[HISTORY: Adopted 5-6-1991 Annual Town Meeting, Art. 17. Amendments noted where applicable.]
A.
Authorization and effective date.
(1)
Pursuant to the provisions of the United States Cable Communications
Policy Act of 1984, as amended, and in compliance with Chapter 166A
of the General Laws of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, also as
amended, and with all rules and regulations of the Federal Communications
Commission and the Massachusetts CATV Commission and all other applicable
rules and regulations, the Town of Great Barrington hereby enacts
this chapter for the protection of consumers of cable television service
within the Town.
(2)
The intent of this chapter is not to replace the provisions of the
Great Barrington cable television license, but rather to augment and
supplement those provisions so as to provide cable television consumers
with maximum protection of their rights under the terms of said license.
(3)
This chapter shall take effect as a general bylaw of the Town upon
approval by Town Meeting vote and shall apply to any cable television
license or renewal or extension thereof granted by the Town of Great
Barrington after the date of said vote.
B.
APPLICATION
CABLE TELEVISION SYSTEM or CABLE SYSTEM or CATV SYSTEM
COMMISSION or MASSACHUSETTS COMMISSION
FCC
ISSUING AUTHORITY
LICENSE
LICENSEE
PUBLIC ACCESS CHANNELS
SUBSCRIBER
TOWN
Definitions. As used in this chapter, the following terms shall have
the meanings indicated:
A completed Massachusetts Form 100 or any other application
form prescribed by state or federal law or regulations, along with
all attachments thereto.
A facility consisting of a set of closed transmission paths
and associated signal generation, reception or control equipment designed
to provide cable television service, including audio and video programming,
to multiple subscribers within the community through residential and/or
institutional cable networks, and in particular, the cable system
constructed and operated in the Town of Great Barrington.
Massachusetts Community Antenna Television Commission.
Federal Communications Commission.
The Board of Selectmen of the Town of Great Barrington.
Any document granting any cable system the right to construct,
operate and maintain a cable television system in, over, along, across
and upon the streets, lanes, avenues, alleys, sidewalks, bridges,
highways and other public places under the jurisdiction of the Town,
including property over which the Town has an easement or right-of-way,
for the purpose of reception, transmission, amplification, origination,
distribution or redistribution of audio, video and other electronic
and/or electrical impulses in accordance with the laws of the United
States of America and the Commonwealth of Massachusetts.
Any company or individual constructing and/or operating a
cable system within the Town under a license granted by the issuing
authority.
Channels designated for local public, educational or governmental
use, whether solely designated or shared with other uses.
A person who contracts with the licensee the signals amplified
and redistributed by the cable system.
The Town of Great Barrington.
C.
Term of license.
(1)
Any cable television license hereafter granted, renewed or extended
shall expire no later than 10 years from the effective date of said
grant, renewal or extension.
[Amended 6-1-1992 ATM, Art. 3]
(2)
Said license shall incorporate by reference all information included
in the application for such grant, renewal or extension and shall
be nonexclusive.
(3)
The licensee shall abide by the terms of the cable television license
so granted, renewed or extended. Further, when and if requested by
the issuing authority, the licensee shall work cooperatively with
the issuing authority and/or its designees to amend said license to
clarify its language and provisions to the satisfaction of both the
Town and the licensee.[1]
D.
Area to be served. The licensee shall construct the CATV system in
such a way that it is capable of delivering all signals and services
to all homes, businesses and institutions within the Town that are
served by electric power lines existing on the date of adoption of
this chapter. There shall be an identical pattern of installation
and service charges for all subscribers.
E.
Basic service requirements.
(1)
The licensee shall provide a basic level of service at a minimal
rate to any subscriber who shall desire it and shall publicize that
level of service at least twice a year by mailing to each subscriber
a description of the programming offered and a statement of the current
monthly rate for the service. The same information shall be cablecast
at least once a month for a continuous twenty-four-hour period on
the cable system's public access channels.
(2)
To the extent permitted by federal and state law, the Town shall
require that at minimum, the basic level of service shall consist
of one channel carrying the programming of each television network,
including the Public Broadcast System; at least one channel carrying
independent programming; at least one all-news channel; one channel
regularly carrying news of Massachusetts, including State House news;
one channel carrying full-time coverage of United States Congressional
deliberations and associated governmental activities; and all public
access channels. The basic level of service shall also contain all
programming and/or services in which the cable company or any associated
company has ownership or equity interest of any kind.
[Amended 6-1-1992 ATM, Art. 3]
F.
Payments to Town.
(1)
The annual license fee payable to the Town shall be $0.50 per subscriber
within the Town of Great Barrington or such other amount as may be
authorized by the Commission or any other agency of the Commonwealth
of Massachusetts or the United States. Further, the licensee shall
pay to the Town, for the sole purpose of producting local television
programming, the difference between all other state and local payments
and an amount up to 5% but not less than three 3% of its annual gross
revenues obtained from doing business in Great Barrington or such
other payment for local programming as may be authorized by federal
and/or state authorities.
