Daniel Inouye: “I thank my friends from New Hampshire and Vermont for their interest in this issue. The satellite ``local-into-local''…”

“I thank my friends from New Hampshire and Vermont for their interest in this issue. The satellite ``local-into-local'' problem is indeed a problem in our states, but we are far from alone. A new watchdog group, Equal Airwaves Right Now!, or EARN, recently released a study which projected that DBS carriers will not carry any local TV stations in 17 states next January, when the must-carry obligation takes effect. Ten more states will find that less than a quarter of their stations are carried by DBS. All told, 80 percent of all television markets will not have any local TV service via satellite. This is indeed a problem that the FCC should address as soon as possible. So I will concur with the sentiments of my colleagues and reiterate once again to the FCC that we expect the agency to make a determination on these long-pending license applications before the year is over. Only one company has satisfied the statutory directive to demonstrate through independent testing that its terrestrial service will not cause harmful interference to DBS. Thus, on this ground alone, it would appear that the FCC cannot hold a spectrum auction, because, with only one qualified applicant, there can be no finding of mutual exclusivity. I'm also concerned about any further postponement of the deployment of this service that would deny consumers the immediate savings that would come about with the entry of a new competitor in the marketplace, which some have estimated will total $1 billion.”