Cablevision Applies for Rate Hike in 3 Towns
Apr. 14–Three New Jersey towns — Montvale, West Milford and Elizabeth — face possible rate hikes for basic cable service.
Cablevision has asked federal authorities to lift rules that allow state regulators to set basic cable rates, arguing that enough people in those towns buy TV service from another source, such as a satellite provider, to make the market competitive.
On Wednesday, the New Jersey Ratepayer Advocate said it will challenge Cablevision’s request, which the company made to the Federal Communications Commission in February.
Congress deregulated most of the cable television industry in 1996 but left regulation of basic service up to the states.
Under FCC rules, a town’s TV market must meet several criteria to lift the cable rules, including that at least 15 percent of the households subscribe to satellite TV.
The Ratepayer Advocate believes Cablevision used outdated figures to calculate its data, and said the number of households in the three municipalities had increased, causing the number of non-cable TV customers to fall below the 15 percent threshold.
“New Jersey towns have changed significantly over the last few years and the company’s numbers do not reflect that,” New Jersey Ratepayer Advocate Seema M. Singh said in a statement.
This is not the first time Cablevision has asked the FCC to lift the rules.
Last April, the company, which serves about one million customers in northern New Jersey, petitioned the FCC to deregulate basic service in 49 towns based on evidence that satellite TV had created sufficient competition. The FCC granted the request in May.
The Ratepayer Advocate and the state’s Board of Public Utilities challenged that ruling. Basic service rates in those towns remains regulated pending the appeal, said Gloria Montealegre, a BPU spokeswoman.
The BPU also opposes Cablevision’s recent request, but only in two towns: Montvale and Elizabeth.
The board does not oppose Cablevision’s request in West Milford because residents can choose from Cablevision, a satellite provider, as well as from WVT Communications, formerly the Warwick Valley Telephone Co., which sells TV over its phone lines.
A Cablevision spokesman declined to say what plans the company has regarding rates if the FCC grants its request.
The Bethpage, N.Y., cable provider issued the following statement:
“Cablevision operates in markets that are fiercely competitive where customers have the ability to choose from among several providers. Customers choose Cablevision digital video, voice and high-speed Internet because they prefer our services to those of our competitors.”
Cable companies have been rolling out a range of advanced services including phone and high-speed Internet in the face of increased competition from satellite services, which have gained market share. Large phone companies, including Verizon, which has plans to offer TV service, pose a possible future threat to cable.
In New Jersey, the statewide average for basic cable service (which includes other operators such as Comcast and Time Warner) is $12.17 per month.
Close to 13 percent of the state’s cable customers subscribe to basic service, according to the BPU.
Among the 49 towns where Cablevision asked to lift regulations governing basic rates are Bogota, Closter, Cresskill, Franklin Lakes, Garfield, Old Tappan, River Vale, Rochelle Park, Rockleigh, Saddle River, South Hackensack, Upper Saddle River, Woodcliff Lake, and Wood-Ridge in Bergen County.
Also included were Prospect Park and West Paterson in Passaic County, and Kinnelon in Morris County.
—–
To see more of The Record, or to subscribe to the newspaper, go to http://www.NorthJersey.com.
Copyright (c) 2005, The Record, Hackensack, N.J.
Distributed by Knight Ridder/Tribune Business News.
For information on republishing this content, contact us at (800) 661-2511 (U.S.), (213) 237-4914 (worldwide), fax (213) 237-6515, or e-mail reprints@krtinfo.com.
CVC, VZ, CMCSK, TWX,