FCC may ban cable deals for exclusivity

FCC MAY BAN CABLE DEALS FOR EXCLUSIVITY
[SOURCE: USAToday, AUTHOR: Paul Davidson]
Federal regulators appear set to crack down on cable companies that sign exclusive deals with apartment and condominium buildings, denying residents the fruits of emerging pay-TV competition. Federal Communications Commission Chairman Kevin Martin is recommending prohibiting such future agreements and preventing enforcement of exclusivity clauses in existing contracts, three FCC officials say. They requested anonymity because the agency's five commissioners have not yet voted on the proposal. While the details could change before the vote, most commissioners have backed opening the multifamily housing market to more video competition. Martin believes apartment dwellers deserve the same benefits of new cable choices as those in houses, officials say. Phone companies have started to compete with cable providers across large swaths of the USA by selling packages of pay-TV, broadband and phone services. To block competition, phone companies contend, cable companies increasingly sew up exclusive deals with apartment building owners and condo boards that bar rivals from offering video service to residents. Some agreements last 10 years or more. Noting that up to a third of U.S. residents live in multifamily dwellings, the United States Telecom Association said in an FCC filing that the agreements deny competition to "a significant percentage of consumers."
http://www.usatoday.com/printedition/money/20070906/1b_cable06.art.htm