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FOR FCC RECORD ONLY
$//Inland Bay Cable TV Associates, Attleboro, MA, MO&O, DA-95-787//$
$/76.922 Rates for Cable Programming Service tiers/$
$/benchmark cable rates/$

                                Before the
                     Federal Communications Commission
                          Washington, D.C. 20554

                                                        DA 95-787 

In the Matter of                   )    
                              )
Inland Bay Cable TV Associates          )              CUID No. MA0128, Attleboro
                              )    
Withdrawal of FCC Form 329         )    
Rate Complaint                )


                       Memorandum Opinion and Order

          Adopted:  April 11, 1995      Released:  April 13, 1995  


By the Deputy Chief, Cable Services Bureau:

     1.  On April 1, 1994, the City of Attleboro, Massachusetts (the "City") filed a
complaint alleging that the price charged by Inland Bay Cable TV Associates ("Inland Bay")
for its cable programming service ("CPS") tier in Attleboro was unreasonably high.  On
February 6, 1995, the City withdrew its complaint, stating that it was satisfied that Inland
Bay's rates are fair and reasonable.  The City was the only complainant who filed a
complaint with this Commission against the CPS price in Attleboro.  Our jurisdiction to
regulate CPS rates arises with the filing of a valid complaint against those rates.  We will
allow the withdrawal of this complaint, and our review of this case will therefore be
terminated. 

     2.  Under the Cable Television Consumer Protection and Competition Act of 1992,
and our rules implementing it, 47 C.F.R. Part 76, Subpart N, the Commission must review
CPS prices upon the filing of a valid complaint.  The filing of a valid complaint triggers an
obligation on behalf of the cable operator to file a justification of its CPS prices.  Under our
rules, an operator may attempt to justify its prices through either a benchmark showing or a
cost-of-service showing.  In either case, the operator has the burden of demonstrating that its
CPS prices are not unreasonable.
     
     3.  The Commission's original rate regulations took effect on September 1, 1993. 
The Commission subsequently revised its rate regulations effective May 15, 1994. 
Operators with valid CPS complaints filed against them prior to May 15, 1994 must
demonstrate that their CPS prices were in compliance with the Commission's initial rules
from the time the complaint was filed through May 14, 1994, and that their prices were in
compliance with the revised rules from May 15, 1994 forward.  
     
     4.  This Commission has now received a letter from the City stating that it wishes to
withdraw its CPS rate complaint against Inland Bay.  Under our rules, this Commission's
authority to regulate CPS cable rates arises when a valid complaint against those rates is
filed.  Our mandate is to "protect subscribers of any cable system that is not subject to
effective competition from rates that exceed the rates that would be charged if such a system
were subject to effective competition."  While our rules forbid collusive agreements between
operators and local franchising authorities regarding forebearance from rate regulation, there
is no evidence of such an agreement here.  We will accordingly allow the City to withdraw
its complaint.  Because our review of the rate justification showing is predicated on the
existence of a rate complaint, and because Inland Bay no longer faces such a complaint, we
are terminating our review for this community. 
     5.  Accordingly, IT IS ORDERED, pursuant to Section 0.321 of the Commission's
rules, 47 C.F.R.  0.321, that permission to withdraw the FCC Form 329 rate complaint
against the cable programming service rate of Inland Bay Cable TV Associates in Attleboro,
Massachusetts, CUID No. MA0128, IS GRANTED and our review of this case IS
TERMINATED.

     
                         FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION


          
     
                         Gregory J. Vogt
                         Deputy Chief, Cable Services Bureau