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Cable Television in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Analysis and Recommendations, November 1979

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Cable Television in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Analysis and Recommendations, November 1979 COMMONWEALTH OF PENNSYLVANIA LOCAL GOVERNMENT COMMISSION MEMBERS SENATE POST OFFICE MEMBERS MAIH CAPITOL BUILDING SENA TOR H. CRAIG LEWIS REPRESENTATIVE MARVIN D. WEIDNER FEASTERVILLE HARRISBURG, PA. 17110 TELFORD SENATOR QUENTIN R. ORLANDO 717-787-6211 REPRESENTATIVE A. CARVILLE FOSTER, JR. ERIE SEVEN VALLEYS 717-787-7680 SENATOR J. BARRY STOUT REPRESENTATIVE JOSEPH LEVI II BENTLEYVILLE OIL CITY Executive Director SENATOR JOHN STAUFFER VIRGIL F. PUSKARICH REPRESENTATIVE A. J. DeMEDIO PHOENIXVlLLE DONORA SENATOR J. DOYLE CORMAN, JR. REPRESENTATIVE LESTER K. FRYER eaLEFONTE BOYERTOWN CABLE TELEVISION IN THE COMMONWEALTH OF PENNSYLVANIA: ANALYSIS AND RECOMMENDATIONS November, 1979 The findings and recommendations in this study are a result of research conducted by the authors and do not reflect the opinions of the Members of the Local Government Commission or the Pennsylvania General Assembly. The research for this report has covered a period of approximately one year and the information presented is as current as possible in view of the constant modification in Federal regulations. The authors wish to acknowledge the assistance of the following individuals, among others, for their comments and input relative to this study -- Sharon A. Briley, Barbara Lukens, Sandra Mancuso, Elizabeth B. Green, and John P. Cleary. Special thanks to Richard E. Campbell, Director of the Legislative Data Processing Center, for his help in developing a computer program for the tabulation of questionnaires used in the survey of municipalities. Michael P. Gasbarre M~f'.l.1~~ Mark A. Zyw(lrl.J TABLE OF CONTENTS CHAPTER I Introduction Characteristics of Television Signals and Cable Television ........... 1 Description of a Cable Television System .•.•••••....•......•......... 2 Hi story of CATV in Pennsylvania • . • • . • . • • . • . • . 5 The Extent of Cable Television in Pennsylvania •••....••.............. 6 Legislative Attempts in Pennsylvania to Regulate CATV ...•...•........ 9 CHAPTER II Federal Communications Comnission Regulation On Cable Television Federal Regulation ................................................... 14 Federal/State/Local Regulatory Relationships •.....•.....•..........•. 18 Signal Carriage - Non-Duplication Regulations ...•...........•........ 19 Technical Standards .................................................. 24 Po 1e Attachments . • . 26 Copyright Law ........................................................ 27 CHAPTER III Legal Issues and the Public Interest The Legal Issues Involved with Cable Television ...................... 29 The Public Interest i the Development of CATV ....................... 31 CHAPTER IV Cable Television in Other States Regulation of in Selected States . 34 Alaska ....... 36 Connecticut ...•... 37 Delaware ............................................................ 37 Hawa i i .............................................................. 37 Massachusetts ...................•.................................... 38 Minnesota ........................................................... 38 Nevada ......•....•.•..•.........•••.......•..•.............•.....•... 39 New Jersey .......................................................... 40 New York ...•..•....•.................•...•.•..•...................... 40 Rhode I s 1and ........................................................ 41 Vermont ........................•..................................... 41 Factors in Determining a State Role ...............•.................. 49 CHAPTER V Impact of CATV on Local Government - Facts and Opinions from Pennsylvania Local Government Officials Survey of Municipal Officials - General Results •••.•.••..•........... 51 Pa rt I . • . .. 5 2 CATV Franchises ...................................................... 53 Part II ......................................... · .. · ..... · · · · · · · · · · · · 59 Philadelphia & Pittsburgh - CATV in the Commonwealth's Largest Cities. 86 CHAPTER VI The Future of Cable Television Federal Legislation ...................................... · · · · ...... ·. 94 State Legislation ............................ · · · · · · ·. · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · 96 Techno 1ogy and the Future ...................... · · · · · .. · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · 96 Perspective of Cable Regulation ..•................................... 98 CHAPTER VII Conclusions and Recorrmendations ••..•..••••.•••••••.••.•.•••••••.•.••...• 101 GLOSSARY OF TERMS ASSOCIATED WITH CABLE TELEVISION .•.•••••.•••..••....•..•••. 106 TABLES Table l - State Laws on Cable Television •••••••••••.••••••••..•.•.•.....•..