ENTERTAINMENT

FCC Sets Customer Service Rules for Cable TV: Cable TV companies should answer customer calls within 30 seconds, the Federal Communications Commission ruled. Speedy telephone response is among several customer service rules going into effect July 1 under a law bringing cable television back under federal control. The FCC is phasing in the rules as required by Congress. The FCC also ordered that customers be allowed to buy premium channels, such as HBO or Showtime, without purchasing tiers of service beyond the lowest-price package. That rule goes into effect in July for cable companies such as those with pay-per-view programming that have the technology to send programs individually to customers. Other companies have 10 years to phase in this “buy-through” requirement, the FCC said.