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                            Before the
                Federal Communications Commission
                      Washington, D.C. 20554
          
In the Matter of                )
                                )
Suburban Cable TV Co., Inc.     )  CUID No. PA2278 (Newtown Township)
                                )            
                                )            
                                )
Order Dismissing Complaint      )


                             ORDER

   Adopted:  January 14, 1999           Released:  January 22, 1999  

By the Acting Chief, Financial Analysis and Compliance Division, Cable Services Bureau:

     1.  In this Order we dismiss a complaint against the rate that the above-captioned operator
("Operator") was charging for its cable programming services tier ("CPST") in the community referenced above
because the complaint is procedurally defective.  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.

     2.   The procedures established with the Implementation of the Telecommunications Act of 1996
("1996 Act") provide that a local franchising authority ("LFA") must file a valid CPST complaint with the
Commission within 180 days of the effective date of the rate increase.  Section 76.1402(b) of the Commission's
rules require that "[b]efore filing a rate complaint with the Commission, the local franchise authority must first
give the cable operator written notice, including a draft FCC Form 329, of the local franchise authority's intent
to file the complaint.  The local franchise authority must give an operator a minimum of 30 days to file with
the local franchise authority the relevant FCC forms that must be filed to justify a rate increase . . . ."  In this
instance, the Township of Newton ("Township") filed a complaint against Operator's April 1, 1998 CPST rate
increase with the Commission on September 25, 1998.  The Township, however, did not serve Operator with
a draft complaint in such a manner as to give Operator the opportunity to file its response within 30 days and
struck that part of its FCC Form 329 which requires that it certify that it gave the Operator the notice required
under the Commission's rules.  Consequently, the Township's complaint was returned as invalid. 

     3.   On November 5, 1998, the Township refiled its complaint along with a letter stating that
Sections 76.954 and 76.955 of the Commission's rules allows a local franchise authority ("LFA") to file a
defective complaint, provided it makes the minimum showing required and then cure the defective complaint
by refiling a corrected complaint within 30 days of the Commission's dismissal notice.  On November 16, 1998,
the Commission received in response to the complaint a motion to dismiss ("Motion") filed by Operator.  In
that Motion, Operator asserts that the complaint should be dismissed because Newton failed to comply with
Section 76.1402(b).

     4.   We find that by filing its CPST complaint on the 177th day after Operator's rate increase went
into effect, without any notice to Operator, the Township violated Section 76.1402.  Section 76.1402 requires
an LFA to give a cable operator at least 30 days to file a timely response, within the 180 days the LFA has to
file a complaint with the Commission.  Had the Township filed its defective complaint with the Commission
earlier in the 180-day period, so that it could be cured and so that Operator could timely respond, before the
180-day period ended, then the Township's reliance on Sections 76.954 and 76.955 could be justified.  By
waiting until the last four days possible to file its complaint, the Township ensured that its complaint could only
be dismissed with prejudice.

     5.   Accordingly, IT IS ORDERED, pursuant to Section 623(a)(2)(A) and (B) of the
Communications Act of 1934, as amended, 47 U.S.C. Section 543(a)(2)(A) and (B), that the complaint against
the CPST rates charged by Operator in the community referenced above IS DISMISSED WITH PREJUDICE 
and the motion to dismiss filed by Operator IS GRANTED.

     6.   This action is taken pursuant to delegated authority under Section 0.321 of the Commission's
rules, 47 C.F.R.  0.321.


                         FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION



                         Margaret M. Egler
                         Acting Chief, Financial Analysis and Compliance Division
                         Cable Services Bureau