Cable association asks FCC to curb subscriber fees
June 10, 2009
The American Cable Association (ACA), representing small and medium-sized broadband providers that provide high speed internet to some 7 million customers, is asking federal regulators to step in to ban subscriber fees charged by media content providers.
In a filing for the Federal Communications Commission on Monday, the group said media companies that charge broadband providers fees to access their internet content will hurt efforts to provide broadband to every U.S. household.
Web-based content and service providers could drive up the retail cost of broadband access and drive down new adoption rates if they are allowed to charge fees to broadband providers and block access to their content for broadband providers that do not pay, ACA said.
"This is particularly troublesome for small and medium-sized operators who often find themselves paying higher fees than larger providers for the same content," the group said.
ACA noted that Disney withholds ESPN360 from the customers of broadband access providers who have not paid Disney an access fee. The fee is based on the provider's total number of subscribers, not on the number of consumers that want ESPN360.
Owners of middle-mile broadband facilities should be required to provide small cable broadband providers with non-discriminatory access at just and reasonable rates, ACA said.
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