THOUSAND OAKS : City Orders Cable Rate Cuts, Refunds

Two companies that supply Thousand Oaks residents with cable television must lower some of their rates for basic service and give refunds for overcharges in the last two years, the Thousand Oaks City Council has decided.

However, the council’s unanimous vote Tuesday night is no guarantee that the 32,016 cable customers in Thousand Oaks will get refunds or that rates will actually drop.

The Federal Communications Commission must still review the city’s findings. Falcon Cablevision and Ventura County Cablevision both plan to appeal to the regulatory board.

Falcon’s monthly rate for basic service is $20, but the company had asked the city for permission to raise the price to $23.16. The city turned down that request and recommended that Falcon drop its price to $16.69 a month and submit a plan for refunding its customers.

Ventura County Cablevision has much lower basic rates and refunds would be smaller. But the city also alleges that the company occasionally charged for services that it did not immediately provide.

Because both companies plan to appeal the city’s decision, customers will have to pay the higher rates until the FCC settles the dispute.

Caroline Milton, who oversees cable regulation for the city, said the appeal could take months.

“I think the FCC has received 7,000 complaints from cities and cable companies,” Milton said. “They are working their way through those now. I get the feeling that they have made a lot of progress in the last year, though.”

In 1992, Congress reversed an earlier decision by the FCC to deregulate the cable industry and turned regulation of basic services over to local authorities. Cities such as Thousand Oaks are now obligated to wade through FCC regulations and make recommendations on local service.