A.
New construction timetable. The system construction
timetable in an initial service area shall be established in the franchise
agreement.
B.
Line extensions. Unless otherwise provided for in
the franchise agreement:
(1)
In areas of the franchise not included in the initial
service areas, a grantee shall be required to extend its system pursuant
to the following requirements:
(a)
No customer shall be refused service arbitrarily.
The grantee is hereby authorized to extend the cable system as necessary
within the County. To expedite the process of extending the cable
system into a new subdivision, the County will forward to a grantee
an approved engineering plan of each project. Subject to the density
requirements (25 dwelling units per street mile as measured from the
existing system and 25 dwelling units per street mile within the new
subdivision), the grantee shall commence the design and construction
process upon receipt of the final engineering plan. Upon notification
from the County that the first home in the project has been approved
for a building permit, a grantee shall have a maximum of three months
to complete the construction/activation process within the project
phase; provided, however, that the three-month period shall be reasonably
extended to accommodate delays caused by circumstances beyond the
control of the grantee.
(b)
A grantee must extend and make cable service
available to every dwelling unit in all unserved, developing areas
having at least 25 dwelling units per street mile, as measured from
the existing system, and shall extend its system following established
utility easements.
(c)
A grantee must extend and make cable service
available to any isolated resident outside the initial service area
requesting connection at the standard connection charge, if the connection
from the existing cable plant to the isolated resident would require
no more than a standard one-hundred-fifty-foot drop line, unless an
alternative standard is provided for in the franchise agreement.
(2)
Early extension. In areas not meeting the requirements
for mandatory extension of service, a grantee shall provide, upon
the request of a potential subscriber desiring service, an estimate
of the costs required to extend service to the subscriber. The grantee
shall then extend service upon request of the potential subscriber.
A grantee may require advance payment. The amount paid by subscribers
for early extensions may be nonrefundable.
(3)
New development underground. In cases of new construction
or property development where utilities are to be placed underground,
the developer or property owner shall give a grantee reasonable notice,
but not less than 30 days' notice, of such construction or development,
and of the particular date on which open trenching will be available
for the grantee's installation of conduit, pedestals and/or vaults,
and laterals to be provided at the grantee's expense. A grantee may
also provide specifications as needed for trenching. Costs of trenching
and easements required to bring service to the development shall be
borne by the developer or property owner; except that if a grantee
fails to install its conduit, pedestals and/or vaults, and laterals
within five working days of the date the trenches are available, as
designated in the notice given by the developer or property owner,
then should the trenches be closed after the five-day period, the
cost of new trenching is to be borne by the grantee.
C.
Special agreements. Nothing herein shall be construed
to prevent a grantee from serving areas not covered under this section
upon agreement with developers, property owners, or residents, provided
that franchise fees are paid to the County on those gross revenues.
(1)
A grantee, in its application, may propose a line
extension policy which will result in serving more residents of Queen
Anne's County than as required in this section, in which case the
grantee's line extension policy shall be incorporated into a franchise
agreement, and will be binding on the grantee.
A.
Compliance with construction and technical standards.
A grantee shall construct, install, operate and maintain its system
in a manner consistent with all laws, ordinances, construction standards,
governmental requirements, and FCC technical standards, as the same
may be amended from time to time. In addition, a grantee shall provide
the County, upon request, with a written report of the results of
the grantee's periodic proof of performance tests conducted pursuant
to FCC standards and requirements.
B.
Additional specifications:
(1)
Construction, installation and maintenance of a cable
television system shall be performed in an orderly and workmanlike
manner. All cables and wires shall be installed, where possible, parallel
with electric and telephone lines. Multiple cable configurations shall
be arranged in parallel and bundled with due respect for engineering
considerations.
(2)
A grantee shall at all times comply with applicable
provisions of the following:
(3)
In any event, a system shall not endanger or interfere
with the safety of persons or property in a franchise area or other
areas where a grantee may have equipment located.
(4)
Any antenna structure used in the system shall comply
with construction, marking, and lighting of antenna structure required
by the United States Department of Transportation.
(5)
All working facilities and conditions used during
construction, installation and maintenance of the cable television
system shall comply with the applicable standards of the Occupational
Safety and Health Administration.
