Ratepayer Advocate Seema M. Singh Testifies In Support of Proposed Cable Regulation Amendments To Make Cable TV Operators More Accountable To New Jersey Customers

Ratepayer Advocate asks for Re-opening of Late Fees Rulemaking Proceeding to Consider Fairness of Imposing Late Charges on Ratepayers 

Newark, NJ -- Ratepayer Advocate Seema M. Singh today testified in support of a number of proposed changes to existing cable regulations at the Board of Public Utilities’ Public Hearing on amendments to regulations of cable television and asked for additional rules to make cable operators more accountable to their customers.  There are 2.5 million cable subscribers in New Jersey that could benefit from improved quality of service, fair compensation for inconvenience and prompt attention through the new regulations.

“Governor McGreevey’s commitment to consumer protection and improving the quality of life for all the residents of New Jersey is evident in these amendments.  The proposed regulations place a strong emphasis on customer service concerns and establish customer safeguards from unreasonable procedures of cable operators.  We must ensure that consumer friendly cable service is available to the people of New Jersey,” said Ratepayer Advocate Seema M. Singh.

The Ratepayer Advocate believes that new cable regulations should consist of the following components:

§         Outage Credits:  The Ratepayer Advocate supports automatic outage credits for outages lasting three hours or more, and which result from a fiber optic node failure.  The Ratepayer Advocate has also advocated the new rules provide a credit whenever ten or more customers are affected by a non-node failure.

§         Late Fees: The Ratepayer Advocate recommends that the Board of Public Utilities (Board) re-open a proceeding on the late fees charged to customers because there are significant questions regarding the fairness of imposing late fees on ratepayers.  Late fees average over $5.00 per month, with some operators charging as much as $14.95.   The late fees charged to subscribers must be fully addressed.

§         A La Carte Offerings: The Ratepayer Advocate recommends that cable operators be required to offer cable services on a la carte basis.  This would allow customers to choose the cable channels they wish to view instead of being forced into a package offering which may or may not contain channels and features that the customer wants.

§         Telephone Response Time: The Board has adopted federal standards in order to improve the response time for customer telephone inquiries.  The rule requires that telephone calls be answered within thirty seconds and a call must result in a busy signal less than three percent of the time.  The Ratepayer Advocate supports this amendment to the cable regulations.

§         Service Call Scheduling: The service call scheduling proposal requires all service call appointments to abide by a four-hour window and prevents the cancellation of a service appointment with a customer after close of business on the business day prior to the scheduled appointment.  The Board’s proposal is based on Federal Communications Commission (FCC) standards that the Ratepayer Advocate finds acceptable.

§         Request for Cable Service: The Board proposed new rules that prohibit cable operators from refusing service to potential customers without good reason and also gives the customer a right to appeal the cable operator’s decision to deny service.  The Ratepayer Advocate supports the proposed rule because it protects customers against arbitrary behavior by cable operators and it provides customers with access to cable service. 

During today’s hearing, Ratepayer Advocate Singh also asked the Board to consider adopting a new rule directing cable operators who file FCC Forms 1205 and 1240 to maintain records and to provide additional financial, management, equipment and installation activities data to the Board and Ratepayer Advocate with the filings.  The Ratepayer Advocate reviews the FCC filings as part of the yearly rate review process in which cable operators are entitled to a “reasonable profit.”

“Requiring cable operators to include more complete financial, equipment and subscribers information in the yearly rate-review process should address many of the concerns that the public has expressed,” said Ms. Singh.  “This specific proposal ensures that New Jersey consumers will be protected from unfair and improper rate filings by cable operators.”

The Ratepayer Advocate also is urging that new accounting safeguards be implemented, including the requirement for audits by independent auditors of cable operator costs allocations, to limit cost misallocation and potential cross subsidization between traditional cable services and non-cable services (i.e., cable modem service, broadband, etc.).  “These safeguards will not only provide the Board with proper assurances that cable operators will meet the needs of New Jersey consumers, but should also get the cable industry away from any pricing discrimination,” said Ms. Singh.

The full text of the testimony of the Ratepayer Advocate is available on our Web site at http://www.rpa.state.nj.us

The Division of the Ratepayer Advocate represents the interests of utility consumers and serves as an active participant in every case when New Jersey utilities seek changes in their rates or services. The Ratepayer Advocate also gives consumers a voice in setting long-range energy, water, and telecommunications policy that will affect the delivery of utility services well into the future.

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