Analog Tuner Waivers for Mobile DTV Receivers Unopposed

No opposition cropped up against mobile DTV devices without analog tuners, and industry remains united behind them, replies Friday and Monday in docket 10-111 to two waiver requests before the FCC show. Replies were due Friday. Industry executives have said such consensus augurs for quick approval of the requests, either by the Media Bureau or full commission (CED June 8 p3). It’s unclear if an order exempting the devices from requirements that they also have analog tuners will be forthcoming from the commission soon, agency officials said Monday. None appears to be ready for imminent release, they said.

Some filings last week cited unanimity in seeking quick action on the waiver request from Dell and LG and another from Hauppauge Computer Works. “As evidenced by all of the comments filed in this proceeding, there has been overwhelming cross-industry support for -- and no opposition to -- an expedited grant of the requested waiver,” LG said. So manufacturers can have six months to build the devices before they hit store shelves during the holiday shopping season, “to ensure that manufacturers have sufficient lead time to finalize their production schedules and retailers have enough time to stock their shelves, LG respectfully urges the Commission to grant the waiver by early July.” A bureau spokeswoman declined to comment.

For Hauppage, “the comments broadly affirm and corroborate the Waiver Petitioners’ many reasons in support of the” exemptions, that company said. “Analog TV receivers are power-hungry and impose severe disadvantages in terms of battery life” and “including an analog TV tuner in cell phones and other mobile devices such as netbook and notebook computers will increase their size and create other technical challenges,” it added. Mobile broadcast software provider Roundbox asked that tuners meant for autos also get exemption.

There’s “little or no consumer upside to requiring analog tuners in devices designed for mobile use,” said the Association for Maximum Service Television and NAB, which hadn’t commented on the proceeding before. “The transition to digital television already is complete for full-power television stations, and the Commission anticipates completing the digital transition for low power television stations (which is already underway) by 2012-2015.” An FCC rulemaking proposing a low-power digital transition in 2012 and asking about the possibility of a later date remains on circulation (CED June 10 p5) and hasn’t been voted on yet, a commission official said. No ex parte filings have been made about lobbying meetings on the item, docket 03-185 shows.

The CEA also seeks approval of the waivers by early July so digital-only portable tuners are ready for the holiday shopping season. “The record in this proceeding establishes convincingly that the inclusion of analog tuners in mobile devices will only serve to add design complexity and cost to such devices without offering any countervailing public benefits,” it said. On whether the FCC should require special labeling for such non-analog tuners, which some had sought, the group foresees “no confusion among consumers buying mobile DTV devices that such devices do not receive analog television signals.”