Rate-regulated cable operators that use FCC Forms to justify their cable rates have an important update in hand from the FCC’s Media Bureau and Office of Economics and Analytics.
Cable operators adjusting the non-external cost portion of their rates for inflation
should follow the instructions provided with the applicable FCC Form. All inflation adjustment figures are based on changes in the Gross National Product Price Index (GNP-PI) published by the Department of Commerce, Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA). The chain-type price indexes were obtained from the BEA Table 1.7.4 (Price Indexes for Gross Domestic Product, Gross National Product and Net National Product) Line 4 (Gross National Product) on December 21, 2023.
Operators filing FCC Form 1240 may make an adjustment based on quarterly figures. The third quarter 2023 inflation factor for operators using FCC Form 1240 is 3.33%. The adjustment factor of 3.33% is a measure of the annualized change in prices occurring over the period from July 1, 2023 to September 30, 2023. The inflation adjustment factor is calculated by dividing the GNP-PI for the third quarter of 2023 (122.699) by the GNP-PI for the second quarter of 2023 (121.697). The result of this calculation is converted from a quarterly change measurement factor to an annual change measurement factor by raising it to the fourth power. The FCC then converts the calculation to an inflation adjustment factor by subtracting one.
Operators calculating the Inflation Factor for a True-Up Period that includes some portion of the third quarter of 2023 should enter the inflation factor on the appropriate lines of Worksheet 1 of FCC Form 1240 as “0.0333.” Operators using this factor for calculating the Projected Period Inflation Segment of FCC Form 1240 should enter this number on Line C3 (January 1996 version), or Line C5 (July 1996 version) as “1.0333”.
Each quarter the Commission releases a quarterly inflation factor for use with FCC Form 1240.
The following table lists these factors beginning in 2018:
The Commission releases a new quarterly inflation factor for operators using FCC Form 1240 four times each year. The inflation factor for a given quarter is usually released between three and four months after the end of the quarter, depending on the schedule of the Department of Commerce. The release of a new factor is posted on the Commission’s Internet site at: https://www.fcc.gov/general/inflation-updatesforms-1210-and-1240.
