DA 94-1072 Federal Communications Commission Record 9 FCC Red No. 21

shall provide that if Paragon is unable to fulfill its refund Before the obligations for any reason, then the surety will fulfill that Federal Communications Commission obligation to the City, on behalf of Paragon©s subscribers.4 Washington, D.C. 20554 4. Accordingly, IT IS ORDERED that the local rate order adopted by the City of Grapevine, is STAYED pending the resolution of Paragon Cable©s Appeal. This In the Matter of action is taken by the Chief. Cable Services Bureau, pursu ant to authority delegated by Section 0.321 of the Commis PARAGON CABLE sion©s rules. 47 C.F.R. § 0.321. 5. IT IS FURTHER ORDERED that the amount of the Petition for a Stay refunds required by the City of Grapevine©s local rate order of a Local Rate Order of the SHALL BE PLACED by Paragon Cable in an interest- bearing escrow account, OR SHALL BE SECURED by the City of Grapevine, TX posting of a bond for the benefit of the City for the amount of money the City has ordered Paragon to refund, plus interest. The amount of the bond shall be the total amount ORDER of money subject to the refund order, plus interest on that amount for a twelve (12) month period from the date of Adopted: September 30, 1994; Released: September 30, 1994 this Order. Proof of Paragon©s compliance with this Order shall be filed with the Commission within thirty (30) days By the Chief, Cable Services Bureau: of the release of this Order. Interest shall accrue, or be computed, at the prevailing U.S. Internal Revenue Service 1. Paragon Cable ("Paragon"), the franchisee in the in Rate. stant case, filed on August 15, 1994. a Petition for Stay of Enforcement ("Stay Petition") of the local rate order adopt FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION ed by its local franchising authority, the City of Grapevine, Texas ("City") on July 5, 1994. Paragon filed a Petition for Review ("Appeal") of the City©s local rate order on August 5, 1994. The City filed a response to Paragon©s Appeal and Stay Petition on September 14, 1994. The local rate order William H. Johnson in question establishes a new rate schedule for Paragon©s basic service tier and associated equipment, and directs Acting Chief, Cable Services Bureau Paragon to issue refunds to subscribers for charges in ex cess of the newly established rates between September 1, 1993 and July 14, 1994.© The sole issue raised by Paragon in its Stay Petition centers on the regulatory treatment of Paragon©s a la carte offerings.2 2. The Commission has issued numerous Letters of In quiry to cable operators regarding the regulatory treatment of a la carte offerings. While a Letter of Inquiry has not been issued to the operator in this case, we will grant Paragon©s Stay Petition pending the resolution of its Appeal on the merits, in order to minimize subscriber confusion and ensure regulatory consistency in this important area, as the Commission has done in other similar cases.3 3. During the period of this stay. Paragon is ordered to deposit in an interest-bearing escrow account the total amount of money that the City has ordered Paragon to refund to its customers. Alternatively, Paragon may elect to post a bond for the benefit of the City. The amount of the bond shall be the total amount of money subject to the refund order, plus interest on that amount for a twelve (12) month period from the date of this Order. The bond

1 Under the Consumer Protection and Com 94-512 (Rel. May 17, 1994); Paragon Cable of Southern Califor petition Act of 1992 and the Commission©s implementing regu nia (La Habra. CA), DA 94-513 (Rel. May 17, 1994); Warner lations, local franchising authorities may regulate rates for basic Cable Communications. Inc. (Wadsworth, OH), DA 94-511 (Rel. cable service and associated equipment. See Cable Television May 17, 1994). Consumer Protection and competition Act, Pub. L. No. 102-385, 4 See, of Tallahassee, Inc., DA 94-1071, 106 Stat. 1460 (1992); Communications Act, § 623(b), as amend released this date, in which the Commission authorizes the ed, 47 U.S.C. § 543(b) (1993). operator to post a bond in lieu of establishing an escrow ac 2 A la carte offerings are channels that can be subscribed to count. As we are requiring in Comcast, we would expect any individually or as part of a package. bond posted by Paragon to provide that the surety©s guarantee is 3 See, Paragon Cable of Southern (Brea, CA), DA absolute.

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