FCC Record, Volume 14, No. 28, Pages 15218 to 15862, September 7 - September 17, 1999 Page: 15,261

                                
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regard to its buildout schedule was granted by the DPUC on August 26, 1999.60 Under the new schedule,
as it relates to Cablevision's Petition, SNET will continue to serve the towns of Greenwich, Darien,
Norwalk, Westport, Weston and Easton, and will serve Stamford by April 1, 2000. Thus, all of the towns
in Area 9 with significant population centers are being, or will soon be, served.
20.    We also recognize that the DPUC has conditioned the SNET-SBC merger on the new
entity's commitment to continue its provision of service through the Fall of 2000. While there is no
indication, as of yet, that SNET-SBC will continue the cable overbuild project beyond the year 2000, we
cannot deny Cablevision's petition based on future circumstances. In any event, the DPUC may, if SNETSBC
discontinues its cable overbuild project, file a recertification petition with the Commission to reestablish
rate regulation authority over the franchise area at issue here.61 Nonetheless, as it currently
stands, we find that SNET's presence, ongoing buildout, and its active recruitment of subscribers in the
franchise area are indicia that SNET is physically able to offer service in Cablevision's franchise area.
21.    We disagree with SNET's assertion that a determination of effective competition must be
made for each town in the franchise area instead of a demonstration that effective competition exists on
a franchise wide basis.62 In enacting the 1996 Act, Congress specified that the "franchise area" is the
geographic unit to which the Commission must apply LEC effective competition criteria. As we have
stated previously with regard to the other effective competition tests "we are not in a position to alter the
plain language of the statute through our regulations."63 In addition, the fact that Connecticut awards
franchises covering several municipalities instead of awarding a franchise covering each locality, by itself,
does not warrant a change in the "franchise area" definition. The application of the effective competition
criteria to the accepted franchise area definition was taken into account by Connecticut as part of its
statewide cable regulation program. During deliberations whether to award SNET a statewide franchise,
the Connecticut DPUC recognized that Commission determinations of LEC effective competition are based
on the LEC or its affiliate offering video services in the franchise area of an incumbent.64 DPUC
evaluated whether to approve a limited franchise area to avoid deregulation of cable rates in portions of
has constructed 3,500 miles of plant, and has achieved a statewide penetration rate of approximately 16%. Id. at 2.
60See DPUC Revised Draft Decision in Docket No. 99-04-02.
61See 47 C.F.R. 76.916.
62The term "franchise area" is understood to mean the area a system operator is granted to serve in its franchise.
See Implementation of Sections of the Cable Television Consumer Protection and Competition Act of 1993, First
Order on Reconsideration, Second Report and Order, and Third Notice of Proposed Rulemaking, MM Docket No.
92-266 9 FCC Rcd 1164, 1181 (1994) ("First Reconsideration Order").
63Id. In this regard, we find the prior Commission rulings cited by SNET support that the Commission has
consistently applied the LEC effective competition test based on the franchise area of the incumbent. See Time
Warner Entertainment-Advance/Newhouse Partnership, 11 FCC Rcd. 20,909 (1996); Time Warner EntertainmentAdvance/Newhouse
Partnership andParagon Communications, 12 FCC Rcd. 3143 (1997); Paragon Communications,
DA 97-566 (rel. Mar. 18, 1977).
64See Decision of State of Connecticut Department of Public Utility Control re: Application of SNET Personal
Vision, Inc. for a Certificate of Public Convenience and Necessity to Provide Community Antenna Television
Service, Docket No. 96-01-24 at 48 (Sept. 25, 1996) (attached to Cablevision's Petition as Exhibit 1).

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