CAPE AND JACKSON GET BEST CABLE DEAL IN REGION

At least for the next few months, cable television subscribers in Cape Girardeau and Jackson will pay lower rates for more channels than nearby systems. However, compared to St. Louis, TCI subscribers in Cape Girardeau pay more for fewer channels.

TCI plans to raise rates June 1. The exact amount of the raise is not known, but it will probably be about 4 percent.

In Cape Girardeau right now, the largest number of channels a resident can see without subscribing to any premium channels with TCI is the variety pack of 32 channels for $26.24. St. Louis city subscribers to TCI pay $24.93 for 55 channels with no premium channels.

In Fruitland, where Sikeston-based SEMO Cable Company runs the cable system, a 31-channel package costs $26.74, while a 34-channel expanded basic package from Time Warner in Kennett costs $28.32, a 25-channel package from Falcon Cable in Scott City costs $28.99, and a 43-channel package from Cairo Cablevision costs $29.92.

In all those systems, the only way to have more stations is to buy premium programming services.

On a per-channel basis, Cairo Cablevision, owned by Rifkin Acquisition Partners, charges the least at 70 cents. TCI and Time Warner are almost in a dead heat for second place with 82 and 83 cents per channel, with SEMO's close behind at 87 cents. Falcon's charge is the highest at $1.06 per channel.

Although cities grant franchises to cable companies, they have little power to regulate price. Under the Cable Television Act of 1992, with revisions in the Communications Act of 1996, cities control the cost of basic service, the quality of service and the kinds of equipment used.

Basic service in Cape Girardeau means 18 channels for $11.64 a month.

Small cable operators like SEMO are exempt from regulation. Only those that serve at least 1 percent of the subscribers in the United States can be regulated.

TCI is the largest cable company in the country, with Time Warner second. Falcon is no dwarf either with 1.2 million subscribers nationally to rank 13th, according to figures supplied by the Federal Communications Commission.

The federal government, acting through the FCC, controls costs of the upper tiers of service but does not regulate premium channels or pay-per-view charges.

Cities can file complaints with the FCC about "excessive" rate increases, however that rarely seems to make a difference, said Eric Cunningham, city attorney of Cape Girardeau.

"We sent a complaint well over two years ago," Cunningham said. "It went on and on and on until it was just dismissed by the FCC."

The St. Louis city government has an office devoted solely to cable regulation. It has lost some cases against TCI and won consumers small refunds on occasion, said Susan Littlefield, cable regulation administrator for St. Louis.

The FCC itself has a complicated set of regulations that govern pricing, said Morgan Broman, spokesman for cable services for the FCC in Washington, D.C. It takes into account inflation and the costs of the individual programming services and equipment in setting benchmark prices that it uses as guides for each system's price structure.

Under the plan, cable systems in larger cities charge less because of economies of scale, Littlefield said. Much of the cost of the central facilities are the same no matter the number of subscribers.

Of increasing importance is the cost of programming services. Littlefield said the exact prices are closely guarded secrets.

Roger Harms, general manager of TCI in Cape Girardeau, said the expected raise will pass on costs from programming services. The FCC "pretty much sets the rates," Harms said.