You’ve got mail. Email, that is, and from your cable operator.
The FCC on Monday clarified that the “written information” cable ops have to distribute to subscribers every year can be sent via email. The move came in response to a Petition for Declaratory Ruling from the National Cable & Telecommunications Association (NCTA) and the American Cable Association (ACA) filed in April 2016. The petition specifically asked for permission to disseminate information via email to customers for whom operators have a verified email address, so long as they also offer the information in print upon request.
The item was originally scheduled for consideration during the FCC’s scheduled meeting this week, but was removed from the agenda Monday. A notice deleting the issue from the agenda notes “the following agenda item has been adopted by the Commission.”
The NCTA and ACA previously indicated in a May ex parte filing that they plan to offer subscribers a number of consumer protections despite the shift to email. These include the ability to opt-out of receiving electronic notices at any time; the use of a “verified email address,” defined as one that the customer has provided to the operator (and not vice versa); and that any opt-out method provided by an operator would be readily available and not difficult to exercise by their customers.
Filed Under: Industry regulations, Cables + cable management
