FCC waiver enables Puerto Rico's Choice Cable TV to sell HD DVRs
The FCC put a stop on selling non-CableCARD-equipped set-top-boxes in the United States around this time last year, but it did leave open the possibility for small cable carriers and other providers in strange market conditions to sidestep the new rule. Choice Cable TV, which services parts of rural Puerto Rico and the cities of Ponce and Mayaguez, finally received its long-awaited FCC waiver which will enable it to start selling HD DVRs that lack CableCARD support. It's hoping that this will rekindle demand for high-def service and consequently allow it to add more HD content. On a related note, the island's Liberty Cablevision is also applying for a similar waiver, as it argues that the low median annual household income in its service area constitutes a "idiosyncratic factual situation."
Filed under: Industry, Regulatory, DVRs, Set-top boxes, Cable
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
unicode787plus @ Jul 23rd 2008 2:40PM
Choice sucks. Lacks Disney Channel; everybody else, including Adelphia, DirecTV and Dish, have Disney Channel ever since their introduction to PR market. No single soul in Ponce or Mayaguez will ever care about this, since they've long switched to Dish or DirecTV (or perhaps moved to San Juan where they can enjoy Adelphia, or even to USA where they have Comcast, Cox, U-verse, FiOS, and several other better choices than Choice Cable TV).
m.soto @ Jul 23rd 2008 8:13PM
this choicecable is the worst provider that you can find .the internet speed is not what you pay for.it is a rip-off and try to call ,it will take days for some one to answer the phone. this is the worst of the the worst. to bad that they dont have a competitor.
stay way from choicecable!!!!
LuisR @ Aug 30th 2008 7:21PM
Lack of Disney Channel is a loooong story dating back from the original owners of the cable system in southern Puerto Rico which sold to Centennial around 2000 and then Centennial sold it to the newly created company now called Choice Cable TV.
The HD offer is a joke. Only 7 channels and you have to pay something like $15 extra per month to get that. And from this I also think that they won't offer subscribers the option of using their own DVR with a CableCard to force them to pay that ridiculous amount and get their DVR.