(6)
RF leakage shall be checked at reception locations
for emergency radio services to prove no interference signal combinations
are possible. Stray radiation shall be measured adjacent to any proposed
aeronautical navigation radio sites to prove no interference to airborne
navigational reception in the normal flight patterns. FCC rules and
regulations shall govern.
(7)
A grantee shall maintain equipment capable of providing
standby power for headend and transport system for a minimum of two
hours, unless otherwise provided for in the franchise agreement.
(8)
In all areas of Queen Anne's County where the cables,
wires, and other like facilities of public utilities are placed underground,
a grantee shall place its cables, wires, or other like facilities
underground. When all other public utilities relocate their facilities
from pole to underground, a grantee must concurrently do so.
C.
Repeated and verified failure to maintain specified
technical standards shall constitute a material franchise violation.
A.
For the purpose of operating and maintaining a cable
system in the franchise area, the grantee may erect, install, construct,
repair, replace, reconstruct and retain in, on, over, under, upon,
across and along the streets and public ways within the franchise
area such wires, cables, conductors, ducts, conduits, vaults, manholes,
amplifiers, pedestals, attachments and other property and equipment
as are necessary to the operation of the cable system; provided, however,
that the grantee complies with all design, construction, safety, and
performance provisions contained in this chapter, the franchise agreement,
and other applicable local ordinances.
B.
Interference with persons and improvements. A grantee's
system, poles, wires and appurtenances shall be located, erected and
maintained so that none of its facilities shall endanger or interfere
with the lives of persons or interfere with the rights or reasonable
convenience of property owners who adjoin any of the streets and public
ways, or interfere with any improvements the County may deem proper
to make, or unnecessarily hinder or obstruct the free use of the streets,
alleys, bridges, easements or public property.
C.
Before commencing construction in, above, over, under,
across, through or in any way connected with the streets, public ways
or public places of Queen Anne's County (other than such public areas
not under the County's control), the grantee shall obtain all required
permits which the grantee reasonably can foresee to be necessary in
the reasonable future (at the fees regularly charged therefor), including
but not limited to the written approval of the County, which approval
shall not be unreasonably withheld or delayed. The County may designate
the location, manner and time of any construction within the roads
and rights-of-way over which the County has jurisdiction.
D.
Restoration to prior condition. In case of any disturbance
of pavement, sidewalk, landscaping) driveway or other surfacing, including
the surface of streets and alleys, caused by the grantee or any person
acting on its behalf, a grantee shall, at its own cost and expense
and in a manner and within a time frame approved by the County, replace
and restore all paving, sidewalk, driveway, landscaping, or surface
disturbed, to a condition comparable to that before the work was commenced
and in accordance with standards for such work set by the County.
E.
The grantee or any other person acting on its behalf shall not open or otherwise disturb the surface of any street, sidewalk, driveway, public way or other public place for any purpose whatsoever without obtaining approval to do so in the manner prescribed in Subsections C and D of this section, and obtaining all required street opening or other permits. The grantee shall be fully responsible for the actions and activities of its agents, employees and subcontractors. The grantee shall immediately respond to and rectify any complaint resulting from an activity of any subcontractor, agent, or employee.
F.
A grantee shall restore any street it has disturbed,
and shall, at its own cost and expense, restore and replace any other
property disturbed, damaged or in any way injured by or on account
of its activities, to a condition comparable to the condition that
said property was in immediately prior to the disturbance, damage
or injury.
G.
A grantee shall, at its own cost and expense, protect,
support, temporarily disconnect, relocate in the same street or other
public place, or remove from said street or other public place, any
of its property when required to do so by the County because of street
or other public excavation; construction; repair; regrading or grading;
traffic conditions; installation of sewers, drains, or water pipes;
County-owned power or signal lines; tracks; vacation or relocation
of streets or any other type of structure or improvement of a public
agency; or any other type of improvement necessary for the public
health, safety or welfare.
H.
The grantee shall have the authority to trim trees
on public property at its own expense as may be necessary to protect
its wire and facilities, subject to the direction of the County or
other appropriate governmental authority.
I.
