The FCC relieved cable operators of local rate regulation in 17 m...
The FCC relieved cable operators of local rate regulation in 17 municipalities under Media Bureau orders finding effective competition. The bureau granted petitions filed by Adelphia, Bright House, Cox and Time Warner Entertainment in Beverly Hills and Santa Monica,…
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Cal., Indianapolis, Va.’s Fairfax County and other localities. They had almost 850,000 homes in the 2000 census. Cable systems in an additional 81 communities with over 900,000 households got similar rate exemptions earlier last week (CD March 5 p14). Together with last week’s decisions, the rate exemptions are the largest batch of approvals in at least 1- 1/2 years. Industry gripes about slow processing seem to be one reason that the bureau acted on so many petitions, said industry officials; NCTA had asked for faster approval. Mon.’s release of an eagerly awaited video franchise order making it easier for Bells to get municipal approval to sell TV (see separate story this issue) also may have prompted the issue of effective competition orders, said cable lawyer Howard Barr. Some cable officials believe the franchise order is unfair to their industry. “If you're going to take away something on one side of the equation, you've got to reflect it on the other side,” Barr said: “It’s unfair to subject these operators to rate regulation when they're subject to effective competition.”