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 CONCURRING  STATEMENT  OF  COMMISSIONER  MICHAEL  J.  COPPS 
 Re:  In  the  Matter  of  Digital  Broadcast  Copy  Protection,  Notice  of  Proposed  Rulemaking 


 The  Commission  today  takes  two  major  steps  to  encourage  the  nation’s  long-delayed  transition  to  digital  television.  With  this  last  agenda  item,  we  move  to  resolve 
 the  continuing  industry  deadlock  over  inclusion  of  technologies  to  provide  digital  broadcast  copy  protection.  In  the  previous  item,  we  addressed  the  important  issue  of 
 requiring  digital  tuners  in  our  television  receivers. 
 I  have  often  said  that  the  transition  to  digital  television  involves  a  number  of  moving  parts.  Each  of  these  parts  --  the  broadcasters,  the  cable  industry,  set-  top  box 
 manufacturers,  receiver  manufacturers  and  content  producers  –  spent  a  lot  of  time  looking  to  the  others  to  take  the  first  step.  Five  years  ago,  the  Commission  established  a 
 schedule  for  broadcasters’  transition  to  DTV,  with  the  presumption  that  the  other  parts  of  the  transition  would  follow.  Instead,  the  transition  has  been  delayed,  partly  by  the  lack  of 
 digital  content,  partly  by  the  lack  of  sets  capable  of  receiving  digital  signals.  No  one  is  wholly  to  blame  for  the  delays.  Like  Pogo,  we  have  met  the  enemy  and  it  is…  us.  All  of 
 us.  The  Commission  can  be  faulted  for  lack  of  judgment  on  what  it  would  take  to  get  the  job  done,  and  just  about  every  segment  of  the  industry  can  be  faulted  for  delay  and 
 obfuscation  along  the  way. 
 The  history  is  not  pretty,  but  it  is  just  that  --  history.  That  was  then  and  this  is  now.  “Now”  is  Congress  telling  us  to  get  the  transition  done.  “Now”  is  important 
 segments  of  the  industry  finally  stepping  up  to  the  plate  and  investing  large  amounts  of  money  to  make  the  transition  happen.  “Now”  is  Chairman  Powell  pushing  all  the  players 
 to  commit  the  resources  and  the  effort  to  get  us,  finally,  across  the  finish  line.  “Now”  is  logjam-  breaking  time.  And  I  believe  many  of  the  players  understand  this  and  should  be 
 commended  for  it. 
 Given  digital  media’s  susceptibility  to  piracy,  the  issue  of  content  protection  must  be  resolved  before  broadcasters  will  make  new,  innovative  and  expensive  digital  content 
 widely  available.  Yet  a  decade  of  discussion  among  the  players  has  yielded  no  solution.  It  is  time  for  a  solution.  Today’s  Commission  action  should  make  this  plain  for  all  to 
 understand.  It  should  also  make  clear  to  various  industry  stakeholders  that  they  have  only  a  small  window  to  reach  agreement  on  the  technicalities  involved  or  they  will  face  a 
 solution  imposed  upon  them  in  the  near-  term  future. 
 I  concur  here  because  I  would  have  preferred  us  to  reach  today  a  determination  on  the  matter  of  the  Commission’s  authority  to  impose  a  solution.  I  believe  a  strong  case 
 can  be  made  that  the  statute  provides  us  with  such  authority.  I  fear  this  question  could  cost  us  precious  additional  time,  when  we  could  have  resolved  it  at  the  outset.  I  caution 
 my  colleagues  not  to  let  this  become  an  issue  that  impedes  our  final  action. 
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 Although  there  is  not  a  majority  here  to  resolve  the  issue  of  the  Commission’s  authority,  I  am  nevertheless  pleased  that  we  are  moving  forward  today  to  solicit 
 stakeholder  input  on  a  number  of  other  questions  pertinent  to  the  Commission’s  rulemaking  on  digital  broadcast  copy  protection.  I  look  forward  to  a  full  record  that 
 includes  the  views  of  all  interested  stakeholders,  particularly  consumer  groups.  Finally,  permit  me  to  reemphasize  the  urgency  which  I  believe  attends  these  digital  television 
 transition  issues  and  my  hope  that  the  record  can  be  expeditiously  compiled  so  that  we  can  proceed  to  final  action  within  a  very  few  months,  at  most. 
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