Special Feature: Bicycle Touring in Eastern Europe
Bankruptcy
AT&T-Comcast Merger: Transfer Toolkit 2002
Intelligent Transportation Systems (ITS)
Recapturing Telecommunications Facilities Abandoned in the Public Rights-of-Way
October 2001 Street Law
Tower Toolkit 2002
Franchise Fees
March 2001 Local Governments and 9-1-1
February 2001 The Legal Thicket of Cable Overbuilds
The Feature Article, Municipalities and Communications Networks, which was originally posted in May 2000 has been updated and now appears as the October 2001 Street Law
March 2000 Open Access
August 1999 Cable Franchise Renewals
June 1999 Cable Rate Regulation
April 1999 Right-of-Way in the Courts
February 1999 OVS Decision
December 1998 TCI - AT&T Transfer
October 1998 State Right-of-Way Legislation August 1998 ECI Decision
May 1998 Cable Franchise Transfers
Franchise Fees (Baltimore Decision)
December 1997 BOMA
Universal Service Decision
October 1997 Troy Decision |
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CATV Franchise Fees -- Does the Rent Increase
with the Benefit?
by Frederick E. Ellrod III and Holly L. Saurer
Overview
Franchise fees represent part of the compensation a community receives in exchange for a cable operator's use and occupation of public property - the public rights-of-way. Thus, a franchise fee is in the nature of a rental charge, and is not a tax. A community's right to charge a franchise fee stems from its basic rights over its own property. These rights do not arise from federal law, but predate the Cable Act.
While franchise fees are often used as a source of funding for a community's cable-related activities or administration of a cable franchise, there is nothing that requires franchise fees to be used for these purposes. (In fact, a provision of the Cable Act, 47 U.S.C. § 542(h)(2)(i), makes clear that no federal agency can regulate how a community chooses to use these funds.) Thus, franchise fees can be contributed to a local government's general revenues, dedicated to PEG support or cable oversight, or used for any other function, depending on the needs of the community - just as with any other income from the community's assets.
Despite the long history of franchise fees, there are certain complexities and unresolved issues in this area. This feature will examine five such important issues.
- Cable Modem Revenues and Franchise Fees
- Franchise Fee Pass-Through under the Dallas Decision
- Excess Pass-Through of Fees on Non-Subscriber Revenues -- The Pasadena Petition
- Franchise Fees and In-Kind Benefits
- Franchise Fees and Reimbursement of Costs
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