FCC Reports, Second Series, Volume 104, Number 2, Pages 375 to 719, August 1986 Page: 399
ix, 375-719 p. ; 23 cm.View a full description of this report.
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Amendment of Parts 1, 63, and 76
determined that, for rate regulation purposes:
Basic cable service is the tier of service regularly provided to all
subscribers that includes the retransmission of all must carry broadcast
television signals as defined in 76.55 to 76.61 of the rules, [or, in the
absence of at least three must carry signals, any unaltered broadcast
television signals] and the public, educational and governmental channels,
if required by a franchising authority under Section 611 of the Communica-
tions Act.15
33. On September 10, 1985, the Commission issued an Order
reopening the proceeding in MM Docket No. 84-1296, to provide
parties opportunity to comment on the impact of the Quincy
decision to the definition of basic cable service adopted in the
Report and Order. Thirteen parties filed comments in response to
the Order.16
34. Many of the parties submitting comments state that only a
technical change in the definition of basic cable service is
necessary to accomodate the Quincy decision.'7 These parties
agree that the reference to the must carry rules should be deleted,
but differ regarding its replacement. NCTA, for example, states
that the reference to the must carry rules should be revised to
reflect that they are former rules. This could be accomplished,
NCTA states, by replacing the must carry reference in the
definition with the phrase "local broadcast television signals" and
defining local signals as those signals that were entitled to
mandatory carriage as of April 11, 1985.18 Similarly, the National
Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA)
states that the Commission does not have to refer to the must
carry rules in order to define basic cable service. It recommends,
however, that basic cable service should be defined as the tier of
cable service which includes the retransmission of any unaltered
broadcast signal, meaning the signal as transmitted by the
15 See Report and Order para. 118.
16 A number of parties commented on the appropriateness of the "effective
competition" standard adopted in the Report and Order. (See the comments of
the NLC, NYC, the National Association of State Cable Agencies, and the
Satellite Television Industry Association, Inc.) We believe that the Commis-
sion's determination of the effective competition standard is unaffected by the
Quincy decision. Inasmuch as the Order specifically requested that comments
be limited to the definition of basic cable service, the Commission declines to
respond to these comments.
17 The NLC and NYC repeat their original position thay the Commission has no
authority to alter, for rate regulation purposes, the definition of basic cable
service as contained in Section 602(2) of the Cable Act.
18 The State of New Jersey, Board of Public Utilities, Office of Cable Television;
Heritage Communications, Inc.; and Centel Cable Television support this
position.104 F.C.C. 2d
399
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United States. Federal Communications Commission. FCC Reports, Second Series, Volume 104, Number 2, Pages 375 to 719, August 1986, report, 1986-08~; Washington D.C.. (https://digital.library.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metadc306573/m1/37/: accessed July 17, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, UNT Digital Library, https://digital.library.unt.edu; crediting UNT Libraries Government Documents Department.