The Frequency Allocation Subcommittee of the Coordinating Committee for Cable Communication Systems, Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers, was formed to produce a background report on the general problems of frequency allocation and assignments in cable television. The present paper, based on the subcommittee's interim report, describes the nature and importance of the frequency planning problem, the general goals of the subcommittee, the types of cable systems being considered, the criteria being used to evaluate characteristics of the various frequency assignment schemes and the general allocation plans being used by the subcommittee for purposes of discussion. (Author/RH)