FCC's Annual Assessment of the Status of Competition in Markets for the Delivery of Video Programming for 1998. Cable Agency asserts that Comcast of Indianapolis recent increase in its Value Pak tier, an unregulated tier, is perhaps indicative of what will happen to rates in general when rate regulation sunsets for expanded basic service after March of 1999. Municipalities are best suited and trained to determine a local emergency be it weather, chemical or otherwise and to advise the public accordingly. A change in the rules would now allow the cable system to determine and make an emergency announcement which would be unacceptable in our opinion.
Letter also addresses concerns regarding the same pre-emption over cable franchising issues.
It is in the best interest of the consumer to be able to choose between his video service provider. The Cable Communications Agency filed comments with the FCC suggesting that the FCC leave local zoning matters up to the municipalities that have ascertained community needs. Nevertheless, the Cable Agency did recommend that the FCC adopt a national policy that would ease the burden of municipalities and streamline the permitting process, thereby allowing for quicker permitting and deployment of facilties. The policy recommended calls for the camouflaging of towers and antennas for broadcast towers as well as wireless and PCS facitilities in residential and buffering areas. Additionally, the Cable Agency calls on the FCC to encourage use of municipal land to construct facilities, thus further streamlining the zoning process for the permitting applications and deployment of facilities.