Adelphia Agrees to Cut Some Cable Rates

Los Angeles officials announced Tuesday they have settled a dispute with Adelphia Communications Corp. that will freeze most cable rates until July, reduce the cost of the least expensive monthly service to $12 and cut an infrastructure surcharge over the next 12 years by nearly $68 million.

The proposed settlement, which is scheduled to be voted on by the city Board of Information Technology next Wednesday and implemented by April, centers on the city’s challenge to an Adelphia filing with the Federal Communications Commission last year for new rates.

The new $12 monthly basic package will provide 38 channels for at least 24 months.

Currently, the least-expensive cable package in Adelphia’s West L.A. area is $31.10 and includes 57 channels.

The infrastructure surcharge will be reduced from $2.35 per month to 25 cents per month under the agreement, announced by Councilmen Jack Weiss and Eric Garcetti.

“Adelphia customers have put up with poor service and excessive charges for too long,” said Weiss, chairman of the council committee that oversees cable systems.

Adelphia is the largest provider of cable services in the city, serving 235,000 customers, many in West Los Angeles.

“This rate agreement is something that will benefit all the parties involved: the city and its residents, and Adelphia and its customers,” said Tom Carlock, vice president of law and public policy for Adelphia.