MITCH McCONNELL KEl'fTUCKY 317 RUSSELL SENATE OFFICE BUILDING WASHINGTON, DC 20510- 1702 (202) 224-2541 June 10, 2016 Mr. Thomas Wheeler Chairman ~nit.en ~tat.es ~.enat.e Federal Communications Commiss ion 445 12111 Street, SW Washington, DC 20554 Dear Chai rman Wheeler: MAJORITY LEADER COMMITTEES' AGRICULTURE APPROPRIATIONS RULES AND ADMINISTRATION In recent months, I have heard from many Kentuckians expressing the ir opposition to the Federal Communications Commission 's (FCC's) Notice of Proposed Rulemak ing on Navigation Devices, more commonly known as the "set-top box" proceeding. I write to say I share those concerns and encourage the FCC to reconsider moving forward . In the last decade, we have witnessed a revolution in how Americans receive news, sports, and entertainment content. A few years ago, most video programming was only widely available at the time of broadcast via a te levision that was wired to a cable or satellite feed. Today, millions of consumers receive that same content on their phone, tablet, laptop, over-the-top streaming devices .. . wherever and whenever it works for them. These advances are not the resu lt of FCC mandates or congressional directives. Instead, they are the result of a free market in which content providers, programming distributers, dev ice manufacturers, app developers, and consumers willing ly agree to terms they each fi nd beneficial. The content providers are compensated for their creativity through license agreements, the programm ing distributers prov ide valuable content to their customers, and the consumers can receive the content they enjoy in a time, place, and format of the ir choosing. As Commissioner O'Rielly recently noted, these advances are "due to disruptive technologies, not disruptive regulation." Despite this progress, the FCC takes a marked ly different di rection in its proposed set-top box ru le­ making. Rather than applying a light regu latory touch, the FCC would require existing programming distributors to provide the copyrighted programming they have licensed from content providers to third party manufacturers and app developers, none of whom would be bound by the agreements to protect this content. I am particularly concerned about the impact of these changes on small programming distributors and the customers in rural America, especially Kentucky. Even absent these new proposed mandates, providing video services in a rural area poses many challenges. As a number of Kentucky distributors have noted, the rural geography means higher costs to deploy fiber and their sma ll c ustomer bases means they frequently pay higher costs for content. The proposed set-top box regu lations would add new costs for hardware and equipment that w ill inevitably be borne by consumers. These problems with the proposal are not lost on Kentuckians. Jn recent months, I have heard from hundreds in Kentucky who are concerned about the impact of the content they enjoy, about the FEDERAL BUILDING 241 EAST MAIN STREET ROOM 102 BOWLING GREEN, KY 42101 (270) 781-1673 1885 DIXIE HIGHWAY SUITE 345 FORT WRIGHT, KY 41011 (859) 578-0188 771 CORPORATE DRIVE SUITE 108 LEXINGTON, KY 40503 (859) 224-8286 300 SOUTH MAIN SUITE 310 LONDON, KY 40741 (606) 864-2026 601 WEST BROADWAY SUITE 630 LOUISVILLE, KY 40202 1502) 582-6304 100 FOUNTAIN AVENUE SUITE 300 PADUCAH, KY 42001 (270) 442-4554 472 Page 2 June 1 0, 20 16 complexity of compliance, and about the potential added costs of new hardware to meet the new standards. And I hope the FCC will listen carefully to the myriad similar concerns raised by lawmakers and organization across the ideological spectrum and reconsider mov ing forward. Thank you in advance for your attention in this matter. MITCH McCONNELL UN ITED STATES SENATOR MM/qs cc: Mignon Clyburn, Commissioner, Federal Communications Commission Jessica Rosenworcel, Commiss ioner, Federal Communication Commission Aj it Pai, Commiss ioner, Federa l Communications Commission Michael O' Rielly, Commissioner, Federal Communications Commission