Federal regulators sent letters to 35 local cable TV operations Monday, questioning rate policies after consumers and local governments complained to the Federal Communications Commission.
Sixteen other cable companies were sent letters Nov. 17 and have until the end of the week to respond to the FCC.Under new cable TV regulations, the government won't act against a cable company until it has a formal complaint from a subscriber or local government.
More than 5,000 complaints have been filed since Sept. 29, FCC staff told the four-member FCC at its monthly meeting.
Most complaint forms have been completed correctly, but some individuals found the forms difficult to understand, said regulators.
A new, more "user-friendly" form will soon be available, they said.
The FCC also announced a new "cable services bureau" within the agency to handle all matters related to the new cable TV law. The bulk of the bureau's work will be consumer protection, officials said.
The bureau will be organized in teams that embody the Clinton administration's plan for streamlining government.
The teams will be able to handle consumer complaints about all parts of the new law instead of assigning separate staff for each particular regulation.
Among the practices the commission is investigating:
- Violation of the government's freeze on cable revenues.
- "Negative option" billing, a practice by which the consumer is billed for additional channels unless he or she specifically requests not to have them.
- Evasion of regulation through "a la carte," or per channel, pricing.