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Politics : Formerly About Applied Materials -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Return to Sender who wrote (65287)	8/13/2002 1:55:31 AM
From: The Ox	Respond to of 70976

upside.com Make That “Must-Have,” Not “Must-See,” Digital TV Monday, August 12, 2002 03:56 PM ET by Dakota Smith The Consumer Electronics Association says it will sue over new FCC requirement. The Consumer Electronics Association (CEA) intends to sue the FCC over its decision last Thursday requiring television-set makers to include digital tuners in all TV sets by 2007. “We believe the marketplace—not a government mandate—should drive the transition,” said Jenny Miller, a spokeswoman for the CEA. Miller could not give an exact date as to when the CEA would file the suit. The FCC ruling is ultimately designed to free up the analog space currently being used by TV broadcasters. Even though the majority of consumers have cable or satellite television and do not require a digital tuner, TV manufacturers would still be forced to produce sets with tuners. The CEA is concerned about the industry’s revenue loss if consumers don’t purchase the sets with the new tuners. (Tuners now cost about $200.) Miller pointed out that television sets with tuners are already on the market, but consumers have chosen not to buy them. Mark Cooper, director of research at the Consumer Federation of America, which supports the CEA, said the ruling is “a case of a very little tail trying to wag a very big dog.” But last week’s ruling has support, most notably from the National Association of Broadcasters (NAB). In a press release accusing the CEA of “spreading myths and half-truths” about the costs of the tuner mandate, the NAB said competition will drive down the cost of a tuner to about $16 by 2007. The CEA disputes that figure. Legal experts expect the case to go to the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, as the judicial circuit will first decide whether to stay the FCC ruling while considering the case.