Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: WEDNESDAY, September 1, 1993                   TAG: 9309010207
SECTION: VIRGINIA                    PAGE: A-1   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: MELANIE S. HATTER STAFF WRITER
DATELINE:                                 LENGTH: Medium

CABLE CHANGES WON'T ADD UP TO MUCH ON THE BILL

But despite all the changes, the new cable rates will hardly be noticeable on monthly bills.

Only subscribers who had paid up to $5 for additional outlets in their homes will see a dramatic difference with those charges either eliminated or reduced to less than $1.

In April, the Federal Communications Commission voted to cut the cost of the most basic cable television service by at least 10 percent and to tightly rein in future increases. There are 58 million cable customers in the country.

The new rates do not apply to premium or pay-per-view channels or expanded basic service, which in some cases have gone up $1 or $2 per month.

Under the new rules, cable operators reduced many charges, but were allowed to increase other rates, such as the expanded basic service, as long as the increase did not generate more money than the required price cuts.

If customers have any complaints about the new rates, said Jim Corrin, general manager at Blacksburg Cable TV, he'll tell them "these rates are generated by pricing formulas set down by Washington."

Corrin said he expects a lot of calls from people wanting to verify how their rates are going to change.

In May, the FCC sent cable companies a 500-page report, including worksheets to calculate whether a system's rates were above or below benchmark rates per channel. The formulas apply differently to each of the estimated 11,000 U.S. cable operators, which accounts for why some are offering free additional outlets and others are charging for them.

"There's no attorney in Washington that can define these rules," said Kelvin Bowles, president of Atlantic Metrovision Corp. in Franklin County. Bowles' company is not affected by the rate changes because its rates fell below the benchmark.

"In any area that I can see it's not a help to the consumer that it was made out to be," Bowles said. "Those living in a big fine home with four TV's [will get a price cut] but senior citizens, their rates will go up to compensate for that."

Bowles said there should be some form of regulation but it should not be at the federal level.

Congress could make a second try at regulating cable rates if there is a public outcry. Rep. Edward Markey, D-Mass, who helped write the new law, said: "We're looking at it hard, and we will demand answers from the industry."

"We're kind of at the discretion of Congress," said Ervin Stauss, general manager of Simmons Cable TV in Radford.