Re: HR 1542

[Daniel Senie <dts () senie com>]

At 05:42 PM 5/5/01, Charles Sprickman wrote:

> Adelphia is not a regulated public utility, that's the difference.

Though a different cable company, a letter I received from ATT Broadband's 
legal counsel might be of interest. I've been charged some 17 cents in 
various taxes on top of my $49.95/month cable modem bill (I don't subscribe 
to cable TV, just the data service). So I sent a letter asking why my 
Internet service is taxed, where the State of Massachusetts does not impose 
a sales tax on services, and where I thought the cable modem business was 
outside regulation.

The response letter I received indicated that the cable modem business, 
like EVERYTHING else in the cable business WAS INDEED regulated by the 
state and local governments. I'm keeping a copy of this letter to use when 
next ATT claims the local cable commission has no control over the cable 
modems (next license renewal, I intend to push for open access).

I'll post a PDF of this letter on the web somewhere if anyone is interested.

Dan
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Daniel Senie                                        dts () senie com
Amaranth Networks Inc.                    http://www.amaranth.com