FCC won’t send local franchising authorities any customer service...

FCC won’t send local franchising authorities any customer service complaints relating to cable modem service while issues still are pending in rulemaking, said Dane Snowden, chief of agency’s Consumer & Govt. Affairs Bureau. In letter to Kenneth Fellman, chmn. of FCC’s Local & State Govt. Advisory Committee (LSGAC), Snowden referred to Fellman’s concerns about handling customer service complaints while rulemaking was pending and said Commission sought comments on how its information service classification of cable modem service might affect application of state or local regulation of consumer protection and customer service standards. While FCC tentatively had concluded that Title 6 didn’t provide independent basis for assessing franchise fees on cable modem service, Snowden said, it also had sought comments on any other authority that state and local govts. might have for assessing fees or taxes on cable Internet service. Commission is reviewing comments on those issues, he said.