Speakers at the MTA Video Symposium included David Lepek of Digital TV Solutions who discussed content and programming. JSI’s Terry Granison covered the shifting (or is it shifty) regulatory environment surrounding video, while Lana Eccles of Hickory Tech provided an discussed how to create a compelling video product offering. Jeanne Wilber provided an excellent overview of the challenges and opportunities surrounding local content.
Lana Eccles pointed out how Hickory Tech has been able to gain over 50 percent market share in four of the first five cities they serve with video. She pointed out the methodology they use for selecting and packaging channels. They use a combination of aggregation and direct negotiation with programmers to obtain content.
She had some good advice, such as use the term “Switched Digital Video” instead o IPTV, as programmers are comfortable with SDV because MSOs are taking that approach. She also recommended that telcos have a game plan ready by mid-next year for the retransmission consent negotiations. She advised telcos to retain legal counsel for the retransmission consent negotiations.
Terry Granison, Manager of New Business Development for JSI, provided an excellent overview regarding the latest in the video regulatory front. She touched upon the challenges of the FCC rules concerning separable set-top security. She suggested that the FCC the separable security requirement might not be a requirement for IP and ATM television deployments, as long as the downloadable security adheres to “common standards”. Unfortunately, there is no common standards definition and, as such, Granison called on telcos to pressure their vendors to show they are working towards a standardized approach.
Granison also talked about Emergency Alert Services and the cable company’s responsibility, the impact of the digital transition on a cable operator, a new Note of Inquiry from the Library of Congress regarding Copyright rules and cable versus telco privacy rules. To this last point, the privacy rules for a cable operator and telco are not the same. For a bundled service provider, two different privacy policies would be required and, in some cases, these policies might conflict.
No wonder some small telcos have run afoul with the FCC and their CPNI (Consumer Proprietary Network Information) rules. It is extremely challenging and costly for a small entity to keep up with so many rules and regulations.
Jeanne Wilber spoke on the topic of local content and the devices for producing video. It was an honor to join Wilber on stage and talk about the general state of independent telco produced local content, while she filled in the details. Unfortunately, I was not able to take notes, since I was speaking.
