Who regulates cable rates?
Under present federal law and Federal Communications Commission (FCC) rules, New York City may regulate rates for the “Broadcast Basic” service tier but only to track conformance with FCC-mandated rate formulas. Other tiers of service were regulated by the FCC until April 1, 1999 when Congress allowed the rate rules to expire. Broadcast Basic service usually contains local broadcast, Public, Educational and Government (PEG) channels.
Under federal law, the Cable Division regulates rates for basic service and equipment. Expanded basic, pay-per-view and premium services are unregulated. Basic cable service is the lowest level of cable service available to subscribers. Basic service usually consists of broadcast channels, any local channels available to a community, and any other channels an operator chooses to provide. The Cable Division regulates basic service rates for all communities in Massachusetts that have requested rate regulation. The Cable Division’s review of basic rates is conducted according to specific guidelines established by the FCC. In February 1996, Congress passed the Telecommunications Act of 1996 . The Act retained the Cable Division’s role in setting basic cable programming and equipment rates until cable operators face effective competition in a franchise area. Based on a mandate in the 1996 Telecommunications Act, the rates for cable programming services (sometimes called “expanded basic”), b
Under federal law, the Competition Division regulates rates for basic service tier, installation, and equipment. The cable programming service tier, pay-per-view, and premium services are unregulated, which means that a cable operator may charge what the market will bear. Basic Cable Rates: Basic service tier is the lowest level of cable service available to subscribers. Basic service tier includes local broadcast channels, any local access public, educational, or governmental channels available to a community, and any other channels a cable operator chooses to include at that level. The Competition Division regulates basic service rates for all communities in Massachusetts that have requested rate regulation and that are not exempt from rate regulation. The Competition Division’s review of basic rates is conducted according to specific guidelines established by the Federal and Massachusetts laws and regulations. If the Competition Division approves a rate lower than requested and put
