If FCC were to define cable modem service as information service ...

If FCC were to define cable modem service as information service without providing guidelines for local regulation, local franchising authorities (LFAs) would prefer to maintain regulatory status quo until issues were resolved, said Libby Beaty, exec. dir. of National Assn. of Telecom Officers & Advisors (NATOA). Addressing Cable TV Public Affairs Assn. forum in Washington Tues., she said no LFA would be anxious to set up new regulatory regime, only to have it changed later when FCC provided guidelines. As result of different court interpretations of classification of cable modem, some operators now pay franchise fees and some don’t, she said, and LFAs would like cable operators to opt for status quo until FCC comes out with guidelines. Calling assurances of LFA preference for status quo refreshing, Billy Ferry, Charter regional dir.-govt. relations, predicted LFAs would move to change regulations if they saw new revenue source. Asked whether FCC would require LFAs now collecting franchise fees for cable modem to refund fees if it deemed it information service, Beaty said FCC didn’t have retroactive rulemaking authority. LFA contention was that franchise fee was rent for use of public rights-of-way, she said. On refund issue, Ferry said he saw potential for class action lawsuits because of disparate treatment of operators paying franchise fees for cable modem in some localities, while others were free from fees. Local govts. had feared such suits in aftermath of 9th U.S. Appeals Court, San Francisco, ruling that cable modem was telecom service, Beaty said, but none materialized. Panelists agreed it was unlikely that cable regulation would move to state from local level in near future, although cable would like to see some uniformity in regulations.