An Anchorage consumer group is pushing for state regulation of Alaska cable television.

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Only one city in Alaska has regulated cable TV rates: Juneau. In contrast, in most Lower 48 communities, the rates cable companies charge customers are locally regulated, the Federal Communications Commission says.

So how has lack of regulation affected Alaska?

Badly, according to AkPIRG, the consumer group.

AkPIRG has issued a report claiming that General Communication Inc., the state's largest cable TV company, is charging rates for basic cable TV that grossly exceed the rates charged in similar-sized cities in the Lower 48.

"What consumers are stuck with is a company that gets to charge whatever it wants," said AkPIRG executive director Gabe Aceves.

GCI responded that the group's analysis was flawed. The cable companies serving the communities cited by AkPIRG -- Grand Rapids, Mich., Stockton, Calif., and Rochester, N.Y. -- are massive corporations that can charge less because they spread their costs among millions -- as opposed to Alaska's tens of thousands -- of customers, according to GCI.

"It's like comparing apples to kangaroos," said GCI spokesman David Morris.

"We're priced at the price we think we can sustain in this market," Morris said.

But pointing to Juneau, which has one of the lowest basic-cable rates in the state, AkPIRG claimed that Anchorage and other cities could enjoy lower cable costs if they were regulated.

The group said it planned to take its message to city leaders and state legislators.

GCI pointed out that Juneau doesn't have the lowest cable rates in the state, and the company is charging its Juneau customers less than maximum that regulators will allow in the city.

Ketchikan customers -- also served by GCI -- pay less than Juneauites for basic cable, and their service is unregulated.

CONSUMERS MUST ASK

The federal government started regulating cable TV rates in 1992, citing lack of competition, but Congress turned around four years later and deregulated the industry.

Many states and local governments stepped into the void. They now regulate cable television rates through "local franchising authorities," usually run by a local government, according to FCC media bureau officer Ron Parver. Juneau's LFA is the Regulatory Commission of Alaska, based in Anchorage.

Juneau is a rare case: Alaska law does not allow cable TV rate regulation unless subscribers in a specific location request it and approve it in an election. At least 15 percent of the local subscribers must participate in the election and 50 percent of them must vote yes to obtain an LFA, according to state law.

Juneau subscribers voted for regulation in the 1990s after becoming upset about the rates charged by GCI's predecessor, Cooke Cablevision. GCI became regulated in Juneau when it purchased Cooke, Morris said.

Since then, no other Alaska community has petitioned for cable TV regulation, said RCA spokeswoman Grace Salazar.

HIGH RATES?

Sorting out whether local cable TV rates are out of whack with other cities in the United States is not as simple as it looks. Cable companies offer a variety of pricing and channel options to consumers, and the options are rarely identical from one company to the next.

AkPIRG focused its analysis on cable companies' "basic" package -- usually a bare-bones collection of local channels. For Anchorage and Mat-Su, the basic package of 20 channels includes the local TV network affiliates, the Anchorage school and municipal stations, the community-access channel, C-Span and WGN, a Chicago station.

AkPIRG looked at monthly rates for basic packages in cities that are similar in size to Anchorage. It showed, for example, that Comcast Corp. -- the nation's largest cable company -- charges $15.99 for 33 channels in Grand Rapids, Mich. In Stockton, Comcast charged $12.99 for 24 channels. In Rochester, N.Y., Time Warner Cable charged $9.95 for 17 channels.

In Anchorage and Mat-Su, GCI charges $24.99 a month for 20 channels.

In general, the cost of living in Alaska is greater than many places in the Lower 48, but the cable service differences "appear exorbitant," AkPIRG said in its report.

In some ways, cable TV is like buying gasoline and other commodities: Companies charge what people are willing to pay, said Ed Sniffen, a state assistant attorney general.

He noted that some competition does exist if Alaskans prefer not to buy basic cable service. In Anchorage, people can purchase satellite TV service, though they will have to purchase more channels for a higher monthly rate.

One cable TV analyst said Friday that he tends to see "more aggressive promotion" in Lower 48 markets where there is more than one cable company competing for subscribers, but not lower rates.

The analyst, Ian Olgeirson of SNL Kagan, agreed with AkPIRG that most U.S. communities only have one wire cable operator. Most also have a couple of satellite providers, too, he said. SNL Kagan is a Virginia-based firm that analyzes the communications industry.

One thing is clear from comparing GCI's financial reports and Kagan's data: The revenue that GCI generates per customer is very similar to the national average.

GCI reaped $67.40 per month in revenue per cable TV subscriber on average in 2008.

The average national rate for revenue per subscriber was $66.88 last year, SNL Kagan said.

Find Elizabeth Bluemink online at adn.com/contact/ebluemink or call 257-4317.

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