Words of Wisdom From Consulting Pundits

I.Switzer

Noted cable consultant from Canada

Sunday, October 3, 1999

In most communities outside major urban centers like New York and Los Angeles cable provides a multi-channel unscrambled service, plus a number of scrambled premium services (all in NTSC format). A growing number of cable systems are adding services in digital format. This unscrambled `NTSC' service is a competitive advantage that many cable-TV systems will choose to retain for many years to come. The end of terrestrial NTSC transmissions will be a bonanza for these systems. They will become the principle source of convenient `no decoder' programming for all those tens of millions of heritage `analog' TV sets still in use all over the country. People will continue to buy $100 analog TV sets for use on these `no-decoder' systems long after terrestrial NTSC broadcasting ceases. Local service on DBS will best be provided by a new generation of DBS satellites with regional spot beams - 200 - 300 miles in diameter. Spot beams permit efficient spectrum reuse with a group of satellites in the same orbital location. Terrestrial digital TV is a waste of time and money. If I was a major metropolitan area TV broadcaster I would be asking the FCC for a slot and spectrum for a regional DBS satellite (in concert with other like-minded TV broadcasters) as my step `up' from present terrestrial NTSC broadcasting. Much more useful - much more valuable in the long run. Please, FCC, take back my terrestrial digital channel and give me spot beam DBS capability instead. If I was a major network I would ditch my local affiliates outside of major markets and go almost completely DBS. DBS with local cable carriage would be a better business than the present arrangements with local affiliates.

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