FCC Order Likely Headed Back to Court

McDowell sees matters very differently. He said the cap is outdated, bad public policy and unnecessary in today’s market. He added that the appeals court is sure to strike down the cap once more and that the cap goes against the current commission’s goals of creating parity among providers. McDowell also took a dig at Martin for seeming to promote a double standard. “[I]t is ironic that those who are voting today to limit cable company growth have consistently voted to expand telephone company growth,” he said in his prepared statement. “Such a reversal of policy just for this one sector defies logic.”

Indeed, Martin has been consistent with his policy objectives to regulate cable while making entry easier for telcos. Copps and Adelstein, on the other hand, have not appeared to favor one side or the other.

For Martin, re-instituting the 30 percent cable cap represented somewhat of a coup. In late fall of 2007, he seemed to focus solely on ways to regulate the cable industry, and associations and companies agreed with that assessment. However, some observers say it’s not fair to say Martin is singling out cable. They say he’s actually making good on policy directives he has been open about since joining the commission. Martin’s friends are social conservatives and phone companies, says one source who requested anonymity. “Cable’s the common enemy. There really is a political sensibility to this.”

At the moment, the cap would impact Comcast Corp. most heavily; its market share hovers around 27 percent, although it is losing subscribers to telco and satellite TV competition. Time Warner Cable is the second-largest cableco with approximately 14 percent penetration. Comcast says it’s certain the courts will shut down the FCC’s attempts to cap cable market share.

AT&T Inc.                www.att.com

Comcast Corp. www.comcast.com

DIRECTV www.directv.com

EchoStar www.dishnetwork.com

FCC www.fcc.gov

Stifel Nicolaus & Co. www.stifel.com

Time Warner Cable www.timewarnercable.com

Verizon Communications Inc. www.verizon.com

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