THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Friday, January 13, 1995 TAG: 9501130474
SECTION: BUSINESS PAGE: D1 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BLOOMBERG BUSINESS NEWS
DATELINE: WASHINGTON LENGTH: Short : 50 lines
The Federal Communications Commission said Thursday that it approved Bell Atlantic Corp.'s application to begin charging for cablelike video services in Northern Virginia.
The FCC also said that it would let Bell Atlantic offer its own programming over the system, the first time such a request has been approved by the agency.
The announcement of the Bell Atlantic approval came as the FCC proposed new rules Thursday that, when finalized, will help determine how aggressively local phone companies can develop their own TV programming.
The FCC has been approving applications by regional Bell companies to build cablelike video systems on their phone networks, but until Thursday the agency had barred the firms from developingprograms to air on those systems. Recent court decisions overturning that ban are forcing the FCC to rewrite its rules.
At issue is whether the phone companies' new video-programming efforts should face the same rules as cable companies. Because phone companies are considered by the government to be common carriers - meaning they have to let anyone use their systems who wants to - their ``video dial-tone systems'' now face a different set of rules from the cable companies.
The FCC said it would let Bell Atlantic market test its video dial-tone service with as many as 2,000 Fairfax County households for six months. Bell Atlantic already has been offering such services to several hundred households in Northern Virginia, but at no charge.
The FCC's video go-ahead gives Bell Atlantic another leg up on its competitors in testing and developing new video systems that eventually will compete with existing cable operators. In July, Bell Atlantic was the first of the Baby Bells to get clearance, in Dover Township, N.J., to build a permanent commercial ``video dial-tone'' system. It expects to begin service there in spring.
Bell Atlantic wants to eventually offer video services to more than 10 million households in its mid-Atlantic territory. The company has said it wants to introduce video services in Hampton Roads by early 1996. FCC approval for those expansions will be necessary.
So far, the FCC has approved 18 applications from various phone companies to build the cablelike video systems. It has 20 more applications pending. by CNB