Definitions.
ACCESS CHANNEL
Any channel on a cable system set aside by a franchisee for public,
educational, or governmental use.
AFFILIATE
Any person who owns or controls, is owned or controlled by, or is
under common ownership or control with a franchisee.
BASIC SERVICE
Any service tier that includes the retransmission of local television
broadcast signals and/or public, educational, and governmental access signals.
CABLE ACT
The Cable Communications Policy Act of 1984, 47 U.S.C. §§ 521
et seq., as amended from time to time.
CABLE SERVICE
(1)
The one-way transmission to subscribers of video programming or other
programming services; and
(2)
Subscriber interaction, if any, which is required for the selection
or use of such video programming or other programming service.
CABLE SYSTEM or SYSTEM
(1)
A facility consisting of a set of closed transmission paths and associated
signal generation, reception, and control equipment that is designed to provide
cable television service which includes video programming and which is provided
to multiple subscribers within the City, but such term does not include:
(a)
A facility that serves only to retransmit the television signals of
one or more television broadcast stations;
(b)
A facility that serves subscribers without using any public rights-of-way;
(c)
A facility of a common carrier which is subject, in whole or in part,
to the provisions of Title ii of the Communications Act, except that such
facility shall be considered a cable system if such facility is used in the
transmission of video programming directly to subscribers;
(d)
An open video system that complies with 47 U.S.C. § 573; or
(e)
Any facilities of any electric utility used solely for operating its
electric utility system.
(2)
Any part of a facility described in Subsection
(1) of this section, including, without limitation, converters.
CHANNEL
A six megahertz (MHz) frequency band, or equivalent capacity, which
is capable of carrying either one standard video signal, a number of audio,
digital or other non-video signals or some combination of such signals.
CITY
The City of Glenarden, Maryland, and any agency, department, or agent
thereof.
COMMISSION
The City Cable Rate Regulation Commission.
COMPLAINTS
Statements from any subscriber, former subscriber, or other City
resident expressing concern or dissatisfaction with any aspect of the cable
system or the franchisee's operations, including, without limitation,
statements relating to employee courtesy.
CONVERTER
An electronic device which may serve as an interface between a system
and a subscriber's television receiver or other terminal equipment, and
which may perform a variety of functions, including signal security, descrambling,
electronic polling, frequency conversion and channel selection.
COUNCIL
The governing body of the City.
FCC
The Federal Communications Commission, its designee, or any successor
governmental entity thereto.
FORCE MAJEURE
Severe or unusual weather conditions, strike, labor disturbance,
lockout, war or act of war (whether an actual declaration of war is made or
not), insurrection, riot, act of public enemy, action or inaction of any government
instrumentality or public utility including condemnation, accidents for which
franchisee is not primarily responsible, fire, flood, or other act of god,
sabotage or other events to the extent that such causes or other events are
beyond the reasonable control of the franchisee, and only to the extent that
any such event affects franchisee's capacity to perform.
FRANCHISE
A nonexclusive authorization granted pursuant to this chapter to
construct, operate, and maintain a cable system along the public rights-of-way
to provide cable service within all or a specified area of the City. Any such
authorization, in whatever form granted, shall not mean or include any general
license or permit required for the privilege of transacting and carrying on
a business within the City as required by the ordinances and laws of the City,
or for attaching devices to poles or other structures, whether owned by the
City or a private entity, or for excavating or performing other work in or
along public rights-of-way.
FRANCHISE AGREEMENT
A contract entered into pursuant to this chapter between the City
and a franchisee that sets forth, subject to this chapter, the terms and conditions
under which a franchise will be granted and exercised.
FRANCHISE AREA
The area of the City that a franchisee is authorized or required
to serve by its franchise agreement.
FRANCHISEE
A natural person, partnership, domestic or foreign corporation, association,
joint venture, or organization of any kind that has been granted a franchise
by the City.
GROSS REVENUES
Any and all cash, credits, property or other consideration of any
kind or nature that constitute revenue in accordance with generally accepted
accounting principles and that arise from or are attributable to, or in any
way derived directly or indirectly by a franchisee or its affiliates, or by
any other entity that is a cable operator of the franchisee's system
to provide cable services except as hereinafter specifically excluded, and
including, without limitation, to the extent derived from the operation of
a franchisee's cable system to provide cable services in the City, monthly
fees collected from subscribers from any basic, optional, premium, per-channel,
per-program services, or cable programming service; installation, disconnection,
reconnection, and change-in-service fees; fees, payments, or other consideration
received from programmers for carriage of programming on franchisee's
cable system; revenues from rentals or sales of converters or other equipment;
studio rental; fees from third party unaffiliated programmers for leased access
programming; production equipment, rental fee and personal fees, advertising
revenues, net of normal agency commissions; revenues from the sale or carriage
of other cable services; revenues from leased channel fees; late fees and
administrative fees; fees, payments, or other consideration received from
programmers for carriage of programming on the system; revenues from internet
access services, revenues from home shopping and bank-at-home channels; and
revenues from the sale of cable guides.
(1)
Gross revenues shall not include any taxes on services furnished by
a franchisee which are imposed directly on any subscriber or user by the community
or another governmental unit and which are collected by the franchisee on
behalf of said governmental unit. A franchise fee is not such a tax.
