Effective Competition Change Could Have Unintended Consequences, NAB Says

Making effective competition a rebuttable presumption could have “unintended consequences,” NAB said in a meeting with Chairman Tom Wheeler’s aide Maria Kirby Tuesday, according to an ex parte notice posted Wednesday. The proposal (see 1503200039) goes “far beyond” the Satellite Television Extension and Localism Act Reauthorization’s “limited directive to modify the petition filing process for small cable operators,” and could lead to higher rates for cable customers, NAB said. The commission is “best served by confining the NPRM to the four corners of what Congress instructed it to do,” NAB said.