetings!

The debate continues on a DTV delay; YouTube creates congressional platforms; Cisco announces a 300 Mbps cable modem

DTV, It's Just Not Your Day [Broadcasting and Cable]

 Will the digital television transition actually occur on February 17th? Cable operators and broadcasters have been promoting readiness for the transition with that date in mind for many months now. But, with the news that the Federal government's digital converter box coupon program has been halted due to a lack of funds and Nielsen reports asserting that millions of American households are still unprepared for digital television, there is now a movement among some policymakers, especially the Obama transition team, to delay the February 17th deadline. This article outlines the participants in the debate and their current position on a DTV delay.

The cable industry is prepared to do its part whether the transition occurs in February or some few months later.  The Obama transition team, to their credit, recently focused on how to become more prepared to receive millions of inquiries at the time of transition.  Until they began to look into this, I was deeply concerned at the lack of preparation to handle those calls. 

I understand the future administration's decision to seek a delay given the state of preparation they found.  They also inherited a digital converter coupon program that has, amazingly, run out of money.  Congress needs to fix that and, if they do so quickly, I wonder if we're not simply better off just getting on with this.  No matter when the transition actually occurs, there will be many people who are unprepared so I question whether a delay would meaningfully reduce the unavoidable confusion or simply add more because of the changing date. 

Unfortunately, I worry that we won't know the outcome of the debate over the delay soon enough.  But, at the risk of sounding like a broken record every time we talk about this, rest assured that if your televisions are connected to cable, you'll be fine, no matter when the transition occurs.  Right now, it's still February 17th and if that changes, you'll read about it here.