Dish Continues Push Against DBS Regulatory Fee Hike

Hiking the per-subscriber direct broadcast satellite regulatory fee hurts consumers because that expense will be passed on to them, and the FCC hasn't said what regulatory developments of the past year justify such a "dramatic" rate increase for the third consecutive year, Dish Network argued. In a docket 17-134 ex parte filing posted Tuesday, it recapped a series of phone calls to eighth-floor aides in which Dish said agency arguments that a higher DBS regulatory fee would bring it closer to parity with cable TV and IPTV run counter to the FCC having acknowledged DBS isn't identical to cable and that it and DirecTV don't generate regulatory costs near what cable does. Dish and DirecTV have opposed the proposed 38 cents per subscriber fee on DBS (see 1706230027).