The FCC should end a ban on cable systems and competitive LECs in...

The FCC should end a ban on cable systems and competitive LECs in the same area being commonly owned, the NCTA and member Time Warner Cable said. Or the agency should read Section 652(b) of the Communications Act to apply only to deals between cable operators and incumbent LECs. NCTA’s filing reported on the association and Time Warner Cable executives’ meeting with aides to FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski and Wireline Bureau staffers on the group’s petition to end that ban. “Enforcing Section 652 in the context of cable-CLEC transactions impedes procompetitive transactions and can deny consumers the resulting benefits, and thereby undermines the public interest,” NCTA said. Time Warner Cable is awaiting commission approval of its $3 billion purchase of Insight Communications, a cable company that offers phone service. The combination would need a cable/LEC cross-ownership rule waiver (CD Dec 19 p4). NCTA’s filing Friday is in docket 11-82 (http://xrl.us/bmpkip).