Judge Upholds Cox Suit

A Virginia judge sustained a potential class-action lawsuit on behalf of Cox
Communications Inc. subscribers, who challenged the MSO for charging more for
cable-modem service in the East than it does out West.

Cox subscriber Kimberly Bova sued over different franchise-fee rates levied
on cable-modem service.

Cox customers in California, Nevada, Arizona and Idaho do not pay a 5 percent
fee on modem subscriptions.

Cox stopped collecting the fee in 2000, citing the Ninth U.S. Circuit Court
of Appeals' decision in a lawsuit between Portland, Ore., and AT&T
Broadband.