FCC concerned at trend of pay-TV rate hikes

The Federal Communications Commission expressed concern as several cable companies discussed plans to raise their rates for next year, including Cablevision Systems Corp., which on Wednesday announced an average hike for cable TV service of 3.5 percent. Cablevision noted that the price increase on video services falls below inflation and said it's also building a Wi-Fi network that its Internet subscribers will be able to use for free. An FCC spokeswoman said the trend could hurt already-battered consumers.