§571 Regulatory treatment of video programming services

Summary

Tells which federal telecom rules apply to a common carrier (for example, a phone company) when it offers video programming, based on how the video is sent. If the carrier sends video to subscribers by radio, it must follow subchapter III and section 572, but not the other rules in this subchapter. If the carrier transmits video on a common carrier basis, it must follow subchapter II and section 572, but not the other rules in this subchapter; this does not change how a facility is treated as a cable system under section 522(7)(C). If the carrier provides video in another way, it must follow this subchapter unless the video is provided through an open video system certified under section 573. If the Commission approves a carrier’s section 573 certification, the carrier follows this part and is subject to parts I–IV only as described in 573(c). A carrier in the first two categories may choose to use a certified open video system and, if approved, be treated the same way. A local exchange carrier that offers cable service by an open video system or cable system does not have to, under subchapter II, make its capacity available on a nondiscriminatory basis to others for direct-to-subscriber cable service. A common carrier does not need a section 214 certificate to build or run a system for delivering video programming.