For the purposes of this chapter and any agreement awarding a franchise
in accordance with this chapter, the following terms, phrases, words
and their derivations shall have the meaning given in this chapter
unless otherwise specifically provided in this chapter, unless the
context clearly indicates otherwise or unless such meaning would be
inconsistent with the manifest intent of the Village Board:
ADDITIONAL SERVICE
Any communications service other than basic service provided
directly over its cable communications system by the franchisee directly
or as a carrier to its parent, subsidiary or affiliated corporations
or any other person engaged in communications service, including but
not limited to burglar alarm, data or other electronic intelligence
transmission, facsimile reproduction, meter reading, subscription
programming, market surveying and home shopping.
AFFILIATED CORPORATION
(1)
Any person directly or indirectly owning, controlling or holding
with power to vote 10% or more of the outstanding voting securities
of the franchisee;
(2)
Any person 10% or more of whose outstanding voting securities
are directly or indirectly owned, controlled or held with power to
vote by the franchisee;
(3)
Any person directly or indirectly controlling, controlled by,
or under common control with the franchisee;
(4)
Any officer, director, partner, copartner or employee of the
franchisee;
(5)
If the franchise is an investment company, any investment adviser
thereof or any member of an advisory board thereof; and
(6)
If the franchisee is an unincorporated investment company not
having a board of directors, the depositor thereof.
AGENCY
Any department of Village government.
BASIC SERVICE
The complement of programming and services distributed by
the cable communications system to all subscriber terminals to all
locations within the Village for a basic monthly charge and includes:
(1)
Television broadcast signals required to be carried under federal
or local law;
(2)
Community communications;
(3)
Programming or services on channels designated for special purposes
by the Village Board and incorporated in any franchise agreement;
and
(4)
Any other services or programming at the option of the franchisee
as set forth in the franchise agreement; provided, however, that subscription
programming shall not be considered part of basic service.
BOARD
The Village Board of the Village of Stratford.
BOOK VALUE
The original cost of the cable communications system less
book depreciation and exclusive of the value of the franchise as certified
by a certified public accountant selected by the Village Board.
CABLECASTING
Transmission of programming, exclusive of live broadcast
signals and community communications, via the cable communications
system to subscribers.
CABLE COMMUNICATIONS SYSTEM
A nonbroadcast facility consisting of a set of transmission
paths with associated signal generation, reception and control equipment,
under common ownership and control, which distributes or is designed
to distribute to subscribers the signal of one or more television
broadcast stations.
CHANNEL
A frequency band which is capable of carrying a standard
broadcast audio-video television signal.
CHANNEL LESSEE
A person leasing a cable channel for the presentation and
distribution of video-audio programs or other video-audio communications
over a cable channel for a specified fee.
COMMITTEE
The Village judiciary and regulatory committee established
by the Village Board to act as an advisory body to it on matters pertaining
to cable communications.
COMMUNITY ACCESS
Programming, exclusive of broadcasting signals, produced
by persons, organizations or institutions other than the franchisee
at designated centers or otherwise for cablecast over any designated
community access channels.
DISCRETE SERVICES
Services available on the cable communications system which
may be provided to subscribers on an individual and/or group basis
and which may be particular to that subscriber and/or group and not
available system-wide. Discrete services are cable communications
services which are delivered by means of a technically segregated
signal.
DOWNSTREAM CHANNEL
A channel through which an electronic or other signal, originated
or converted at the head end or subhead ends, may be transmitted to
and received at the location of the subscriber's receiver.
FAIR MARKET VALUE
That price which a seller, dealing at arm's length, ready
and willing to sell and not compelled to sell, would accept for the
cable communications system when offered by a buyer, ready and willing
but not compelled to buy, exclusive of the value of the franchise.
FCC
The Federal Communications Commission or its legally appointed
successor.
FRANCHISE
The right granted through a contractual agreement between
the Village and a person by which the Village authorizes such person
to erect, construct, reconstruct, operate, dismantle, test, use and
maintain a cable communications system in the Village. Any franchise
awarded by an agreement in accordance with the provisions of this
chapter shall be a nonexclusive franchise.