•• 43 Table 2 - Regulatory Activities in the State Agencies •.•..•.....•.....••.•... 45 Table 3 - Legislative Attempts for State Regulation •...•••.••.••............. 47 Table 4 - Opinions of Local Officials Toward CATV .••.••.•••......•.••••.••... 79 Table 5 - Number of Respondents by County and Class of Municipality ..•....... 80 Table 6 - Representative Population of Respondent-Municipality By Type and County . • . • . • . • • . • . • 82 Table 7 - City of Pittsburgh - Cable Television in Neighborhood Areas .....•.. 91 Table 8 - City of Philadelphia - Cable Television Franchise Areas ......•••... 93 FORWARD Much has been said and written in the past about the role of the Commonwealth in the regulation of the cable television industry. Presently, Pennsylvania takes the traditional laissez faire approach of keeping hands off this subject while leaving regulation and franchising to the Federal Communica­ tion Commission and various local governments. Increasingly, however, the FCC appears to be withdrawing from this partnership with local government and if present situations continue, a vacuum will be created where by local government alone will be left with the task of exercising control. In this light, the problem appears to be a very complicated one in which we must determine what role Pennsylvania, if any, should take in keeping the cable television industry under some regulatory authority while at the same time insuring that the industry enjoys rights and privileges under the free enterprise system. On this same question, we must also detennine what role local government should continue to play in franchising CATV in individual municipalities. Most importantly, however, we must insure that protection is given the public in tenns of interest it has in the development of cable television in their communities. Regarding the CATV industry itself, a policy must be developed which will insure that future technical development and expansion will not be hindered by governmental controls which might be too restrictive. Our duty should be to provide a balance between consumer and commercial demands in attempting to provide some degree of mutual1ty between the two. CHAPTER l - INTRODUCTION Characteristics of Television Signals and Cable Television Television signals, whether broadcast over the air or through cable are essentially the same. The broadcast medium (air or cable) affects the signal in mainly one respect, attenuation.* The signal weakens much more quickly when broadcast through cable than over the air. The normal home television signal uses about 6 megahertz of bandwidth.** This is quite a large portion of the broadcast spectrum. The entire FM band broadcast spectrum is only 20 megahertz. When television signals are broadcast through the cable medium, the signals are so weakened that they must be amplified at intervals. The amplifiers are placed along a cable system in cascade.*** The normal number of amplifiers in cascade is 32. This is not the number of amplifiers in a system, rather it is the number of amplifiers a TV signal passes through before reaching a particular television set. Each time the signal is amplified a certain amount of noise and distortion which cannot be filtered is inserted into the signal. This appears on the home set as 'snow'. Thirty-two amplifications is about the maximum number possible before the reception becomes unacceptable to a subscriber. The amplifiers are set in the system as far apart as possible to permit the optimum gain from amplification. A system often has a spider web-like network of cascades in a particular service area extending to limits of satisfactory service. Once this limit is reached, a new headend must be installed to again receive and transmit the signals. Signals transmitted at high frequencies will weaken sooner than those transmitted at low frequencies given the same amount of power. UHF stations (Channels 14 and above) operate in the 470 to 890 megahertz band and are *Attenuation - the reduction of the strength of the signal. ** Bandwidth - a measure of spectrum (frequency) use or capacity. ***Cascade - refers to a connection of apparatus (amplifiers in a series). 1 authorized to operate at higher power than VHF stations (Channels 2 to 13) which operate below 216 megahertz. Power cannot be increased when higher frequency signals are added to the cable system, and amplifiers would have to be moved closer together to boost the higher frequency signals. Many cable operators con­ vert the higher UHF signal to the lower unused VHF channels on a cable system. New developments in cable technology have introduced higher frequency amplifiers but this often requires the rebuilding of an older system to replace and relocate the amplifiers. Description of a Cable Television System A cable television system consists of a headend to receive and process television signals and a plant to distribute them. The headend is a building with an antenna tower
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