Federal Communications Commission's (FCC) Order Affecting Potential Cutoffs Of Home Satellite TV Service

February 3, 1999

[Sen. Patrick Leahy, D-Vt., authored a comment letter to the FCC on the commission's proposal to change the current definition of "grade B intensity," a critical factor used to determine if a particular home is eligible to receive distant television network stations via a satellite. The FCC is looking at this matter because a Florida district court has ordered 700,000 to one million households signed up for satellite service after March 11, 1997, to be subject to termination of CBS and Fox distant signals on February 28, 1999, and would require termination of another 1.5 million households signed up after March 11, 1997 to be cut off on April 30, 1999. Those whose CBS and Fox service would be cut-off live in areas where they are likely to receive a "grade B intensity" signal as defined by the court and FCC rules, and are unable to get the local CBS or Fox affiliate to consent to receipt of the signal. The FCC order issued Tuesday makes revisions to how the FCC measures "grade B intensity signal," but more importantly, the FCC's order fails to provide the full force of law to recommendations laid out in Leahy's comment letter that would have prevented a significant portion of the households scheduled to lose service later this month from losing that network service. Leahy is also the co-author of the recently-introduced "Satellite Home Viewer Improvement Act" which would allow satellite television providers to offer local television stations directly to that local market.]

"The FCC missed a timely opportunity to throw thousands of satellite dish owners a lifeline. Instead the commission punted on important issues that could have prevented thousands of dish customers from losing some service later this month. I am doubly disappointed in the FCC approach because we had urged them to be fair to satellite dish owners. I proposed that the FCC take into account the mountains, hills and valleys that seriously interfere with over-the-air television reception.

"The FCC order wrongly assumes that everyone owns a television antenna 30 feet off the ground. That will come as a surprise to the millions of Americans living in one-story homes. Unlike the FCC and ancient mariners, dish owners know the earth isn't flat.

"The definition of "grade B intensity" was developed almost 50 years ago when television sets were black and white. Now is the right time for the FCC to update those standards.

"This failure on the part of the FCC is especially disappointing because the commission sets forth detailed recommendations -- but not in a final order with the force of law -- that would have gone a long way toward protecting satellite dish owners. This means that somewhere between 700,000 and one million satellite dish owners will lose their distant CBS and Fox signals later this month, with an additional one and half million to follow in April. Congress can begin the process of fixing this mess if we enact our legislation. We have started the ball rolling with our bill, and I think the FCC's half-hearted rule will also help kickstart that momentum."