Der Undue Prozess at the FCC : Part Deux

The Federal Communications Commission appears to be conducting a far-ranging data gathering effort concerning cable prices and analog-to-digital channel movements under the guise of individual complaint enforcement. The FCC's regular processes and procedures appear to have been perverted to achieve ends not within the agency's delegated authority, making it difficult to conceive how consumers will benefit from this diversion of public and private resources. Four flaws in the FCC's investigation: (1) the FCC has very limited authority to regulate cable rate levels; (2) it is local franchising authorities that are statutorily empowered to carry out enforcement activities related to service change notifications; (3) the FCC has no rules either prohibiting cable operators from migrating cable programming channels from analog to digital or requiring corresponding per-channel rate reductions; and (4) to the extent the FCC is required by Congress to collect data on the multichannel video programming distributor market and cable pricing generally, the agency is directed to do so by means of its annual video competition and price survey reports. Thus, not only is the digital cable probe being conducted in a manner that calls into question the fundamental fairness of agency processes (with guilt virtually presumed), it seems to be pursuing goals hard to fathom. The probe is likely to slow progress on ensuring a smooth transition to digital television transmission and encouraging the speedy deployment of ever faster broadband services as enormous resources are diverted to producing and reviewing information relevant mostly to activities that lie outside the scope of the FCC's regulatory jurisdiction. The public interest would be better served if the FCC would 'stick to its knitting' and faithfully carry out its statutory mission