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

In the Matter of                   )    
                              )    CUID No.  MD0163 (Prince George's County)
     
Jones Communications                    )              
of Maryland, Inc.                  )
                              )
Complaint Regarding                )              
Cable Programming Services Tier Rates   )              

                
                             ORDER

     Adopted:  July 20, 1998            Released:  July 23, 1998 

By the Deputy Chief, Cable Services Bureau:

     1.     In this Order we consider a complaint against the February 1, 1998 rate increase of the
above-referenced operator ("Operator") for its cable programming services tier ("CPST") in the community
referenced above.  We have already issued orders that resolved previous complaints against Operator's rates,
including an order ("Prior Order") which resolved a complaint against Operator's January 1, 1997 CPST rate. 
This Order addresses only the reasonableness of Operator's February 1, 1998 CPST rate increase.

     2.   Under the Communications Act, the Federal Communications Commission ("Commission")
is authorized to review the CPST rates of cable systems not subject to effective competition to ensure that rates
charged are not unreasonable.  If the Commission finds a rate to be unreasonable, it shall determine the correct
rate and any refund liability.   The Telecommunications Act of 1996 ("1996 Act") and our rules implementing
the new legislation ("Interim Rules"), require that complaints against the CPST rates be filed with the
Commission by a local franchising authority ("LFA") that has received more than one subscriber complaint. 

     3.   The LFA for the franchise area referenced above filed a complaint with the Commission on
May 13, 1998, against Operator's February 1, 1998 CPST rate increase from $17.92 to $19.16.  The LFA
verified that it received more than one subscriber complaint for the franchise area and that the first complaint
was received by the LFA on February 2, 1998.  The filing of a complete and timely LFA complaint triggers
an obligation upon the cable operator to file a justification of its CPST rates.  The Operator has the burden
of demonstrating that the CPST rates complained about are reasonable. 

     4.    To justify rates for the period beginning May 15, 1994 through a benchmark showing,
operators must use the FCC Form 1200 series.  Operators are permitted to make changes to their rates on
a quarterly basis using FCC Form 1210.  Operators may alternatively justify adjustments to their rates on
an annual basis using FCC Form 1240 to reflect reasonably certain and quantifiable changes in external costs,
inflation, and the number of regulated channels that are projected for the twelve months following the rate
change.  Any incurred cost that is not projected may be accrued with interest and added to rates at a later
time.  

     5.    Operator filed FCC Form 1240, for the projected period January 1, 1998 through December
31, 1998, to justify its CPST rate beginning February 1, 1998.  Upon review, we find that Operator did not
correctly calculate its maximum permitted rate ("MPR").   We adjusted Line A1 (Current Maximum
Permitted Rate) to $18.30 to conform with the revisions made in our Prior Order to Operator's FCC Form 1240
for the projected period January 1, 1997 through December 31, 1997.  Therefore, we revised Worksheet 1
(True-Up Period Inflation) which adjusted Line C1 (Inflation Factor for True-Up Period 1) to 1.0206.  We
also revised Line C3 (Current FCC Inflation Factor) to 1.0114.  We also revised Line D6 (Current True-Up
Segment) to $0.1570 and Line D7 (Current Inflation Segment) to $0.2443 to conform with the adjustments
made in our Prior Order.  These revisions reduced Operator's MPR to $18.86 for the projected period January
1, 1998 to December 31, 1998.  Because Operator's actual CPST rate, effective February 1, 1998, is $19.16,
we find Operator's actual CPST rate, effective February 1, 1998, to be unreasonable. 

     6.   Accordingly, IT IS ORDERED,  pursuant to Section 0.321 of the Commission's rules, 47
C.F.R. Section 0.321, that the CPST rate of $19.16 charged by Operator in the community referenced above,
effective February 1, 1998 to the present, IS UNREASONABLE.

     7.   IT IS FURTHER ORDERED, pursuant to Section 76.961 of the Commission's rules, 47
C.F.R.  76.961, that Operator shall refund to subscribers in the franchise area referenced above that portion
of the amount paid in excess of the maximum permitted CPST rate of $18.86 per month (plus franchise fees),
plus interest to the date of the refund, for the period February 2, 1998, the date of the first subscriber
complaint, through the day before Operator implements the maximum permitted CPST rate of $18.86.
     
     8.   IT IS FURTHER ORDERED that Operator shall promptly determine the overcharges to
CPST subscribers for the stated periods, and shall within 30 days of the release of this Order, file a report with
the Chief, Cable Services Bureau, stating the cumulative refund amount so determined (including franchise fees
and interest), describing the calculation thereof, and describing its plan to implement the refund within 60 days
of Commission approval of the plan. 

     9.   IT IS FURTHER ORDERED, pursuant to Section 0.321 of the Commission's rules, 47 C.F.R.
 0.321, that Operator take into account our FCC Form 1240 adjustments when calculating its maximum
permitted rate and performing the true-up calculation on its next FCC Form 1240.     

     10.  IT IS FURTHER ORDERED, pursuant to Section 0.321 of the Commission's rules, 47 C.F.R.
Section 0.321, that the complaint referenced herein against the rates charged by Operator in the community
set forth above IS GRANTED.


                              FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION 



                              John E. Logan
                              Deputy Chief, Cable Services Bureau