Media advocacy groups and six cities and counties want the D.C. Circuit to undo a Federal Communications Commission order limiting how much local governments can charge cable companies in franchise fees.
The FCC’s August order lets cable operators subtract the cost of offering public-access channels and other services from franchise fees, which can’t exceed 5% of an operator’s revenue. The order also prevents local governments from regulating cable operators’ broadband internet services.
The Alliance for Communications Democracy, Alliance for Community Media, along with San Antonio, San Francisco, and four other local governments, Oct. 23 told the U.S. Court of Appeals ...