During a hearing concerning advanced television technologies of Over the past several weeks several entities have requested that the original deadline for submission of reports, January 4, 1989, be extended. In order to provide parties with additional time to gather information and to allow a more deliberative approach to the reports, I have decided to extend the deadline for submission of reports to February 1, 1989. In recent weeks, parties also have requested that I provide greater specificity concerning the scope and nature of the report that I requested at the September 7th hearing. This letter is intended to provide further guidance in that regard. In preparing the report, you should address the threshold question of whether there is any need for Federal government involvement or whether the marketplace should be left to determine the ultimate outcome. If you believe there is a role for the Federal government, please delineate the role you believe appropriate for the Congress, the FCC, the NTIA and/or other Federal government agencies. In your report, please also consider the issue of standards. Specifically, should the Federal government adopt or attempt to adopt an HDTV standard for all media industries, including broadcast, cable, DBS and VCR. Please also consider whether the Federal government should adopt an HDTV standard for terrestrial broadcast application only or leave the ultimate decision (1) Page 2 concerning HDTV standards as applied to all technologies to the marketplace. If you conclude that the Federal government should determine a standard for one or all technologies, I request that your report provide criteria for determining a standard and a timetable for developing such a standard. In your report, please provide an assessment or analysis of the potential market for advanced television technologies. Please also provide the economic assumptions and any data or empirical evidence in support of your analysis. Your report also should provide a breakdown of the potential market for manufacturing, consumer electronics and related computer componentry, including semiconductor technology. I also request that your report consider the potential impact of advanced television technologies on the American electronics industries, including the consumer electronics and semiconductor industries, jobs creation in the electronics and related industries, and our nation's balance of trade and our overall economy. In your report you should consider the potential economic implications of the adoption, de facto or de jure, of an HDTV system developed by an American entity as opposed to the adoption of an HDTV system developed by a foreign, particularly European or Asian, entity or entities. In analyzing the potential impact of advanced television technologies, you should consider, inter alia: 1) the relative importance of domestic or foreign ownership of the company (companies) responsible for the design and development of an HDTV system; 2) the relative importance of domestic or foreign ownership of the company involved in the manufacture of an HDTV system or related components as opposed to the location (foreign or domestic) of the plants for the manufacture of an HDTV system or components; 3) the possibility or necessity of licensing arrangements or agreements to assist domestic entities to become involved in the development and/or manufacture of an HDTV system or components; and 4) the consequences of adopting a foreign HDTV standard on the domestic development of products that potentially might be derived from HDTV research, design and development. In that connection, please also consider the effect the adoption of a foreign HDTV standard might have on defense, national security and other potential applications of advanced television technologies. Finally, please consider the utility or viability of several courses of action that have been recommended by some analysts to encourage the development and adoption of a domestic advanced television technology. Specifically, please consider: 1) whether the Federal government should offer an antitrust exemption to encourage combinations of American companies involved in HDTV research and development; 2) whether the Federal government should develop a matching grant program to assist in the research and development of HDTV and related technologies; and 3) whether the Federal government should form or assist in establishing a consortium along the lines of SEMATECH to assist in the development of HDTV and related technologies. While the above issues suggest a rough framework for the report to the Subcommittee, I would, of course, welcome discussion of any other relevant issues. This letter is not intended to be exhaustive of all of the issues that might profitably be discussed in your report. Please do not hesitate to contact Mr. Larry Sidman, Chief Counsel and Staff Director, Mr. Larry Irving, Senior Counsel, or Ms. Elizabeth Sadove, Policy Analyst, of the Subcommittee staff if you have any further questions or concerns. I look forward to your report and to working with you and your colleagues on this important issue. Sincerely, Edward J. Markey In keeping with your review of government policy options in the field of advanced television, we thought that details of our plans might be of help to you and your Committee. These are included in the enclosed report to the financial sponsors of the Advanced Television Test Center, who are national broadcast television networks and industry organizations, including some 170 individual and group broadcast stations. Broadcasters organized this unique, specialized Test Center to speed the public evaluation of the many different advanced television (ATV) systems proposed as the new American television standard. As you know, we are working in cooperation with the Advisory Committee on Advanced Television Service of the Federal Communications Commission, to undertake the extraordinary testing central to decisionmaking about the future of American television. We have set October 1989, as our target to be ready to begin testing. This goal is dependent on completion of the testing plans and test materials still evolving through the FCC Advisory Committee and on the actual availability at that time of sufficient ATV systems to be tested. (Most of these systems are still very much under development; very few are yet implemented even in prototype hardware.) In anticipation of these developments, however, we have obligated several million dollars to acquire facilities and the major capital equipment required. The tests will be conducted under published guidelines and the results will be available for the use of government, industry, and the public. On Please let me know if you have questions; we will continue to keep you advised of the progress in testing ATV systems. behalf of all involved with the Test Center, thank you for your keen interest! Sincerely Peter M. Fannon Enclosure cc: Members, Subcommittee on As 1989 opens, and public and government attention to advanced television issues intensifies, we want to report to you on the progress we have made in establishing your Advanced Television Test Center, and the prospects for its work this year and beyond. Section I of this report highlights our early activities in launching your Test Center. Section II describes the cooperative support which will make this effort successful. Section III outlines the Test Center's overall plan for evaluating ATV systems. And Section IV recaps the propagation analysis already underway. With your help and encouragement, the Test Center's Board of Directors has set the course necessary to ready our planned testing facilities and to press for speedy, but thorough scrutiny of the many advanced television (ATV) systems proposed as the new national standard for broadcasting. The Board has been meeting monthly since last summer, and several standing committees of the Board have also met often to develop the necessary plans, budgets and industry-government liaison to ensure that we are prepared to begin testing proposed ATV systems later this year, when several systems might first move out of the development stage and into fully implemented hardware available for evaluation. Attachment A is a list of your Board of Directors, who have been actively guiding our work. The attachment also includes the committee structure of the Board and the current staff of the Test Center. Each of us would be pleased to answer any questions you may have about current activities or future plans. Thank you for your support and assistance. Respectfully submitted, Peter M. Fannon Executive Director |