Federal Communications Commission	DA 21-1248


DA 21-1248

     			Released: October 5, 2021

MEDIA BUREAU ACTION

INFLATION ADJUSTMENT FIGURES FOR CABLE OPERATORS
USING FCC RATE REGULATION FORMS 1210 AND 1240 NOW AVAILABLE

This Public Notice is applicable to rate-regulated cable operators that use FCC Forms to justify their cable rates. Pursuant to 47 CFR § 76.922(d)(2) and § 76.922(e)(2) of the Commission’s rules, cable operators may adjust the non-external cost portion of their rates for inflation.
  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 United States Department of Commerce, Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA).  The Media Bureau obtained the chain-type price indexes from the BEA news release dated September 30, 2021 (BEA 21-47) at Table 1.7.4 (Price Indexes for Gross Domestic Product, Gross National Product, and Net National Product) Line 4 (Gross National Product). Table 1.7.4 can be found at this link: https://apps.bea.gov/iTable/iTable.cfm?reqid=19&step=2#reqid=19&step=2&isuri=1&1921=survey



FCC Form 1210

Operators filing FCC Form 1210 may make an annual adjustment based on inflation occurring from June 30 of the previous year to June 30 of the year in which the inflation adjustment is made.  The inflation factor for the twelve months ended June 30, 2021 is 1.0405.  Operators who wish to take this year’s inflation adjustment using FCC Form 1210 should enter the figure “1.0405” on Lines I5 and J5 of the form.  This year’s inflation adjustment factor is calculated by dividing the second quarter 2021 GNP-PI (117.524) by the second quarter 2020 GNP-PI (112.951).  Operators may take this year’s inflation adjustment between October 1, 2021 and August 31, 2022.

FCC Form 1240

Operators filing FCC Form 1240 may make an adjustment based on quarterly figures.  The second quarter 2021 inflation factor for operators using FCC Form 1240 is 6.07%.  The adjustment factor of 6.07% is a measure of the annualized change in prices occurring over the period from April 1, 2021 to June 30, 2021.  The inflation adjustment factor is calculated by dividing the GNP-PI for the second quarter of 2021 (117.524) by the GNP-PI for the first quarter of 2021 (115.804).  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. We then convert 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 second quarter of 2021 should enter the inflation factor on the appropriate lines of Worksheet 1 of FCC Form 1240 as “0.0607.”  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 “1.0607”.

	To date, the Commission has released one hundred quarterly inflation factors for use with FCC Form 1240.  The following table lists these factors beginning in 2017. For pre-2017 inflation figures see DA 17-646, 32 FCC Rcd 5479 (rel. July 5, 2017), available at https://www.fcc.gov/general/inflation-updates-forms-1210-and-1240.


Year  
Quarter
Dates Covered
Inflation Factor
2017
First
Jan. 1, 2017 – Mar. 31, 2017
1.96%
2017
Second
Apr. 1, 2017 – Jun. 30, 2017
1.01%
2017
Third
Jul. 1, 2017 – Sep. 30, 2017
2.09%
2017
Fourth
Oct. 1, 2017 – Dec. 31, 2017
2.33%
2018
First
Jan. 1, 2018 – Mar. 31, 2018
2.20%
2018
Second
Apr. 1, 2018 – Jun. 30, 2018
3.04%
2018
Third
Jul. 1, 2018 – Sep. 30, 2018
1.81%
2018
Fourth
Oct. 1, 2018 – Dec. 31, 2018
1.68%
2019
First
Jan. 1, 2019 – Mar. 31, 2019
0.90%
2019
Second
Apr. 1, 2019 – Jun. 30, 2019
2.42%
2019
Third
Jul. 1, 2019 – Sep. 30, 2019
1.81%
2019
Fourth
Oct. 1, 2019 – Dec. 31, 2019
1.28%
2020
First
Jan. 1, 2020 – Mar. 31, 2020
1.41%
2020
Second
Apr. 1, 2020 – Jun. 30, 2020
-1.82%
2020
Third
Jul. 1, 2020 – Sep. 30, 2020
3.51%
2020
Fourth
Oct. 1, 2020 – Dec. 31, 2020
2.04%
2021
First
Jan. 1, 2021 – Mar. 31, 2021
4.32%
2021
Second
Apr. 1, 2021 – Jun. 30, 2021
6.07%

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-updates-forms-1210-and-1240. 

Media Contact:  Janice Wise at (202) 418-8165
Media Bureau Contact:  Jake Riehm at (202) 418-2166

TTY: (202) 418-0432 or 1 (888) 835-5322

--FCC--

2