NTCA, ACA, WTA Laud House Lawmakers' Set-top Letter

House lawmakers sent the FCC a letter Thursday as expected (see 1605040068) with 60 signatures criticizing the set-top box NPRM. “We strongly urge you to press pause,” they told the FCC, citing uncertainty and the possible effects on small businesses. Reps. Kevin Cramer, R-N.D., Bob Latta, R-Ohio, Kurt Schrader, D-Ore., and Collin Peterson, D-Minn., led the letter. It prompted praise from the American Cable Association, as expected, and others. The letter, signed mostly by Republicans but also some Democrats, “sent a strong message to the FCC today to consider the threats to rural consumers and small companies before pressing ahead with a mandate requiring implementation of technology that does not yet exist,” said NTCA CEO Shirley Bloomfield. “The cost of implementing the commission’s set-top box proposal could devastate the video business in rural areas, where many consumers do not receive an over-the-air signal and many small, rural telcos already struggle mightily with the costs of delivering video services. Now that the commission has heard from a broad, bipartisan cross-section of elected officials on an array of concerns with the set-top box proposal, we hope the agency will heed these calls and reconsider the proposed rules.” WTA also lauded the message: “It’s not often you see content providers, distributors, economists, Republicans, and Democrats all aligned against a proposal from the FCC,” said WTA Vice President-Government Affairs Derrick Owens. The Future of TV Coalition, which opposes the NPRM, circulated the letter. “To date, more than 150 Members of Congress -- including nearly half of all House Democrats -- have expressed serious concerns with the proposed mandate,” Future of TV said. The lawmakers began circulating a letter draft and gaining backers last week (see 1604270063). The FCC has received and is reviewing the letter, a spokeswoman said.