Word: fcc
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...only part of the problem. A more important roadblock to new channels, in the view of the cable industry, is government regulation. In the 1992 Cable Act, Congress responded to consumer complaints about the rising cost of cable service by instructing the Federal Communications Commission to regulate rates. The FCC proceeded to roll back current rates and to establish a strict formula for how much cable operators could raise them in the future...
...planned $4.9 billion merger with Cox, the country's sixth largest cable system. "It's unlikely the cable industry can generate the cash flow we expected," concluded a senior vice president of Southwestern, based in San Antonio, Texas. This deal is the second to fall apart following the FCC announcement of another round of 7% cuts in cable rates. Bell Atlantic mentioned the rate cutbacks when it scuttled its planned $20 billion takeover of TCI last February...
...launching of Teledesic left some critics wondering whether it is just another example of Gates' flexing Microsoft's muscle to lock out the competition, in this case by moving to control as large a share as possible of the limited supply of satellite slots when the FCC auctions them later this year. Those slots will only grow in value as the information highway is built. Certainly Gates is hedging his bets. Microsoft is working on development of the magic-box system. Its co-venture with Mtel will position it in new delivery technologies. Up until now, most people had assumed...
...FCC chairman Reed Hundt won't buy that. "Our decision did not make the future of the cable industry more uncertain," Hundt insists. "Our job is to protect the public interest and prevent cable companies from charging monopoly prices." The demise of the Bell Atlantic-TCI deal has certainly not cooled either company's ardor for future consolidations. They are still talking about possible cooperative ventures between them, and each firm is already eyeing prospective new partners. "There's plenty of adrenaline pumping here," Smith says. "We are a company on the prowl." So is TCI. No sooner...
Citing the FCC cable ruling, Bell Atlantic and Tele-Communications Inc. canceled their plans to join forces in what would have been the world's largest merger and a breakthrough in the race to build the allegedly coming "electronic superhighway." Dispute over price also played a role in aborting the deal, which was valued at up to $33 billion...