Taxes, Surcharges, and Fees

We have worked very hard to hold down rate increases. We periodically need to adjust rates due to increases we incur in programming and business costs. TV networks continue to demand major increases in the costs they charge us to carry their networks. We will continue to negotiate to keep costs as low as possible. You are our priority.

Our contracts prohibit us from providing information by individual TV station and networks.

These programming cost increases are not unique to RCN. Our competitors are being affected as well. RCN provides the best value for our customer’s entertainment dollars. Our high-speed Internet products are industry leading including the fastest speeds and best prices.

If you are experiencing trouble with your service please contact us.

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If you are signed up for one of our promotional packages you’ll continue to experience great savings off our regular retail rates for the services you chose, until the end of your promotional period. If you have other services and equipment outside of the service package you may see an increase in those equipment rates and you will see an increase in the associated surcharges, taxes and fees as applicable.

Below please find a summary of the various taxes, surcharges, and fees. Unless otherwise notated, the listed taxes, surcharges, and/or fees are neither government mandated nor a tax, surcharge, or fee imposed on you by the government. They are either a surcharge and/or fee RCN assesses and retains.

• Broadcast TV Surcharge is applied to all digital TV packages to help offset the costs of programming content and delivery of the local and regional broadcast television signals to our customers.
• Sports Surcharge is applied to those video customers who have Signature TV, Premiere or Sports Tiers to help offset the delivery and cost of programming associated with professional, collegiate and amateur games and other sports content.
• Entertainment Networks Surcharge is applied to all video customers with Signature TV and above. This helps offset the costs associated with the programming and delivery of entertainment networks such as Discovery/Scripps, Comcast/NBC Universal, Turner, ABC/Disney/ESPN/Fox and others.
• Network Access and Maintenance Fee helps defray costs associated with building and maintaining RCN’S fiber rich broadband network, as well as the costs of expanding network capacity to support the continued increase in customers' average broadband consumption.
• The Municipal Construction Surcharge (New York and Chicago) is applied to all cable and Internet customers, whether a la carte or in a bundle. Phone only customers are not included and will not see this surcharge. This surcharge is designed to recover a portion of the expenses RCN incurs from government mandated relocation of its facilities that are in the public rights-of-way to prevent interference with street repairs, public construction projects or other activities required for public health, safety or convenience.
• A Regulatory Recovery Fee of 2% applies to recover the cost of complying with certain federal, state, and/or local impositions related to voice service. It is a monthly charge to defray a portion of the fees paid to support government programs such as Telecommunications Relay Service and Local Number Portability, along with other charges assessed by the FCC, and additional indirect costs associated with administering and complying with government programs.
• Periodically, franchise, utility, PEG fees and other government mandated fees and taxes are also adjusted in keeping with regulatory requirements. These fees and taxes are government mandated and we are required to comply.
• For a complete listing of Taxes, Surcharges, and Fees in your area, please refer to your monthly invoice or click here.

No. If you subscribe to Limited Basic only and no other video packages or tiers, the Sports or Entertainment Network Surcharge will not be assessed to your monthly bill.

The surcharges and fees (Broadcast TV Surcharge, Sports Surcharge, Entertainment Networks Surcharge, Network Access & Maintenance Fee, and the Municipal Construction Surcharge) are not imposed by the government and are subject to change. They are either a surcharge or fee that RCN assesses and retains. These surcharges and fees are not franchise fees, which are imposed by local franchising authorities (municipalities) as compensation for RCN’s use of the public right-of-ways or easements. These surcharges and fees are also not taxes, which RCN collects on behalf of local, state, and federal governments.

The monthly rate for cable TV is based on fees paid for TV programming and the cost of operating and maintaining the cable TV system so that our signals can reach subscribers’ homes with quality and reliability. We are continually improving and upgrading our network to meet the growing needs of our customers. We have invested millions in our network and services in 2020 and will continue to invest in 2021.

While we pledge to hold prices as low as possible, annual adjustments are necessary because of the rising cost of TV programming – specific to broadcast, sports and entertainment networks.

In recent years, broadcasters and network owners have become very aggressive, demanding increasingly larger payments for carriage of their “must see” network shows and their family of networks when historically most channels were available at much lower costs to consumers and the cable TV provider.

The majority of cable companies are now passing along whole or partial surcharges to their cable customers to cover the retransmission costs from local broadcast TV stations, sports and entertainment networks. And those who are not will probably begin doing so in the future as rates continue to rise. These costs are going up dramatically for all distributors.

The Broadcast TV Surcharge is applied to all digital TV packages to offset the costs of programming content and delivery of the local and regional broadcast television signals to our customers.

