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 Federal  Communications  Commission  DA  00-  2387 
 Before  the 
 Federal  Communications  Commission 
 Washington,  D.  C.  20554 


 In  the  Matter  of  ) 
 )  CUID  No.  SC0141  (Mt.  Pleasant) 
 Comcast  Cablevision  of  Carolina,  Inc.  ) 
 ) 
 Petition  for  Reconsideration  ) 


 ORDER  ON  RECONSIDERATION 
 Adopted:  October  19,  2000  Released:  October  23,  2000 
 By  the  Deputy  Chief,  Cable  Services  Bureau: 
 1.  In  this  Order  we  consider  a  petition  for  reconsideration  ("  Petition")  of  our  Order,  DA  98-1753 
 ("  Prior  Order"),  1  filed  with  the  Federal  Communications  Commission  ("  Commission")  by  the  above-referenced 
 operator  ("  Operator").  Our  Prior  Order  resolved  all  pending  complaints  against  Operator's  cable 
 programming  services  tier  ("  CPST")  rates.  On  October  5,  1998,  Operator  filed  a  timely  petition  for 
 reconsideration  of  our  Prior  Order  as  well  as  a  refund  plan.  In  this  Order,  we  modify  our  Prior  Order  and 
 dismiss  Operators  petition  and  refund  plan  as  moot. 


 2.  Under  the  Communications  Act,  the  Commission  is  authorized  to  review  the  CPST  rates  of 
 cable  systems  not  subject  to  effective  competition  to  ensure  that  rates  charged  are  not  unreasonable.  2  The 
 Cable  Television  Consumer  Protection  and  Competition  Act  of  1992  ("  1992  Cable  Act"),  3  and  our  rules  in 
 effect  at  the  time  the  complaints  were  filed,  required  the  Commission  to  review  CPST  rates  upon  the  filing 
 of  a  valid  complaint  by  a  subscriber  or  local  franchising  authority.  The  filing  of  a  valid  complaint  triggers 
 an  obligation  upon  the  cable  operator  to  file  a  justification  of  its  CPST  rates.  4  If  the  Commission  finds  the 
 rate  to  be  unreasonable,  it  shall  determine  the  correct  rate  and  any  refund  liability.  5 


 3.  In  our  Prior  Order,  we  resolved  all  complaints  filed  against  Operators  CPST  rates  in  the 
 above-  referenced  community.  The  first  valid  complaint  was  filed  against  Operators  March  7,  1995  CPST 
 rate  of  $18.21  and  the  second  and  last  valid  complaint  was  filed  on  November  24,  1995  against  Operators 
 November  1,  1995  CPST  rate  of  $19.39.  In  our  Prior  Order,  we  found  that  Operators  March  7,  1995 
 CPST  rate  of  $18.21  and  Operators  November  1,  1995  CPST  rate  of  $19.39  were  reasonable.  Therefore, 
 upon  reconsideration,  we  have  concluded  that  the  complaints  should  be  denied.  Accordingly,  we  will 


 1  In  the  Matter  of  Comcast  Cablevision  of  Carolina,  Inc.,  DA  98-  1753,  13  FCC  Rcd  18494  (1998). 
 2  47  U.  S.  C.  543  (c)  (1996). 


 3  Pub.  L.  No.  102-  385,  106  Stat.  1460  (1992). 


 4  47  C.  F.  R.  76.956. 
 5  47  C.  F.  R.  76.957. 
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 Federal  Communications  Commission  DA  00-  2387 
 2 
 modify  our  Prior  Order  to  reflect  that  the  complaints  are  denied.  Because  we  are  modifying  our  Prior 
 Order  and  denying  the  complaints,  Operator  does  not  incur  any  refund  liability.  Therefore,  we  will  dismiss 
 Operators  Petition  and  refund  plan  as  moot. 


 4.  Accordingly,  IT  IS  ORDERED,  pursuant  to  Section  0.321  of  the  Commission's  rules,  47 
 C.  F.  R.    0.321,  that  In  the  Matter  of  Comcast  Cablevision  of  Carolina,  Inc.,  DA  98-  1753,  13  FCC  Rcd 
 18494  (1998)  IS  MODIFIED  TO  THE  EXTENT  INDICATED  HEREIN. 


 5.  IT  IS  FURTHER  ORDERED,  pursuant  to  Sections  0.321  and  1.106  the  Commission's 
 rules,  47  C.  F.  R.    0.321  and  1.106,  that  Operator's  Petition  for  Reconsideration  and  refund  plan  ARE 
 DISMISSED  AS  MOOT. 


 6.  IT  IS  FURTHER  ORDERED,  pursuant  to  Section  0.321  of  the  Commission's  rules,  47 
 C.  F.  R.    0.321,  that  the  CPST  rate  of  $18.21,  charged  by  Operator  in  the  franchise  area  referenced  above, 
 effective  March  7,  1995,  and  the  CPST  rate  of  $19.39,  charged  by  Operator  in  the  franchise  area 
 referenced  above,  effective  November  1,  1995,  ARE  REASONABLE. 


 7.  IT  IS  FURTHER  ORDERED,  pursuant  to  Section  0.32l  of  the  Commission's  rules,  47 
 C.  F.  R.    0.321,  that  the  complaints  referenced  herein  against  the  CPST  rates  charged  by  Operator  in  the 
 community  referenced  above  ARE  DENIED. 


 FEDERAL  COMMUNICATIONS  COMMISSION 


 William  H.  Johnson 
 Deputy  Chief 
 Cable  Services  Bureau 
2