Hawaii, NCTA Propose Clashing Ideas of Cable Rate Regulation Changes
NCTA and Hawaii disagree on replacing basic rate-setting methodology for cable operators, in FCC docket 17-105 postings Monday. Given the little such regulation, a big overhaul would be "a tremendous waste of administrative resources," the Hawaii Department of Commerce and…
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Consumer Affairs said. The department said it would be "inappropriate" for the FCC to revise its Communications Act Section 623(b)(5) interpretation of whether equipment used to receive the basic service tier should be exempt from rate regulation if the gear also can be used for other signals. It said that would sidestep Congress' "clear intent" and let cable operators avoid regulation by using mixed use-capable equipment. Any replacement of the rate methodology for operators that become reregulated should start with basic service tier rates allowed by the franchising authority before that rate regulation was eliminated, Hawaii said. First-time regulatees would need a new mechanism to reach back to when that operator was subject to effective competition, it said. NCTA said the FCC should continue to set rules about local regulation to give local franchise authorities direction. The association pushed an updated comparative benchmark methodology to compare regulated rates to a sampling of basic tier rates charged by the same operator in communities with effective competition. Or cable operators should have the option of justifying current basic service and equipment rates and future rate increases with simplified versions of forms 1240 and 1205 that don't require looking backward.