MiApogeo.com - Is My Cable Company Robbing Me?

Is My Cable Company Robbing Me?

Written by Ejima Baker

Finally, someone out there is listening to me. Recently, Consumers Union sent a letter to the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation asking for an investigation into the practice of moving analog channels to the digital tier.

The FCC sent a letter on Oct. 30 to cable operators including Time Warner Cable Inc., Cox Communications Inc., Cablevision Systems Corp., Comcast Corp., Charter Communications Inc., Bright House Networks, Suddenlink Communications, Bend Cable Communications, GCI Company, Harron Entertainment and RCN Corp (whew!).

While I am sure that the FCC’s letter omitted the expletives I use when I address my cable company, the agency did question the practice of moving analog channels into digital tiers to free up bandwidth for other uses, such as high-definition channels.

For people who have been watching cable off the grid (i.e., with a coat hanger or antenna) the upcoming transition to digital in 2009 is being used by cable companies to cause confusion.

In an interview with the Associated Press, FCC Chairman Kevin Martin said that the agency are looking into whether cable operators are willfully confounding customers by falsely linking the shift of the analog channel to the digital tier to the nation's transition to digital broadcasts.

Like many cable users, me included, Mr. Martin is "concerned with the increasing cable prices that consumers are facing" and the fact that we "are getting less and being charged the same or more." If you want to receive basic channels, many companies are insisting that you also pay additional fees and pay for cable box.

Hopefully, the letter sent out by the FCC will prompt some real change, and if it is not too much to ask for, reasonable cable prices.

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