A newly drafted tiered-pricing plan for cable TV operators has failed to introduce more affordable and flexible services, but instead lined the pockets of providers, the Taiwan Solidarity Union (TSU) said yesterday.
The National Communications Commission submitted the plan to the legislature in June.
The proposals would remove the NT$600 cap on monthly cable service fees and give cable operators more flexibility to deliver service packages, a move that the TSU described as pro-business.
The Legislative Yuan’s Transportation Committee, which was responsible for launching a review, did not do so.
The plan, albeit without a legislative review, is considered approved, as an administrative order should be automatically approved if a legislative review is not conducted within three months of an order being submitted to the legislature, the TSU said.
“The committee did not even raise a motion to discuss the plan, an oversight that affects the nation’s 5 million viewing households,” former TSU legislator Lai Chen-chang (賴振昌) said.
Although the plan is intended to introduce more affordable and flexible cable packages, it will have little effect on existing pricing practices, as most households still pay flat fees of about NT$550 per month for cable service access without being able to choose channels a la carte, TSU Publicity Department deputy director Chen Chia-lin (陳嘉霖) said.
While a major cable operator in southern Taiwan has offered three cable packages, there is hardly any price difference between the plans, at NT$580, NT$560 and NT$540, TSU Department of Organization director Chang Chao-lin (張兆林) said.
“Is there any difference between this ‘tiered-pricing’ and a flat rate?” Chang asked.
The TSU called on the government to require operators to offer low-priced packages so consumers are not forced to pay for channels they hardly ever watch.
“A basic package priced at NT$100 per month would be ideal for viewers who hardly watch anything other than basic channels,” Chen said, adding that such low-cost packages could save a household thousands of New Taiwan dollars per year.
When drafting the tiered-pricing plan, the commission dropped a popular option that would have required operators to offer basic packages for a maximum of NT$200 per month.
Without being required to provide basic packages, cable operators can continue to profit from the absence of more affordable and flexible cable plans on the market, the TSU said.
The commission held hearings about the plan before it was submitted, but none of the consumer rights groups took part in the hearings, the TSU said.
The removal of the price cap also deprives the commission of regulatory control over cable operators, the party said.
Lai called on the central government to order local governments to enforce an effective tiered-pricing scheme to reduce viewing costs to make up for the commission’s slack regulation.
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