THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Saturday, March 16, 1996 TAG: 9603160346
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B5 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY SUSIE STOUGHTON, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: SUFFOLK LENGTH: Medium: 61 lines
Falcon Cable TV, the local cable franchise operator that has been besieged with customer complaints about services and costs, has announced rate increases, effective next month.
The company's basic package, which provides access to 35 channels, will increase nearly 5 percent, rising from $21.89 a month to $22.93 a month. Rates for the next tier of four channels will more than triple - jumping from 54 cents a month to $1.79 a month. The ``satellite package'' that provides seven additional channels will rise from $5.40 a month to $5.74 a month.
For customers who subscribe to all 46 channels, the costs will increase more than 9 percent.
Falcon officials said the increases are needed to offset higher operating expenses.
``In order for us to continue bringing you quality service and entertainment, we must now adjust our rates to account for inflation, programming cost increases, and increases in other external costs,'' said Jack Edwards, Falcon's regional manager, in a letter to customers.
Falcon, which has provided cable service in Suffolk since 1984, has long been criticized for bad reception, poor service, billing errors, frequent outages and high rates.
In December, the City Council asked Falcon for regular updates after the company accidentally aired the adult ``Spice'' channel one Saturday to customers who hadn't asked for the station.
Earlier this month, the city took its toughest stand yet after receiving a flood of complaints in February. During a severe storm, the company's computers failed twice, knocking out service to all 7,300 customers - some without service for up to four days.
The council authorized a 24-hour-a-day hot line number to monitor complaints and Falcon's response. City officials have said complaints about the cable company comprise the largest category of calls the city receives.
In the first week of the line's operation, five calls were logged. The number of calls was expected to increase with additional publicity about the line.
The city also hired a consultant to recommend improvements and asked the City Attorney C. Edward Roettger Jr. to study the franchise agreement and new communications laws.
Falcon's rates have been higher than those of cable companies in neighboring cities, but company officials have said that servicing the rural area is more expensive.
Other Falcon rates will remain the same.
A converter box - necessary to receive stations on channels higher than 13 without a cable-ready TV set - costs 99 cents or $1.09, depending on the type of box. Premium movie channels cost $10.95 a month for Cinemax, The Disney Channel, The Movie Channel and Showtime and $11.95 a month for HBO. The pay-per-view movie channel costs $3.95 a month.
The rates do not include taxes or a 3 percent franchise fee.
KEYWORDS: CABLE TELEVISION RATE INCREASE PRICE INCREASE by CNB