Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SATURDAY, June 12, 1993 TAG: 9306120052
SECTION: BUSINESS PAGE: A-8 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: Associated Press
DATELINE: WASHINGTON LENGTH: Medium
This means FCC's freeze on cable rates remains in effect until Oct. 1, said FCC Chairman James Quello.
Both the FCC and local cable companies need more time to meet the requirements of the law passed last year by Congress, he said.
"It gives us some breathing space," Jim Corrin of Blacksburg Cable TV said of Friday's announcement. Blacksburg and Salem Cable TV both are owned by Booth American Corp. of Detroit.
Last month, the FCC sent cable companies a 500-page report, including worksheets to calculate whether a system's rates are above or below the benchmark rates per channel.
The biggest problem for local companies was deciphering the report and figuring out what paperwork was required, said Ervin Stauss of Simmons Cable TV Co., which operates in Radford and Christiansburg.
"This extension is going to help a lot of operators," Stauss said, by giving them time to "look at everything involved."
The FCC's work has been complicated by a lack of staff and the refusal of Congress so far to approve funds to hire attorneys and accountants to enforce the law.
It means that consumers, who had expected to see rates cut as soon as this summer, won't be seeing any rollbacks in their rates until November at the earliest - possibly not even by then, said Quello.
Leaders of the House and Senate committees that guided the law to enactment both have approved the delay, said Quello.
Sen. Ernest Hollings, D-S.C., is seeking an additional $11.5 million for more FCC staffers, but his proposal has not yet been approved by Congress.
The law lets regulators control rates for basic cable TV service, defined as all over-the-air broadcast channels and those cable channels used by local government, school boards and the general public.
But in order for regulation to begin, each franchising authority must file papers with the FCC proving that the local cable operation is a monopoly. The law does not apply where two or more cable companies compete.
The law also allows individual subscribers to complain to the FCC if they believe rates for channels other than basic cable are excessive and for cable companies to file complaints if they believe the new rate requirements are so stringent that they can no longer cover their operating costs.
Each of these filings will require individual review by an FCC staffer. There are about 10,000 cable operations and 57 million subscribers in the country.
Staff writer Melanie S. Hatter contributed to this story.
by CNB