Cable One is no longer subject to rate regulation in Texarkana, Ark., following a decision today by the Federal Communications Commission.
Under federal law, cable companies' rates are somewhat regulated because they are considered to be without competition. In a decision that may eventually affect the Joplin area, FCC commissioners agreed with Cable One's claim that it has effective competition in Texarkana and 22 Texas communities from DirectTV and Echostar.
Cable One was to able to show that the satellite companies combined reach more than 50 percent of the Texarkana area, which is enough to assume that it has effective competition, according to FCC regulations.
Texarkana is one of the communities where Nexstar pulled its local station, KTAL, off Cable One at the end of the 2004 calendar year after the cable company failed to pay the 30 cents per customer per month Nexstar was asking for retransmission rights. After that time, some cable viewers began turning to the satellite providers to continue to receive the Nexstar station.