Suddenlink FYI

Approaching the nine-month mark before the digital transition, Suddenlink today alerted major newspapers across our service area about the information we are providing (online, in customer bills, etc.) regarding this transition.

We expect more local newspapers will be reporting on the subject in the weeks and months ahead, and for that reason, we wanted to make sure they know that Suddenlink customers will not have to worry about the digital transition, that we’ll take care of it for them.

Suddenlink and four other cable operators are asking the FCC to establish a “quiet period,” starting later this year and running through May of next year. The reason: To help avoid any confusion that might be created by the overlap of “retransmission consent” negotiations and the DTV transition.

We’ve already written here about the DTV transition. “Retransmission consent” is an artifact of a 1992 law and it essentially works this way:

If a TV station chooses to be a retransmission-consent station, cable operators must (per federal law) negotiate with the TV station for permission (consent) to carry that station’s signal on their cable systems.

If those negotiations break down, the TV station has the right to prohibit the cable operator from “retransmitting” its signal. If the cable operator is already carrying the TV station’s signal, the TV station can force the cable operator to drop that signal.

In recent years, this scenario has played itself out all-too-frequently. Regular readers of this blog may remember the situation Suddenlink faced with KXAN in the Austin TV market. And we’re certainly not alone.

Such issues could be further complicated later this year, when the five cable companies involved in this request face retransmission-consent negotiations covering more than eight million households. If even a portion of those negotiations break down, several million homes could be told they’re going to lose broadcast TV stations at the same time they’re being told they won’t lose those stations during the DTV transition.

The requested “quiet period” would prevent this potential confusion by requiring both the cable operators and the TV stations to maintain the status quo until May 2009, well after the digital transition should be completed.

And who exactly benefits from this scenario? The consumer.

Here’s hoping the FCC acts on the request in a timely manner.

If you’re looking for an easy-to-read, comprehensive briefing paper on the February 2009 digital transition, here’s one resource that fits the bill.

Rumors are stubborn things. Hopefully, facts are even more stubborn.

And the facts are these: Suddenlink cable TV customers do NOT need to order digital equipment from us to continue receiving our Basic and Expanded Basic services. In fact, cable TV customers will continue to have access to our Basic and Expanded Basic services — WITHOUT digital equipment — after the February 2009 digital transition and for the foreseeable future.

A recent Associated Press story suggests that cable TV customers may need to lease a set-top box from their cable company prior to the DTV transition on Feb. 17, 2009. That’s not the case for Suddenlink customers.

Our customers only need a set-top box if they want access to our Digital cable service. To continue receiving our Basic and/or Expanded Basic service, customers don’t need to do anything, if our cable lines are already connected to their TV sets.

Know the facts on the DTV transition.

As required by the FCC, Suddenlink will start printing a message about the digital TV transition on customer bills effective April 1. The text of that message is published below. For answers to commonly asked questions on this topic, check here.

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February 17, 2009 is the date established by the federal government for the digital TV transition – HOWEVER, NO ACTION is required on your part if your TV sets are already connected to Suddenlink cable TV service. If you have questions, please visit www.suddenlinkfyi.com/dtv or contact us at the customer-service number listed on your bill. The federal government has also required us to inform you of the following additional information, which is provided in language outlined by the federal government; accordingly, any questions about this information should be directed to the federal government via the contact information provided here: “After February 17, 2009, a television receiver with only an analog broadcast tuner will require a converter box to receive over-the-air broadcasts with an antenna (or may have to be replaced) because of the Nation’s transition to digital broadcasting. Analog-only TVs should continue to work as before with cable and satellite TV services, gaming consoles, VCRs, DVD players, and similar products. Information about the DTV transition is available from www.DTV.gov … and from www.dtv2009.gov or 1-888-DTV-2009 for information about subsidized coupons for digital-to-analog converter boxes.”

The digital TV transition mandated by the federal government for Feb. 2009 applies ONLY to TV signals that are broadcast and received over the air. Those over-the-air signals — transmitted by TV stations — will be changed from “analog” format to “digital” format. However, TV signals transmitted over cable lines will not change in Feb. 2009.

That means, if you have non-digital cable today, it will continue to work.

Of course, you might want to upgrade to digital cable for the other benefits it provides (like more channels, sharper pictures, pay-per-view movies and events, etc.) — but you don’t have to upgrade to digital cable just because TV stations are required to change the format of their over-the-air signals in Feb. 2009.

We’ve updated our standard Q&A accordingly.

A letter published in an Enid, Okla., newspaper contained a number of incorrect statements and assumptions about the national DTV transition. Suddenlink’s Enid system manager submitted a response, in the event others are also confused about the transition.

For more information, please see our previously published Q&A on this subject.

You may have read or seen news reports or TV spots about the “digital transition.” If all of your TV’s are already hooked up to cable, you don’t need to worry about a thing. If some of your TV’s are not hooked up to cable, call us and we’ll get you wired.

Additional information here.