Cable rates up in 2003, FCC says

WASHINGTON — Cable television rates rose in 2003, though not as steeply as they did in the previous year, the Federal Communications Commission reported Friday.

The average monthly bill, including programming and equipment, was $45.32 on Jan. 1, 2004, up 5.4 percent from $42.99 on Jan. 1, 2003, the FCC said in its annual report on cable rates. The average bill rose 7.8 percent in the previous one-year period.

The FCC didn’t say why rates did not rise as much in 2003. But a separate FCC study released Friday found cable companies continuing to face stiff competition from satellite television services like DirecTV and Dish Network.

About 72 percent of the 92 million households that paid for TV in June 2004 subscribed to cable, down from 78 percent in June 2001. Roughly 25 percent of such homes were satellite TV subscribers last June, up from 19 percent in 2001.

That competition has spurred the cable industry to invest $95 billion since 1996 for improvements like digital cable, on-demand video and high-speed Internet access, said Robert Sachs, president of the National Cable & Telecommunications Association, which represents cable operators.

“The result of this highly competitive marketplace is that consumers today enjoy a better value for their money,” Sachs said.

Critics contend consumers still aren’t getting their money’s worth.

The 5.4 percent hike in cable rates over 2003 outpaced the 1.1 percent rise in inflation, the FCC reported.