A.
Concurrently with the activation of the cable communications
system in the borough, the grantee shall provide all services to subscribers
as described in the franchise agreement.
(1)
The system shall carry the broad categories of programming
and services listed in the franchise agreement. Should the grantee desire
to change the selection of programs or services offered, it shall maintain
the mix, quality and level of services provided over the system. Any such
change in programs or services offered shall comply with the conditions and
procedures contained in the franchise agreement and shall be reported to the
borough at least 60 days prior to the proposed implementation. The grantee
shall notify all subscribers in writing at least 30 days prior to implementing
any change in the selection of programs or services offered on any tiers or
prior to adding or deleting any channels or changing the channel number for
any station. The grantee shall endeavor to ensure diversity of programming
regarding the community's needs.
(2)
The grantee shall provide and maintain on such channels
as the franchise agreement may direct, at a minimum, the following access
services:
(a)
"Government Access Channel," which shall be a specifically
designated channel for governmental use by the borough and shall be managed,
scheduled and programmed exclusively by the borough or shared with other local
governmental entities at the discretion of the borough.
(b)
"Educational Channel," which shall be a specifically
designated channel for use by local, public and private school authorities
and shall be managed, scheduled and programmed exclusively by them.
(c)
"Public Access Channel," which shall be a specifically
designated channel available on a nondiscriminatory basis to residents of
the borough.
(d)
No public, education or government access channel may
be assigned, transferred or leased, in whole or in part.
(3)
The grantee shall make available leased access channels
to assure that the widest possible diversity of information sources are made
available to subscribers.
(a)
Such channels shall be specially designated for leased
access use by persons unaffiliated with the grantee, at rates which are in
accordance with the Cable Act.
(b)
The number of such channels shall be determined by the
provisions of the Cable Act or other applicable federal and state law.
(c)
The grantee shall not exercise any editorial control
over any programming provided over such channels, except that the grantee
may consider such content to the minimum extent necessary to establish a fair
and reasonable price for the use of such channels.
(4)
The grantee shall fully provide the services, facilities
and equipment for public, educational and government access as indicated in
the franchise agreement.
(5)
The grantee shall comply with all obscenity and indecency
regulations as adopted by the FCC.
B.
Emergency override. The grantee shall, without charge,
provide, service and maintain public emergency transmission facilities on
all channels to the borough, as described in the franchise agreement.
A.
Deposits. For any deposit required by grantee that earns
interest, such interest shall be returned to the subscriber at such time as
the deposit is returned.
B.
Parental control devices. The grantee shall provide to
subscribers, as part of its literature, information concerning the availability
of a parental control device for use by a subscriber. The parental control
device described shall be made available to all subscribers upon request.
C.
Reconnection. The grantee shall restore service to customers
wishing restoration of service, provided that the customer shall first satisfy
any previous obligations owed.
D.
Free disconnection. Subscribers shall have the right
to have basic subscriber television service disconnected without charge. A
refund of unused service charges shall be paid to the customer within 60 days
from the date of termination of service.
E.
Billing. The grantee shall not require subscribers to
pay for services more than one month in advance. All bills shall be itemized
by level of service.
F.
Delinquent accounts. The grantee shall use its best efforts
to collect on delinquent subscriber accounts. In all cases, the grantee shall
provide the customer with at least 10 working days' written notice prior
to disconnection.
G.
Prohibited activities. In the conduct of its business
franchised hereunder, neither the grantee nor its officers, employees or agents
shall directly or indirectly sell, lease, repair, install or maintain television
sets or receivers or antennas; provided, however, that nothing hereunder shall
prohibit the grantee, at customer's request, from examining or adjusting
customer's receiving set to determine whether reception difficulties
originate in the set or in the grantee's system.
A.
The grantee shall adopt and abide by any and all customer
service standards for cable operators issued by the FCC, including but not
limited to the standards appearing at 47 CFR Section 76.309, as amended, which
are hereby adopted by the borough. The standards issued by the FCC are the
minimum standards for customer service under this chapter, and additional
standards may be set forth in the franchise agreement or otherwise adopted
by the borough.
B.
The grantee shall prepare and file with the borough copies
of all of its rules and regulations in connection with the handling of inquiries,
requests and complaints. The grantee shall, by appropriate means, such as
a card or brochure, furnish information concerning the procedures for making
inquiries or complaints, including the name, address and local telephone number
of the employee or employees or agent to whom such inquiries or complaints
are to be addressed.
C.
The grantee shall keep full records of service calls
in connection with the system. Such records shall identify the person contacting
the grantee and the person responding on behalf of the grantee, the subject
matter of the contact, the date and time it was received, the resolution of
the matter in question or the action taken by the grantee in connection with
the contact and the date and time thereof and such other information as may
be deemed pertinent by the grantee. These records shall be made available
for periodic inspection by the borough.
D.
The grantee shall repair or replace without charge all
defective equipment provided by it to the subscriber; provided, however, that
the grantee may charge a subscriber for service to or replacement of any equipment
rendered inoperable or damaged due to negligence of such subscriber.
E.
Hearing impaired. The grantee shall, upon request of
the subscriber, install equipment designed to enhance reception of programming
with encoded signals for the hearing impaired.
F.
Credit for service interruption. The grantee shall, upon
request of subscriber, give a credit for 24 hours of free cable service for
every service outage lasting for more than four hours in any twenty-four-hour
period or 1/30 of the monthly bill. For this purpose, a "service outage" is
defined as the loss of picture or sound on one or more channels.
A.
It shall be the right of all subscribers to receive continuous,
uninterrupted service insofar as their financial and other obligations to
the grantee are honored.
B.
In the event that a grantee elects to rebuild, modify
or sell its system or the borough gives notice of intent to terminate or fails
to renew its franchise, the grantee shall cooperate with the borough or new
grantee or operator in maintaining continuity of service to all subscribers.
During such period, the grantee shall be entitled to the revenues for any
period during which it operates the system.
C.
Abandonment of system. In the event that the grantee
willfully fails to operate the system for a continuous twenty-four-hour period
without prior approval of the borough or without just cause, the borough may,
at its option, operate the system or designate an operator until such time
as the grantee restores service under conditions acceptable to the borough
or a permanent operator is selected. If the borough is required to fulfill
this obligation for the grantee, the grantee shall reimburse the borough for
all reasonable costs or damages in excess of revenues from the system received
by the borough that are the result of the grantee's failure to perform,
and the grantee should be obligated to continue to provide head end programming
services until the borough is able to obtain equivalent head end service from
another source.
