Proposal Will Reduce Administrative Hassle While Preserving Broadcasters’ Timely Access to Information From Cable Operators
For Immediate Release
Contact: Ted Hearn
(202) 713-0826
[email protected]
PITTSBURGH, September 6, 2019 – ACA Connects in new comments with the Federal Communications Commission applauded the FCC for proposing to adopt the association’s recommendation that cable operators transition to use of email to deliver certain required notices to television broadcast stations. The FCC proposal was included in a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM).
ACA Connects said reliance on the old method — certified mail — was outdated and that a transition to email was the “logical next step” in keeping federal regulations current with modern business practices.
“Allowing cable operators to deliver these notices to broadcasters by email would reduce burdens, especially for the smaller operators ACA Connects represents, without imposing any offsetting harm on broadcasters,” ACA Connects President and CEO Matthew M. Polka said. “The proposal would also cut down on environmental waste.”
The proposal tracks with the FCC’s broader efforts to modernize its media rules, including its recent decision to move broadcast carriage elections to an email-based process.
“The time has come to take comparable steps to update the method by which cable operators deliver various notices to broadcasters,” Polka said.
In its comments, ACA Connects urged the FCC to require email delivery of required notices to all broadcasters. Exempting some broadcasters from electronic delivery of required notices would require cable operators to maintain two delivery methods for these notices, substantially negating the benefits of adopting the proposal in the first place.
“The FCC’s proposal that cable operators deliver notices to the email address already on file in a broadcaster’s public file for carriage-related questions is a sensible one,” Polka said. “Meanwhile, those broadcasters that lack public files could simply provide their contact information to the FCC, which could in turn make the information available to cable operators in an appropriate location.”
About ACA Connects: America’s Communications Association – Based in Pittsburgh, ACA Connects is a trade organization representing more than 700 smaller and medium-sized, independent companies that provide broadband, phone and video services to nearly 8 million customers primarily located in rural and smaller suburban markets across America. Through active participation in the regulatory and legislative process in Washington, D.C., ACA Connects’ members work together to advance the interests of their customers and ensure the future competitiveness and viability of their business. For more information, visit: https://acaconnects.org