MSOs Respond To FCC Rate Investigation

The Federal Communications Commission is reviewing two years of cable rate information submitted Thursday by 13 companies threatened with monetary fines for noncompliance. The agency, at the direction of chairman Kevin Martin, is examining whether cable operators violated any rules in connection with the migration of channels from analog to digital programming tiers, an industry practice developed years ago to make way for HD programming, video-on-demand services and faster Internet connections. "All 13 companies have responded. We are reviewing the responses," FCC spokesman Robert Kenny said Friday. In a letter Wednesday, FCC general counsel Matthew Berry warned cable operators to comply with the agency's 14-calendar day deadline to respond. The FCC sought the rate data on Oct. 30.