The FCC did adopt a Report and Order banning the use of exclusivity clauses of video services to apartment complexes, but the order does not apply to private cable operators such as NTC.
"None of the services provided by Shentel Converged Services are affected by the proposed ban," said Jonathan Spencer, vice president and general counsel at NTC, which is a Shentel company. "We are a private cable operator, we do not hold a franchise, we're not subject to regulation in that regard."
Spencer said that the FCC's order only applies to local franchise operators. He cited Comcast, Time Warner Cable and Cox Cable as examples of companies that cannot enter into an agreement with complexes because of the ban.
Sena Fitzmaurice, senior director, Corporate Communications and Government Affairs of Comcast said in an e-mail that the concessions that building owners have been able to bargain for on behalf of their residents will be lost because of the ban.
"Consumers in apartment buildings and condos across the nation received a blow (yesterday) from the action taken by the FCC," said Fitzmaurice. "The result of this decision is likely to be higher prices for services and years of litigation and uncertainty for consumers."
According to a FCC news release, the commission also adopted a Further Notice of the Proposed Rulemaking that seeks comment on whether they should take action to address exclusivity clauses entered into by DBS providers, private cable operators, and other MVPDs. However, at this time these providers are not subject to the FCC's new regulation.
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