(2)
Gross revenues shall not include (a) any consideration paid by the City
to a franchisee for an institutional network ("i-net"), or any expense reimbursement
paid by the City or its agents, or by peg users, to the franchisee; (b) any
compensation awarded to a franchisee based on the county's condemnation
of property of the franchisee; (c) any uncollected receipts (i.e., "bad debt");
provided, however, that all or any part of any such actual bad debt that is
written off but subsequently collected shall be included in gross revenues
in the period collected. Any amounts includable as gross revenues that are
received by an affiliate or any other entity that is a cable operator of franchisee's
cable system shall not be counted as gross revenues to the extent that such
amounts are also received directly by the franchisee, to ensure that no such
revenue is counted twice.
INSTALLATION
The connection of system services to subscribers' television
receivers or other subscriber-owned or provided terminal equipment.
NET PROFIT
The amount remaining after deducting from gross revenues all of the
actual, direct and indirect, expenses associated with operating the cable
system, including the franchise fee, interest, depreciation, and federal or
state income taxes.
NORMAL BUSINESS HOURS
Those hours during which most similar businesses in the community
are open to serve customers, including some evening hours at least one night
per week and/or some weekend hours.
NORMAL OPERATING CONDITIONS
Those service conditions that are within the control of a franchisee.
Conditions that are not within the control of a franchisee include, but are
not limited to, natural disasters, civil disturbances, power outages, telephone
network outages, and severe weather conditions. Conditions that are ordinarily
within the control of a franchisee include, but are not limited to, special
promotions, pay-per-view events, rate increases, regular peak or seasonal
demand periods, and maintenance or upgrade of a cable system.
OVS
An open video system that complies with 47 U.S.C. § 653,
as amended.
PEG
Public, educational and governmental.
PERSON
An individual, partnership, association, joint-stock company, organization,
corporation, or any lawful successor thereto or transferee thereof, but such
term does not include the City.
PROGRAMMER
Any person or entity that produces or otherwise provides program
material or information for transmission by video, audio, digital or other
signals, either live or from recorded traces or other storage media, to users
or subscribers by means of a cable system.
PUBLIC ACCESS CHANNEL
Any channel on a cable system set aside by a franchisee for use by
the general public, including groups and individuals, and which is available
for such use on a nondiscriminatory basis.
PUBLIC RIGHTS-OF-WAY
The surface, the air space above the surface, and the area below
the surface of any public street, highway, lane, path, alley, sidewalk, boulevard,
drive, bridge, tunnel, park, parkway, waterway, easement, or similar property
within the City, which, consistent with the purposes for which it was dedicated,
may be used for the purpose of installing and maintaining a cable system.
No reference herein, or in any franchise agreement, to a public right-of-way
shall be deemed to be a representation or guarantee by the City that its interest
or other right to control the use of such property is sufficient to permit
its use for such purposes, and a franchisee shall be deemed to gain only those
rights to use as are properly in the City and as the City may have the undisputed
right and power to give.
PUBLIC SERVICE CORPORATION
Any nonprofit, tax exempt organization that has as its primary purpose
the provision of services of education, health, civic, charitable, or similar
nature on a Citywide basis.
SECURITY FUND
A performance bond, letter of credit, or cash deposit, or any or
all of these, to the extent required by a franchise agreement.
SERVICE INTERRUPTION
Loss of picture or sound on one or more cable channels, as described
in FCC regulations as of December 1, 1998.
SUBSCRIBER
Any person who legally receives any service delivered over a cable
system.
TRANSFER
(1)
Any transaction in which:
(a)
Any ownership or other right, title, or interest cognizable under FCC
regulations of more than 10% in a publicly-traded corporation controlling
a franchisee, its cable system, or any person that is a cable operator of
the cable system (or in the franchisee itself, if it is a publicly-traded
corporation) is transferred, sold, assigned, leased, or sublet, directly or
indirectly, to an entity that does not presently control the franchisee; or
(b)
Any ownership or other right, title, or interest cognizable under FCC
regulations of 20% or more in an entity other than a publicly-traded corporation
controlling a franchisee, its cable system, or any person that is a cable
operator of the cable system (or in the franchisee itself, if it is an entity
other than publicly-traded corporation) is transferred, sold, assigned, leased,
or sublet, directly or indirectly, to an entity that does not presently control
the franchisee; or
(c)
There is any transfer of control of a franchisee; or
(d)
A franchise is transferred to another entity; or
(e)
Any change or substitution occurs in the managing general partners of
a franchisee, where applicable; or
(f)
A franchisee, or its corporate parents at any level, enter into any
transaction that materially increases the debt that is to be borne by the
system directly or indirectly, in a manner that creates a risk of an adverse
effect on system rates or services.
(2)
"Transfer" shall not include transactions in which a franchisee is reorganized
within another corporation owned, owning, or commonly controlled with the
franchisee, if such transaction does not materially affect the ultimate control
of the franchisee or the sources and amounts of funds available to the franchisee.
The term "control" for purposes of this definition means the legal or practical
ability to exert actual working control over the affairs of the franchisee,
either directly or indirectly, whether by contractual agreement, majority
ownership interest, any lesser ownership interest, or in any other manner.
USER
A person or organization using a channel or equipment and facilities
for purposes of producing or transmitting material, as contrasted with the
receipt thereof in the capacity of a subscriber.