| The following letter to the FCC is the first from a manufacturer in the US and Europe encouraging the adoption of COFDM. This company does business outside of the United States and has delivered 3 million million digital Set Top Boxes globally (cable, DBS, DTV). An installed base of COFDM receivers (STB + IDTV) is reported as nearer to 700,000 COFDM. They claim to not have entered the US OTA DTV market due to the selection of 8-VSB by the FCC. The 8-VSB forces have yet to respond, but one could see their arguing that a foreign based competitor with no experience in 8-VSB is not the right party to tell the FCC what to do.
January 25, 2000
The Honorable William E. Kennard
Chairman, Federal Communications Commission
The Portals
445 12th Street, SW
Washington, DC 20554
Dear Chairman Kennard:
I am writing to you in regards to U.S. digital television (DTV).
Pace Micro Technology plc, is the worldís largest dedicated manufacturer of digital set-top boxes. We have recently completed agreements with Time Warner Cable to provide 750,000 digital cable STBs over the next three years.
We have had a large involvement in the initial launch and success of the ONdigital service in the UK which utilizes the COFDM/DVB-T standard. ONdigital official numbers as of Dec 1999 were 520K (this is in just a little over 12 months). This number is 1000 times more than the most generous estimates of terrestrial receivers sold in the U.S. in the same time period. It is our opinion that the ease of reception and low-cost STBs have been responsible for the incredible success of DTV in the UK. Pace has elected not to introduce a DTV receiver/STB for the U.S. market. The main reason for our reluctance has been the adoption of the 8VSB standard in the U.S.
Given the recent petition submitted by the Sinclair Broadcast Group, and endorsed by several hundred television stations and other interested parties, we now believe it is time that Pace discusses the modulation standard with the Commission. Pace offers proven global experience in DTV receiver/STB development and sales. Moreover, if a U.S. COFDM standard were announced today, our belief is we could have DTV receivers/STBs on the retail shelves by the Christmas shopping season this year. It is also felt that the retail price of such an STB could be as low as $300 - $400. This is @ 50% less than the lowest U.S. DTV receiver price currently available. This low retail price point could stimulate significantly increased consumer demand for DTV and also make DTV available for middle- and lower-income families, particularly minorities, thereby helping close the digital divide, and increasing the overall rate and success of DTV adoption.
Please have your staff contact me at your earliest convenience so that we may schedule a time to meet with you, your fellow Commissioners and your engineering staff. My telephone number is (561) 995-6009.
Sincerely,
David L. Novak
Marketing Manager
Pace Micro Technology - Americas
2700 North Military Trail Suite 300
Boca Raton, Florida 33431
cc: Commissioner Susan Ness
Commissioner Gloria Tristani
Commissioner Harold Furchtgott-Roth
Commissioner Michael Powell
Dale Hatfield, Office of Engineering Technology
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