Town battles with MediaOne, wins to lower Jerry Jingle area rates
Published on April 5th, 2000
STONEHAM, MA - Stoneham Town Counsel Bill Solomon caught errors in MediaOne's rate filing which, when corrected, should translate to lower cable bills for Stoneham subscribers.
Around 240 subscribers in the Jerry Jingle area of town, mostly residents of the Fellsview Condominiums, may see 15 cents shaved off their monthly basic cable rates for 2000. Thirty-one other cable districts throughout Massachusetts also received this modest cut when the state forced MediaOne to correct its figures. MediaOne (1) incorrectly assumed that previous provider Time Warner had adjusted rates or given customers a refund and (2) miscalculated the inflation adjustment when refiling.
Solomon found the errors and worked with the Cable Division of the Mass Department of Telecommunications and Energy to set things straight.
The Jerry Jingle area is under a separate license because a previous cable provider felt it could not serve this part of Stoneham. A second cable provider served the area as part of a larger district stretching into Melrose. When Time Warner took over all of Stoneham, the town was split into two separately licensed areas, and that is what MediaOne inherited when it came to town in 1999.
The Cable Division ruled in September 1998 that Time Warner's basic cable rate of $9.78 a month was 21 cents higher than the legal maximum for 1998. Time Warner's projections had been wrong. But the company did not want to change the rates this far into the year.
In the world of cable rate filing, Solomon said, it is common for the provider to file well into the year, depending first on projections and then making corrections.
Time Warner proposed, instead of a lump sum refund, to adjust the 1999 rates, lowering the maximum rate allowed to in effect refund the money the company overcharged subscribers in 1998.
As of January 1999 the cable license for the Jerry Jingle area was transferred from Time Warner to MediaOne. MediaOne adjusted the rate to $9.57 for 1999 to comply with the agreement Time Warner had made.
But when MediaOne calculated its 2000 basic rate of $9.66 a month in September 1999, the company based calculations on incorrect numbers from the past 12 months:
MediaOne's 1240, the official filing form, indicated a rate of $9.78 for nine months of 1998 and $9.57 for three (October-December). But Time Warner had never reduced its 1998 rate. Also, no evidence of a year-end refund could be found. Thus, MediaOne's 2000 calculation was flawed.
Stoneham challenged the rate and Solomon filed a correction with the Cable Division in January 2000, explaining the discrepancy. The Cable Division in turn asked MediaOne to refile.
When MediaOne refiled in February 2000, the actual charges from October-December 1998 were used in calculating the new rate of $9.60 per month. The correction would have cut subscribers 2000 monthly bills by six cents.
But before any change could be implemented Solomon caught another oversight: MediaOne had not used the most current inflation figure as is required by law upon every filing.
MediaOne refiled again in March 2000 using the correct inflation figures, which will bring the rate to $9.51, 15 cents less a month, when it takes effect.
Solomon said MediaOne appears ready to agree.
"The new rate could appear on the next bill," he said.
Also, because the $9.51 rate should have begun in January 2000 and customers to date in 2000 have paid $9.66 a month, MediaOne will give subscribers another refund.
The town is also negotiating the rates for the remainder of the town.
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