TheBuzz
Erika Engle
The state of Hawaii is accusing DirecTV of claiming to offer service to the islands, but failing to follow through on its statement. State is taking on
a hard-to-find provider
of satellite TVIn a complaint to Federal Communications Commission, the state alleges that although DirecTV says it is available in the islands, it is not making consumer reception equipment available, making its service unavailable and that programming packages offered to the islands are not comparable to those on the mainland.
The state is calling on the commission to impose sanctions on the company until it makes equipment and comparable programming packages available.
"We believe we're in full compliance with the FCC rules on this issue," said Robert Mercer, DirecTV director of public relations. "We will be formally responding to the Hawaii petition by the FCC deadline, April 24."
The petitions may be viewed online at: http://gullfoss2.fcc.gov/prod/ecfs/comsrch_v2.cgi. Type the docket number 03-82 in the box under the "Proceedings" link, then click on the "retrieve documents" button near the bottom of the page. Instructions for e-mailing public comment to the FCC are found at http://www.fcc.gov/cgb/ecfs/email.html. On the Net:
According to federal regulations, satellite television services are required to offer service in all 50 states.
Clyde Sonobe, cable television administrator for the state Department of Commerce and Consumer Affairs, could find no retailer in Hawaii that offers reception equipment, installers or programming packages for DirecTV.
"That's not to say there aren't any, there may be a small electronics shop," he said.
In its petition the state cites the claim on the DirecTV Web site indicating reception equipment is available through national retailers such as Circuit City, Radio Shack and Wal-Mart or through the Web site.
Hawaii consumers trying to order equipment online receive an error message.
The state's research also found that at least two Hawaii Wal-Mart locations have never sold DirecTV dishes. Star-Bulletin calls to Circuit City, RadioShack and Microcom netted similar responses, with additional comments indicating DirecTV doesn't reach Hawaii. The employees contacted asked not to be identified.
Separate petitions alleging similar violations have been filed by the state of Alaska and competitor Microcom in Alaska. The FCC is seeking public comment on the issue by April 24.
DirecTV is a unit of Hughes Electronics Corp. which is a unit of General Motors Corp.
The state of Hawaii has been advocating for direct broadcast satellite service to the state's residents since 1995.
"The primary reason the department initially got involved in this issue was, we wanted to ensure the residents of Hawaii were not discriminated against. If the mainland can get DBS service we should be able to get it as well," Sonobe said. "The second issue, and it could be a byproduct, was that one additional benefit was that now consumers have an alternate choice to cable. We're trying to get as many services to our residents as possible."
Erika Engle is a reporter with the Star-Bulletin.
Call 529-4302, fax 529-4750 or write to Erika Engle,
Honolulu Star-Bulletin, 500 Ala Moana Blvd., No. 7-210,
Honolulu, HI 96813. She can also be reached
at: eengle@starbulletin.com
