P. M. BRIEFING : FCC Knocks Cable ‘Monopolies’

The head of the Federal Communications Commission said today that deregulation of the cable television industry has allowed cable operators to carve out powerful legal monopolies.

“The legal monopolizing of franchise territories may be at the root of many of the current problems,” FCC Chairman Alfred Sikes told the Senate Subcommittee on Communications.

The subcommittee is examining the Cable Communications Policy Act of 1984, which largely deregulated the cable industry. The panel also is considering whether to bring regulatory control back to cable television to curb spiraling rate increases and monopolistic practices.

“Today, local cable television markets are not open to competition,” Sikes said. “The 1984 Cable Communications Policy Act allowed localities, in effect, to grant monopoly franchises.”

Sikes told the panel that the FCC will accelerate its study of the cable television industry and will conduct field hearings to determine the extent of rate increases and other anti-competitive issues.