Erection, removal and common uses of poles.
(1)
No poles or other wire-holding structures shall be
erected by a grantee without prior approval of the County with regard
to location, height, types, and any other pertinent aspect. However,
no location of any pole or wire-holding structure of a grantee shall
be a vested interest, and such poles or structures shall be removed
or modified by the grantee at its own expense whenever the County
determines that the public convenience would be enhanced thereby.
(2)
Where poles or other wire-holding structures already
existing for use in serving the County are available for use by a
grantee, but the grantee does not make arrangements for such use or
an agreement thereof cannot be reached, the County may require the
grantee to use such poles and structures if it determines that the
public convenience would be enhanced thereby, the use of such poles
and structures is technically feasible, and the terms of the use available
to the grantee are just and reasonable.
(3)
In the absence of any governing federal or state statute,
where a public utility serving the County desires to make use of the
poles or other wire-holding structures of a grantee, but agreement
thereof with the grantee cannot be reached, the County may require
the grantee to permit such use for such consideration and upon such
terms as the County shall determine to be just and reasonable, if
the County determines that the use would enhance the public convenience
and would not unduly interfere with the grantee's operations.
J.
Relocation of the facilities. If at any time during
the term of a franchise the County shall lawfully elect to alter or
change the grade of any street, alley or other public ways and shall
require all of the respective public utilities impacted by such alteration
to remove or relocate their facilities, a grantee, upon reasonable
notice by the County, shall remove or relocate as necessary its poles,
wires, cables, underground conduits, manholes and other fixtures at
its own expense unless the utilities are compensated, in which case
the grantee shall be similarly compensated.
K.
Cooperation with building movers. A grantee shall,
on the request of any person holding a building or moving permit issued
by the County, temporarily raise or lower its wires to permit the
moving of buildings. The person making the request shall pay the expense
of such temporary removal, raising or lowering of wires, and a grantee
shall have the authority to require such payment in advance. A grantee
shall be given not less than seven days' advance notice to arrange
for such temporary wire changes.
L.
The operations and activities of a grantee that impact streets, sidewalks and other public ways are further subject to the provisions of Chapter 23 of the County Code, and any conflict between the provisions of this chapter and Chapter 23 shall be resolved in favor of the best interests of the County.
A.
A grantee shall put, keep and maintain all parts of
a cable system in good condition throughout the term of a franchise.
B.
Upon the reasonable request for service by any person
located within a grantee's franchise area, the grantee shall, within
60 days, furnish the requested service to such person within the terms
of the line extension policy. A request for service shall be unreasonable
for the purpose of this subsection if no trunk line installation capable
of servicing that person's block has as yet been installed.
C.
A grantee shall render efficient service, make repairs
promptly, and interrupt service only for good cause and for the shortest
time possible. Such interruptions, insofar as possible, shall be preceded
by notice and shall occur during periods of minimum system use.
D.
A grantee shall not allow its cable system or other
operations to interfere with television reception of subscribers or
persons not served by the grantee, nor shall a system interfere with,
obstruct or hinder in any manner the operation of the various utilities
serving the residents within the confines of Queen Anne's County,
nor shall other utilities interfere with a grantee's system.
E.
A grantee shall have knowledgeable, qualified grantee
representatives available to respond to customer telephone inquiries
24 hours per day and seven days per week. A staffed answering service,
or an automated response system, shall be considered a qualified grantee
representative during evening and weekend hours.
F.
Under normal operating conditions, telephone answer
time, including wait time and the time required to transfer the call,
shall not exceed 30 seconds. This standard shall be met no less than
90% of the time as measured on a quarterly basis.
G.
Under normal operating conditions, a customer will
receive a busy signal less than 3% of the total time that the grantee's
office is open for business. This standard shall be met no less than
90% of the time as measured on a quarterly basis.
H.
Standard installations will be performed within seven
business days after an order has been placed. A standard installation
is one that is within 150 feet of an existing system.
I.
