Legislation is needed to protect small cable operators from potentially crippling and possibly lethal dual-carry obligations once the digital transition takes effect in February 2009, NCTA CEO Kyle McSlarrow said in Congressional testimony yesterday.

McSlarrow explained that the provision that allows small operators to seek waivers from dual-carry obligations is not enough of a safeguard.

He was actually more blunt than that. The text of his testimony reads: “The FCC did include a process whereby operators with systems of 552 MHz or less of capacity could apply for waivers, but given the FCC’s poor record on waiver requests in other contexts, this is little more than window dressing and unnecessarily burdensome.”

McSlarrow proposed “a simple exemption that takes into account the circumstances of operators of systems with low capacity or that serve few customers.” McSlarrow was speaking before the House Committee on Energy and Commerce, chaired by Rep. Ed Markey.

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