Media Bureau Seeks Comment on EchoStar Ask for Analog Tuner Waiver

Comments are due Oct. 26, and replies Nov. 2, on EchoStar's petition for a waiver that would let it import and sell AirTV, an Internet-enabled set-top box that doesn't include an analog tuner, the FCC Media Bureau said in a public notice Wednesday in docket 16-329. The PN said FCC rules require that through Aug. 31, 2017, TV broadcast receivers must be capable of receiving all channels allocated by the FCC to the TV broadcast service. In its petition filed last week in docket 12-1, EchoStar said AirTV was made for use with applications running on mobile devices and will offer access to digital HDTV content broadcast over the air and is aimed at the "cord cutter" market. It also said since the FCC is sunsetting in 2017 its requirement that all over-the-air digital tuners include over-the-air analog tuners, there's no reason to think allowing AirTV less than year before that sunset 'would frustrate the limited remaining lifespan of the rule or otherwise harm consumers."