You don't have to pay for water or electricity you never use, and you don't have to pay for phone calls you never make. So why should you have to pay for cable channels you never watch?

With the cost of cable TV steadily going up, more people are asking that question, and the FCC is one of them.

The head of the Federal Communications Commission says there is no question cable companies have the technology to offer a la carte cable service. But cable companies say if that happens, some channels you want to watch may no longer be available.

The average cable bill in the U.S. is about $60 a month. In order to get the channels you want, you have to pay for other channels you may not care about.

"The average family has very little choice as to what channels are included, yet they're having to pay more and more those same channels," said FCC Chairman Kevin Martin.

And while the cost of most other technology services has gone down, cable bills keep getting higher.

"Most cable companies enjoy kind of regional freedoms, where there's not really much there in terms of other providers," said Joel Kelsey with the Consumers Union.

"Consumers would dramatically benefit by having the additional choice," Martin said.

But check this out. Canadian customers have the option of a la carte pricing.

In Canada cable customers pay about $13 for the basic channels. Then they can pick and choose another 15 channels for just $17, or another 30 channels for less than $1 a apiece.

The U.S. cable industry insists American consumers are getting a good value, and a la cart pricing will only raise costs.

"It's the comparison between having a buffet or ordering lots of sides. Sides always cost you more," said Lilian Rodriguez-Lopez with the Minority Media Telecommunications Group.

The cable industry says less popular channels would be forced to lower their advertising rates and consumers would have to make up the difference with even higher subscription fees.

Under the current bundling agreements, large media companies force cable operators to broadcast their less popular channels in exchange for the rights to broadcast the cash-cow channels like ESPN and MTV.

More than a dozen prominent minority groups say a la carte pricing will be a blow to channels that target minority communities since the channels feature programs that may not be high demand among the mainstream audience.

The FCC's findings on the debate could determine whether Congress passes a bill to force cable companies to offer a la carte channel menus.