Archive for September, 2011

In a recent debate on CNBC, my friend Gary Shapiro – head of the Consumer Electronics Association (CEA) – said the Obama Administration was “the most anti-business” of his lifetime.  He went on to condemn the large number of proposed regulations and said of regulators, “They don’t care about business or the consequences of the rules they are proposing.” I applaud Gary for speaking his mind, but feel a need to call his bluff.  Because while he is vehemently condemning some 200-plus new regulations that would cost industry hundreds of millions of dollars if implemented, Gary and CEA are leading an effort to push the FCC to adopt new regulations that would impose substantial costs on cable and other video providers, and that would have the very government bureaucrats that he so disdains set technical standards on a marketplace that is exploding with innovation.

Interested in getting a foot in the door with the cable industry? Or do you already have your finger on the pulse? Get the exposure that you need by reserving a space on The Cable Show 2012 exhibit floor.

For years, the Department of Agriculture Rural Utilities Service’s (RUS) broadband loan program has been repeatedly criticized by independent auditors, members of Congress and others for providing funding to areas where broadband services already existed, or weren’t exactly rural (like suburban golf course communities).

As the nation this weekend reflects on the events and aftermath of September 11, 2001, NCTA President & CEO Michael Powell – who had been appointed Chairman of the Federal Communications Commission by President George W.

This summer, Washington boiled over as our government has tried to bring the national debt under control and establish greater fiscal responsibility with the public purse.  While there has been a lot of partisan bickering, all sides accept that we must be disciplined in not allowing government programs to grow unrestrained.  All regulatory agencies have been told to keep a cap on spending wherever they can.

Via a new PC Magazine study, cable has once again shown to deliver the fastest broadband speeds to the most homes across the US.  Cox, Comcast and Charter take the first three spots, with other cable operators not far behind.  As we’ve noted previously, cable broadband is available to 93% of U.S.