Excluding those situations which are beyond its control,
a grantee will respond to any service interruption promptly and in
no event later than 24 hours from the time the interruption becomes
known. All other regular service requests will be responded to the
next business day after notification of the service problem. The appointment
window alternatives for installations, service calls and other installation
activities will be morning or afternoon, not to exceed a four-hour
window during normal business hours for a system, or at a time that
is mutually acceptable to a grantee and a customer. A grantee will
schedule supplemental hours during which appointments can be scheduled
based on the needs of the community. If at any time an installer or
technician is running late, an attempt to contact the customer will
be made and the appointment rescheduled as necessary at a time that
is convenient to the customer.
J.
Unless otherwise provided for in the franchise agreement,
a customer service center(s) and bill payment location(s) will be
open for walk-in customer transactions a minimum of eight hours a
day, Monday through Friday, unless there is a need to modify those
hours because of the location or customers served. A grantee may,
in its sole discretion, establish supplemental hours on weekdays and
weekends if it would fit the needs of the community.
K.
In the event of an outage of subscriber cable service,
the following shall apply after proper notification to the grantee:
(1)
For outages of over six hours and up to seven days,
the grantee shall provide, at a subscriber's written request, a credit
of 1/30 of one month's fees for affected services for each twenty-four-hour
period service is interrupted for six or more hours for any single
subscriber, with the exception of subscribers disconnected because
of nonpayment or excessive signal leakage or circumstances beyond
the grantee's reasonable control. For outages lasting six hours or
less, the credit extended to a subscriber shall be prorated on an
hour-for-hour basis.
(2)
For outages of seven days or more in one month which
have been properly reported to grantee and which are within the reasonable
control of grantee, the grantee shall provide, at a subscriber's written
request, a full month's credit for affected services for affected
subscribers.
L.
A grantee will provide written information in each
of the following areas at the time of installation and at any future
time upon the request of the customer:
M.
Bills will be clear, concise and understandable, with
all services itemized consistent with the federal law.
N.
Credits will be issued promptly, but no later than
a customer's next billing cycle following the resolution of the request
and the return of equipment to a grantee if service has been terminated.
O.
Unless otherwise specified by FCC regulations, customers
and the County will be notified a minimum of 30 days in advance of
any rate or programming channel change, provided that the change is
within the control of a grantee.
P.
A grantee shall maintain and operate its cable system
in accordance with the rules and regulations as are incorporated herein
or may be promulgated by the FCC, the United States Congress, or the
state.
Q.
A grantee shall continue, through the term of a franchise,
to maintain the technical standards and quality of service specified
in this chapter. Should the County find, by resolution, that a grantee
has failed to maintain these technical standards and quality of service,
the grantee shall be required to implement a plan for resolution.
R.
A grantee shall keep a record of monthly service calls
which will indicate the nature of each service complaint received
in the last 24 months, the date and time it was received, the disposition
of said complaint, and the time and date thereof. Upon reasonable
notice, such records shall be made available to the County for inspection.
S.
All personnel of a grantee contacting subscribers
or potential subscribers outside the office of the grantee must be
clearly identified as associated with the grantee.
T.
The provisions of § 29-42 notwithstanding, in the event a grantee fails to arrive for installations and/or service calls within the scheduled four-hour time frame set forth in this chapter under normal operating conditions less than 90% of the time as measured on a quarterly basis, then the County may impose a monetary penalty upon the grantee. The amount of such monetary penalty shall be established by resolution of the County Commissioners. Prior to imposition of the penalty, the County shall notify the grantee in writing of the alleged default. Upon receipt of the notice, the grantee shall have a sixty-day period in which to correct the default or it may elect to pay such penalty, in which event the act or omission giving rise to the penalty shall not be the basis for any other sanction by the County. In the alternative, a grantee shall have the right to request a hearing affording due process before the Board of County Commissioners to determine whether the penalty should be imposed, and the imposition of any such penalty shall be stayed pending the final outcome of such proceeding.
U.
A grantee shall not terminate residential service
for nonpayment of a delinquent account unless the grantee provides
initial notice of the delinquency and impending termination at least
10 days prior to the proposed termination. Such notice of delinquency
shall be mailed, postage prepaid, to the subscriber to whom the service
is billed. This notice shall not be sent until the 28th day after
the initial bill for service was mailed to the subscriber. The notice
of delinquency and impending termination may be part of a billing
statement. This section does not apply to subscribers disconnected
due to NSF (not sufficient funds) checks.
