Officials want new cable fee structure

Academics, legislators and city councilors embrace the idea of charging different fees for different cable television services, but they also feel that now is not the right time to implement such a policy, given that Taiwan's cable industry is currently monopolized.

"Before the cable television market becomes a free one and the cable law is changed, the central government should let local governments regulate the cable business which is now monopolized," said Liu Yu-li (劉幼琍), a mass communication professor at the National Chengchi University (政治大學).

Liu made his comments yesterday at a forum sponsored by the Taipei City Government held to discuss a recent controversial decision by the government regarding cable fees. In July, the Cabinet's Government Information Office (新聞局) proposed new rules for cable TV services which have met with strong opposition from Taipei City's Department of Information (新聞處).

The government says its plans will empower cable TV providers to decide the fees of pay channels and pay-per-view channels, saying a free market would create competition which would benefit consumers.

The city government, however, says that the proposal will undermine the interests of consumers because fees would no longer be controlled.

Currently, cable TV providers are required by the Cable Television Law (有線廣播電視法) to file annual fee structures to local governments in August.

Cable TV providers offer basic channels, pay channels and pay-per-view channels. The ceiling for Taipei city monthly cable TV fees for the three services combined is set at NT$550 this year. Under the central government's proposal, the amount may increase to more than NT$1,000 if a consumer is interested in subscribing to the basic channels in addition to four pay channels.

King Pu-tsung (金浦聰), city spokesperson and the director of the city's Department of Information, said that government's proposal violates the essence of the Cable Television Law.

"Although the law allows different fees for the different services provided by cable TV providers, it doesn't allow them to set fee structures," he said.

Besides, it makes perfect sense for local governments to regulate the fees of pay channels and pay-per-view channels, King added.

"Since the Cable Television Law allows local governments to regulate the cable television fees, I wonder why it doesn't apply to pay channels and pay-per-view channels whose signals are transmitted via cables," he said.

New Party city councilman James Wei (魏憶龍) said that the power struggle between the central and local governments had politicized a simple consumer issue.

"It's a shame that the Government Information Office uses the free market theory as its protective shield when it's not capable of regulating cable TV providers," he said. "How do you expect consumers to get a fair deal from conglomerates?"

KMT Legislator Apollo Chen (陳學聖) said that it seemed suspicious that the government has promoted the plan so aggressively.

"I wonder why it is pushing the plan so hard when King is to leave his post in August and the legislators are busy campaigning for the year-end election," Chen said.