Broadcast TV stations distribute their signals over the air, using free spectrum granted to them by the federal government. In effect, taxpayers are subsidizing the distribution of broadcast, or “network-affiliated,” TV signals. These same broadcast TV stations are then allowed by the government to charge cable and satellite companies for their signals — and if we (the cable operator) don’t agree to pay, broadcasters will drop their channels from your lineup, thereby adversely impacting our customers. Historically, these fees were made available to RCN at low cost or no cost. This is no longer the case — cable TV operators are forced to pay rapidly escalating fees demanded by the broadcast TV network owners.

The Sports Surcharge is applied to those video customers who have Signature TV, Premiere or Sports Tiers to help offset the delivery and cost of programming associated with professional, collegiate and amateur games and other sports content.

Sporting events are not limited to sports networks such as ESPN, MLB Network, NHL Network or other sports-centric channels. The rates we pay for non-sports networks are also affected by sports programming. General entertainment channels such as TBS, TNT and USA, carry live sports in addition to non-sports entertainment programming. In total, more than 30 channels on your lineup carry live sports – and their rates are all affected by the increasing cost of sports programming and the delivery of these channels.

The Entertainment Networks surcharge is applied to all video customers with Signature TV and above. This helps offset the costs associated with the programming and delivery of entertainment networks such as Discovery/Scripps, Comcast/NBC Universal, Turner, ABC/Disney/ESPN/Fox and others.

• Carrying individual channels instead of a network owner’s entire “family of networks” is not an option offered to cable TV providers like RCN. We are forced to carry ALL networks from a given network owner.
• Most carriage agreements require cable TV providers to pay large programming rate hikes or forgo carriage of all networks — with no in between option.
• Network owners have also forced cable TV providers to carry channels on specific tiers as part of the agreement, which drives costs higher.
• Networks are also forcing higher fees on cable TV providers for TV Everywhere and On Demand carriage as part of carriage agreements.
• Cable TV providers are required to pay a fee for every household who receives that channel, regardless of whether anyone in that household even watches the channel.

To ensure lower viewed networks get distribution and therefore, earn more advertising revenue for network owners.

Visit the websites below and find out how to write your Congressman or Senator and let them know your feelings. They put these regulations into effect and only they can change them.

• House of Representatives
• United States Senate

Over the past 65 years, Cable TV has gone through a series of transitions, technologically and legally:

1948	Cable television first became available in the US in 1948, with subscription services to relay over-the-air commercial broadcasting television channels.
1948 – 1972	Cable Television extends the geographic reach of over- the-air television stations and provides for consistently good quality reception not available with a rooftop antenna or rabbit ears.
1972	The FCC implements the “Must Carry Rule”. The Must- Carry rule mandates that cable companies carry the signals of all local broadcasters within a 60-mile area.
1992	The FCC passes the Retransmission Act of 1992, giving broadcast stations a choice of requiring cable companies to carry them under the must-carry rules or negotiating with cable companies for compensation to carry their broadcast signals.
1992 – 2005	Cable TV providers generally resisted broadcaster demands for cash compensation on the grounds that the programming was available “off- air” for free.
2005 – 2010	Broadcasters and networks increase demands for cash compensation for programming carriage and occasionally remove a channel from cable TV providers when fees are in dispute.
2011 – PRESENT	Broadcasters and networks demand gigantic fee increases from cable TV providers such as RCN – as much as 300%! TV stations and networks engage in several public disputes resulting in customer blackouts.

Retransmission consent refers to a provision of the 1992 United States Cable Television Protection and Competition Act that requires cable operators and other multi-channel video programming distributors to obtain permission from broadcasters before carrying their programming. In exchange, a broadcaster may propose that the cable operator pay cash to carry the station or ask for other forms of consideration. The cable operator may refuse the broadcaster’s proposal and the broadcaster can withhold permission for the cable operator to carry the programming. It boils down to a negotiation to arrive at an equitable agreement for all parties.

Unlike cable TV networks, broadcast TV stations distribute their signals over the air, using free spectrum granted to them by the federal government. In effect, taxpayers subsidize the distribution of broadcast TV signals. These same broadcast TV stations are then allowed by the government to charge cable and satellite distributors for their signals — and if we don’t agree to pay, broadcasters can force us to drop their channels. It’s all part of a process known as “retransmission consent negotiations.”

Without the written consent of the local broadcast station ownership, cable and satellite companies are not allowed by law to carry those signals.

Twenty years later, the competitive environment for cable TV providers has changed dramatically. Companies that own the local broadcast TV stations are increasingly demanding huge demands for cash that drive up a cable, satellite, or telephone company’s costs of doing business, and this pricing ultimately affects customers. Cable TV providers cannot absorb these rapidly escalating fees paid to networks and sports channels, plus retransmission fees from local broadcasters. These fees comprise the largest costs in our business and are growing the fastest.