Conversation with Adelstein

Democrat commish Jonathan Adelstein doesn’t think the FCC should jump into the debate over setting a hard deadline for the DTV transition until Congress acts and he’s concerned about setting a hard date. "I think if there is a cutoff of analog service, we’re going to have an amazing uproar from the public if there is not really a lot of effort made to prepare [them]…" he said during a briefing. Adelstein also noted the FCC’s reconsideration of the integrated set-top ban, which would require ops to include CableCARDs in new set-tops from July 1, ’06. He hasn’t seen a proposal on the ban from Michael Powell. "We have to move pretty fast," he added, noting manufacturers need lead time for the boxes. Also on his radar: concerns over Vonage’s claims that a phone company has blocked its VoIP calls; will voluntary measures be enough to ensure the open nature of the ‘Net? He also urged more FCC studies on broadcast media ownership rules.