Cox, Massachusetts Lock Horns Over Effective Competition Petition

The Massachusetts Department of Telecommunications and Cable (MDTC) and state attorney general rely on arguments that were raised before, "and ... explicitly rejected," in the FCC's Charter Communications order, Cox Communications said in a docket 20-10 reply Thursday to state oppositions to its petition for an effective competition determination (see 1912190070). Cox also rejected arguments that deregulating the basic service tier would mean those rates increasing, saying it committed to the state that there won't be a basic service tier rate hike in service, equipment or installation until at least March 31, 2021, even though its current rates are below what's permitted. The MDTC and AG in oppositions to the Cox petition (see here and here) argued the Holland, Massachusetts, market isn't subject to effective competition, since the AT&T TV Now vMVPD service doesn't satisfy the local exchange carrier test and since AT&T TV Now isn't a comparable cable service because it lacks local broadcast channels.