FCC Media Bureau announces cable TV inflation adjustment figure

The FCC Media Bureau announced July 1 how much cable TV operators may raise their rates to adjust for inflation.

According to the bureau, cable operators can use an inflation factor of 2.06 percent for the first quarter of 2011. The inflation factor represents the annualized change in prices occurring from Jan. 1, 2011, through March 31, 2011.

The commission relies on changes in the Gross National Product Price Index (GNP-PI) published by the U.S. Department of Commerce's Bureau of Economic Analysis. The commission relies on a formula using the GNP-PI figure for the quarter divided by the previous quarter's GNP-PI number. That number is annualized.

The inflation figure is for use with FCC Form 1240.