Charter Communications Fined For “Migrating Channels To Digital”
For those of us who deal with Charter Communications, and have lodged complaints against them, this is good news. Not that we were not already aware of the shady business practices that Charter has long been known for, but still it is good to see the fine leveled on this business. A business that we can only hope will go bankrupt soon so that new management can take over and perhaps make it a more pro-consumer company.
The Federal Communications Commission is fining nine cable TV operators — including Madison area provider Charter Communications — for reportedly trying to thwart its investigation of a practice in which analog channels were transferred to a more expensive digital tier, leaving some customers without access, the Associated Press reported Tuesday.
In a letter to congressional leaders Monday, on his last full day in office, FCC Chairman Kevin Martin said cable operators had exhibited “contempt” for the commission by not providing full information about their practices, as ordered.
“The cable operators’ refusal to provide the commission full information has delayed our investigation and inhibited our ability to examine allegations” stemming from nearly 600 complaints, he told the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation.
In October, the FCC asked 13 cable operators to provide more information on their practice of migrating channels to digital. The agency was concerned that customers who subscribe to less expensive tiers of analog service, such as basic cable, will have access to fewer channels because some have been moved to the digital lineup, even as those subscribers’ bills continued to rise.
Cable companies want to move analog channels to digital to free up bandwidth so they have more room to add high-definition channels and other content. It is not related to the national switch to digital broadcasting.
The FCC said most of the cable companies it fined had provided incomplete or evasive answers, or even refused to answer some questions.
