N.J. Bell Gets Commercial Video Permit

Federal regulators granted the first phone company request for permission to deliver commercial video services to consumers Wednesday, but a backlog of similar requests await action.

The Federal Communications Commission cleared the way for New Jersey Bell to carry programs over its telephone network to 38,000 residents of Dover Township in northern New Jersey. The commission has approved a handful of phone company experiments with video services, but Wednesday’s announcement was the first go-ahead for commercial service.

The decision raised hopes among other Bell operators that the FCC would step up its handling of their own applications. There are 21 other applications for commercial services still pending and FCC Chairman Reed Hundt recently promised to streamline the system for a quicker response.

The New Jersey program, because it is commercial, could also help show whether Bell companies can make money offering cable-type services over their networks given the high additional cost per subscriber of upgrading networks to carry video.

Under FCC rules adopted in 1992, local telephone companies are not allowed to offer programs to subscribers. Instead, they may charge a regulated fee to deliver programs put together by independent producers. The pro gram suppliers set the prices consumers will pay for individual programs or packages of programs.

To make sure the telephone company does not subsidize its video operation with money from its regular phone customers, the FCC is requiring New Jersey Bell to itemize and separate video-related expenses from voice and data expenses. The information is to be reported to the commission on a regular basis, FCC attorneys said.

New Jersey Bell’s first provider, FutureVision, plans to program 60 of 384 channels on the phone company’s system early next year, FutureVision President Bob Schena said in an interview Wednesday. Schena said his customers will pay “20% less than they currently pay for comparable video service.”