What Should I know About the FCC’s New Accessibility Rules?

Also available at the Independent Cable News’ website.

CALM Act – What You Need to Know

Also available at Independent Cable News’ website.

Honesty is the Best Policy

Also available at Independent Cable News’ website.

Cable Operators Complain of Retrans ‘Arbitrage’

Also available at Multichannel News’ website.

The Heavy Hitting Cost of Unauthorized Pay-Per-View Broadcasts

Also available at Independent Cable News’ website.

Cinnamon Mueller Names Esbin as DC Manager 

Also available at Independent Cable News website.

Barbara Esbin Rises At Cinnamon Mueller

Also available at Multichannel News website.

Next-Generation EAS: The Emergency Alert System, Common Alerting Protocol, and National Tests – Oh My!

Also available at Independent Cable News website.

What You Need to Know About the 2011 Retransmission Consent Cycle

Also available at Independent Cable News website.

American Cable Association Comcast/NBCU Comments.

American Cable Association Third Way Reply Comments.

American Cable Association Third Way Comments.

Retransmission Consent Outlook: Difficult and Costly (originally appeared in the July/August 2010 issue of Rural Telecom).

VOIP: Competitive and Operating Consideration

By Nicole E. Paolini

Last month we looked at the regulatory framework – or lack thereof – for VoIP over cable.  With the current regulatory uncertainty, why should you get in the VoIP game?  Because many independent cable operators will soon face heavy competition from the Regional Bell Companies (“RBOCs”) and rural telcos for the triple play – voice, video and data.
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Getting into the telephone business with VoIP – Some regulatory and business considerations – Part I

By Nicole Paolini And Ly S. Chhay Of Cinnamon Mueller

Voice over Internet Protocol (“VoIP”) is on everyone’s tongue these days, especially FCC Chairman Michael Powell’s. VoIP is more efficient and less expensive than circuit-switched telephony, allows for “killer apps,” and, in its purer forms, is portable. A subscriber to pulver.com’s Free World Dialup or Vonage’s DigitalVoice can make and receive calls anywhere in the world that he can find Internet access.    These advantages over Plain Old Telephone Service (“POTS”) are leading many independent cable operators to consider deploying VoIP. This article, the first of two parts, gives an overview of the regulatory treatment of VoIP.  Next month, we’ll look at some business issues cable operators will want to consider when evaluating a possible VoIP launch.              Continue Reading