FRANCHISEE
The person or its legal successor in interest who executes
an agreement in accordance with the provisions of this chapter for
the erection, construction, reconstruction, operation, maintenance,
dismantling, testing, repair and use of a cable communications system
in the Village and who obtains appropriate waivers from the FCC to
do the same and who otherwise complies with the requirements of federal
law.
FRANCHISEE ORIGINATION
Programming, exclusive of broadcast signals and community
communications, carried on a cable communications system over one
or more channels and subject to the exclusive contract of the franchisee,
including but not limited to leased channels.
HEAD END
Electronic equipment, including, inter alia, antennas, preamplifiers,
frequency converters, demodulators, modulators and related equipment,
used to amplify, filter and/or convert television signals for distribution
over the cable communications system's channels, including antenna
tower, satellite earth stations, and any building housing any of the
above equipment.
LAW
Any federal or state constitution or statute or local resolution
or ordinance, including but not limited to those of the Village, and
all rules and regulations promulgated pursuant to any of the same,
now existing or hereafter adopted or amended and interpretations of
the same by a court of competent jurisdiction.
LEASED CHANNEL
A channel leased by the franchisee to permit the presentation
and distribution of video-audio programs or other video-audio communications
over a cable channel for a specified fee.
PARENT CORPORATION
Any corporation, other than the franchisee, in an unbroken
chain of corporations ending with the franchisee if, at the time of
the execution of the franchise agreement, each of the corporations
other than the franchisee owns stock comprising 50% or more total
combined voting power of all classes of stock in one of the other
corporations in such chain.
PERSON
Includes individual natural persons, firms, partnerships,
joint ventures, societies, organizations, clubs, associations, trustees,
trusts, corporations, companies or organizations of any kind, or any
officers, agents, employees, factors of any kind of person representative
of the above, in any capacity, acting either for himself/herself or
for any other person, under either personal appointment or pursuant
to law. Whenever used in any clause prescribing a penalty, the term
"person" as applied to partnerships or associations includes the partners
or members thereof and, if applied to corporations, the officers thereof.
"Person" shall not include a municipal corporation.
SINGLE DROP
The connection between the cable communications system and
the subscriber's location and receiver therein.
STREET
Any area established for vehicular use or the entire width
between the boundary lines of every way publicly maintained when any
part thereof is open for public purposes. "Street" includes, but is
not limited to, highway, avenue, road, alley, right-of-way, lane,
boulevard, concourse, bridge, tunnel, parks, parkways, waterways,
docks, overheads, wharves and piers.
SUBSCRIBER
A person who connected to any signal or service provided
or distributed by the cable communications system.
SUBSCRIPTION PROGRAMMING
Programming for which a per program, per channel, per day,
per time period or other per unit charge is made.
SUBSIDIARY CORPORATION
Any corporations, other than the franchisee, in an unbroken
chain of corporations beginning with the franchisee if, at the time
of the execution of the franchise agreement, each of the corporations
other than the last corporation in the unbroken chain owns stock comprising
50% or more of the total combined voting power of all classes of stock
in one of the other corporations in such chain.
TOTAL LOCAL REVENUES
All cash, credits to the extent not passed on to customers,
property of any kind or nature or other consideration whatsoever in
any form arising from or attributable to the sale or exchange of cable
communications services by the franchisee within the Village or in
any way derived from the operation of its cable communications system,
including but not limited to any interconnection between its system
in the Village and any system within the Village, or the sale, exchange
or cablecast of any programming developed on or for community communications
channels of the franchisee's system. Such sum shall not include
any sales, service, occupation or other excise tax to the extent that
such taxes are charged separately from normal service charges and
are remitted by the franchisee directly to the taxing authority.
UPSTREAM CHANNEL
A channel through which television signals emanating from
a subscriber's location and/or the location of any other entity
except the main transmitting facility of the franchisee are transmitted
via the cable communications system to the system head end or other
appropriate point.
USER
A person utilizing a cable communications channel and/or
production facilities for purposes of production and/or transmission
of electronic or other signals as opposed to receipt thereof as a
subscriber.