V.
Refund checks shall be issued by a grantee within
30 days following a subscriber's valid request.
A.
It shall be the right of all subscribers to continue
receiving service insofar as their financial and other obligations
to a grantee are honored. If a grantee elects to rebuild, modify or
sell its system, or the County gives notice of intent to terminate
or fails to renew a franchise, the grantee shall act so as to ensure
that all subscribers receive continuous, uninterrupted service regardless
of the circumstances.
B.
If there is a change of franchise, or if a new operator
acquires the system, a grantee shall cooperate with the County, new
franchisee or operator in maintaining continuity of service to all
subscribers. During this transition period, which shall not exceed
12 months, a grantee shall be entitled to the revenues for any period
during which it operates the system, and shall be entitled to reasonable
costs for its services until it no longer operates the system.
C.
Unless otherwise provided for in the franchise agreement,
if a grantee fails to operate a system for 14 consecutive days without
prior approval of the County or without just cause, the County may,
at its option, operate the system or designate an operator until such
time as the grantee restores service under conditions acceptable to
the County or a permanent operator is selected. If the County is required
to fulfill this obligation for a grantee, the grantee shall reimburse
the County for all reasonable costs or damages in excess of revenues
from the system received by the County that are the result of the
grantee's failure to perform.
A.
A cable television system shall have facilities as
set forth in the applicable franchise agreement.
B.
Such cable system shall maintain a plant having the
technical capacity for two-way communications, unless otherwise provided
in the franchise agreement.
C.
At the County's request, a grantee shall maintain
the following:
(1)
At least one specially designated, noncommercial public
access channel available on a first-come, nondiscriminatory basis;
(2)
At least one specially designated channel for use
by local educational authorities; and
(3)
At least one specially designated channel for local
government uses;
(4)
Provided, however, that the uses specified in this
section may be combined on one or more channels until such time as
the County demonstrates sufficient need for additional channels pursuant
to a demonstrable programming demand provided for in the franchise
agreement. Financial and technical support, replacement and maintenance
of equipment of this facility shall be separately incorporated into
the franchise agreement.
(5)
An institutional network (I-Net) of cable, optical,
electrical, or electronic equipment, used for the purpose of transmitting
two-way telecommunications signals interconnecting designated entities
if set forth in a franchise agreement and mutually agreed to by a
grantee and the County. The County and the grantee may agree that
such an institutional network may be provided by utilizing capacity
on the subscriber system.
D.
A grantee shall incorporate into its cable television
system sufficient capacity that will permit the County, in times of
emergency, to override, by remote control, the audio of all channels
simultaneously which the grantee may lawfully override. A grantee
shall provide emergency alert capacity pursuant to FCC rules. A grantee
shall cooperate with the County in the use and operation of the emergency
alert override system.
E.
A grantee may be required to interconnect its system
with other contiguous cable television systems for the purpose of
sharing PEG access programming. Such interconnection shall be made
within a reasonable time limit to be established by the County.
(1)
Interconnection procedure. Upon receiving the directive
of the County to interconnect, a grantee shall immediately initiate
negotiations with the other affected system or systems in order to
complete the interconnection link.
(2)
Relief. A grantee may be granted reasonable extensions
of time to interconnect or the County may rescind its order to interconnect
upon petition by the grantee to the County. The County shall grant
the request if it finds that the grantee has negotiated in good faith
and has failed to obtain an approval from the operator or franchising
authority of the system to be interconnected, or the cost of the interconnection
would cause an unreasonable or unacceptable increase in subscriber
rates.
(3)
Cooperation required. A grantee shall cooperate with
any interconnection corporation, regional interconnection authority
or County, state and federal regulatory agency which may be hereafter
established for the purpose of regulating, financing, or otherwise
providing for the interconnection of cable systems beyond the boundaries
of Queen Anne's County.
(4)
The full cost of an interconnection link shall be
borne by the County, if the interconnection is being made at the direction
of the County. However, the full cost of this link shall be borne
by the participating persons, in the event that the interconnection
is being made for any reason other than at the direction of the County.
