Road Runner fees to drop

By David Butts
Advertiser Staff Writer

Hawai'i subscribers to Road Runner's Internet service will see a $2.02 reduction in their monthly bill and may be in line for a rebate of about $40 per customer.

The Federal Communications Commission, in a 3-1 vote, said yesterday that cable companies nationwide should not collect a government franchise fee from customers for cable Internet service.

Cable companies will continue to collect the fees on cable television service.

"This is good news for our customers," said Nate Smith, president of Oceanic Time Warner Cable, which has about 80,000 Internet customers in the state. "If it (the FCC ruling) goes through as it reads now, there will also be rebates."

The FCC did not say when the ruling will go into effect or if it is to be retroactive, said Clyde Sonobe, of the state Department of Commerce and Consumer Affairs.

In Hawai'i, the state requires Oceanic to charge cable customers the 4.5 percent fee on their total cable bill. Oceanic collects the fee and distributes it to 'Olelo Community Television (which gets 3 percent), Hawai'i Public Broadcasting (1 percent) and the state (0.5 percent).

The FCC ruling means 'Olelo's $3.7 million annual budget, which is provided by Oceanic, could be cut by about 12 percent, said Lurline McGregor, 'Olelo president and CEO.

"We're disappointed," she said. "It's a loss of revenue for us."