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To: E. Graphs who wrote (7234)	4/3/1999 12:07:00 PM
From: E. Graphs	Respond to of 29970

Correct Time to Consider Digital Must Carry is September 2001 U.S. Cable Companies Stand to Lose $12 Billion in New Revenues if Digital Must Carry is Approved too Quickly NEWTON, MA - >>As broadcasters and cable operators are upgrading their equipment to offer consumers the latest in Digital TV, a debate over Digital Must Carry has begun. If approved too quickly, Digital Must Carry could cost cable operators $12 billion in new revenue by 2004, and preclude them from offering additional services such as high-speed Internet access or local and long distance phone services, according to Cahners In-Stat Group, a high-technology market research firm. The debate over Digital Must Carry centers around whether or not the FCC will require privately-operated Cable TV systems to open their systems and re-transmit the new digital television channels that have been authorized to privately-operated local terrestrial broadcasters. Such an arrangement would require Cable TV operators to use the increased bandwidth of their newly-upgraded systems for non-revenue producing digital channels. They stand to lose billions in accumulated revenue from 1999 to 2004 because they will not be able to use the increased bandwidth to offer the following services: New, non-redundant television programming services from traditional cable TV networks High definition cable programming from networks like HBO Two way, high-speed Internet access Two way, local and long distance phone services Ancillary services such as data delivery and building monitoring "The correct time for the FCC to investigate Digital Must Carry is September 2001," according to Gerry Kaufhold, senior analyst for Cahners In-Stat Group. "The installed base of digital TV sets won't climb to over 1 million units until the end of 2001. In addition, high definition programming won't be mainstream in network prime time until the 2001-2002 programming season, which will begin in September 2001." The costs to upgrade have been significant to both industries. Broadcasters will invest up to $4.7 billion to build out Digital TV transmitters and antennas. They believe this investment should be protected in the form of Digital Must Carry laws that require local cable television companies to carry their digital signals. However, cable television operators have sunk more than twice that amount to upgrade their systems to accommodate two-way, digital traffic and feel justified in making their decision about how to recoup the expenses and utilize the increased capacity. Kaufhold's Digital Must Carry: Cable TV vs. The World is the latest report out of Cahners In-Stat Group's Digital TV service and is the first to cover the complete range of the interactions and pitfalls of Digital Must Carry, covering national TV broadcast networks, local TV station owners, Cable TV companies, consumer electronics and telephone companies. Technical considerations and five-year revenue projections are also included.....<< instat.com