[Amended 6-1-1992 ATM, Art. 3]
(2)
Said sums shall be payable on or before the 15th day of March of
each year.
G.
Reimbursements to Town. All charges and fees incidental to awarding,
renewing, extending and/or enforcing the license, including but not
limited to payments for bonds, security letters, letters of credit,
insurance, indemnification, penalties, liquidated damages and reimbursement
to the Town for legal advertising, attorneys' fees, consultant's
fees and any other applicable expenses associated with any appeal
in which the Town prevails, shall be paid by the licensee.
H.
Performance evaluation sessions.
(1)
The issuing authority shall hold annual performance evaluation sessions,
open to the public, during the months of the anniversaries of the
effective date of the license. The purpose of said evaluation sessions
shall be to review, among other things, the licensee's compliance
with the terms and conditions of the license and to hear comments,
suggestions or complaints from the public. The issuing authority shall
have the right to question the licensee on any aspect of the construction,
operation or maintenance of the cable television system.
(2)
During the review and evaluation by the issuing authority, the licensee
shall fully cooperate with the issuing authority or its agents or
designees and shall produce such documents or other materials as may
be reasonably requested by the Town. In conjunction with such review
and evaluation, the issuing authority shall have the right to initiate
on its own motion, in accordance with the provisions of 207 CMR 5.03,
or at the request of the licensee or at the request of the public
in accordance with the provisions of 207 CMR 5.04, proceedings to
amend the license.
(3)
The licensee shall notify its subscribers of all performance evaluation
sessions by announcements on at least one channel of its cable system
as designated by the issuing authority, between the hours of 7:00
p.m. and 9:00 p.m., for at least five consecutive days preceding each
session.
(4)
Any and all reasonable costs incurred by the Town in connection with
such evaluation sessions, including but not limited to attorney's
fees and consultants' fees, shall be reimbursed to the Town by
the licensee.
I.
Subscribers' right to privacy.
(1)
The licensee shall maintain due vigilance with regard to possible
abuse of the right of privacy of any subscriber, programmer or other
citizen resulting from any device or signal associated with the cable
system and shall take all reasonable steps necessary to prevent any
such abuse and/or terminate it should it occur.
(2)
No cable, line, wire, amplifier, converter or other piece of equipment
owned or controlled by the licensee shall be installed on private
property by the licensee or its agents without first obtaining permission
of the owner of such property or the written permission of the holder
of the easement for utility lines or other purposes, except in accordance
with the law. A request to have service connected shall constitute
permission to use the affected private property.
(3)
Neither the licensee nor any of its officers, employees or agents
shall tap, monitor or arrange for the tapping or monitoring of any
cable, line, signal input device or subscriber outlet or receiver
for any purpose whatsoever, other than legitimate technical testing
or the monitoring of service status, without the prior written consent
of all affected parties.
(4)
The licensee shall not, without the consent of the subscriber, sell,
disclose or otherwise make available to any person, agency or entity
for any purpose whatsoever or permit the use of the names and/or addresses
of its subscribers or any list or other information that identifies
by name and/or address subscribers and/or subscriber viewing habits.
This provision shall not prevent the licensee from performing such
acts as may be necessary for the purpose of service-related surveys.
(5)
The licensee shall ensure that all its vehicles, employees, agents
and contractors are clearly identified to the public as being associated
with the licensee.
(6)
The licensee shall not permit the transmission of any identifiable
aural, visual or digital signal, including polling the channel selection,
from any subscriber's premises without first obtaining the written
consent of the subscriber. In the event that channel selection should
be polled in a manner making it impossible to identify subscribers,
such written permission shall not be required, but subscribers shall
be advised that they have a right not to participate and shall further
be advised how to deactivate the two-way capability of their television
sets to make such participation impossible. (This provision is not
intended to prohibit the transmission of signals useful only for the
control or measurement of signal performance.) Further, the licensee
shall not permit, without first obtaining written permission from
the subscriber, the installation of any special technical equipment
in any subscriber's premises that will permit transmission of
aural, visual or digital signals from said premises. Notwithstanding
the foregoing, the transmission of signals from any subscriber's
premises for use solely in conjunction with the selection and delivery
of pay-per-view programming is specifically permitted.
(7)
The licensee shall comply with the privacy provisions of the federal
Cable Communications Policy Act of 1984, as well as all federal, state
and local laws and regulations dealing with rights of privacy, including
but not limited to:
(a)
MGL c. 166A.
(b)
Federal Communications Commission regulations requiring that
upstream devices attached to the subscriber's set be subject
to deactivation by the subscriber.
(c)
Any additional laws or regulations enacted by Congress, the
FCC, the Commonwealth of Massachusetts or the Town as they become
effective.
(8)
Every subscriber shall be provided at the time of connection to the
cable system with a written statement of the licensee's policies
regarding subscriber's rights to privacy and confidentiality
of information.
(9)
The licensee shall provide the issuing authority with a written statement
containing a detailed description of all types of information that
will be maintained regarding both individual subscribers and the aggregate
of subscribers. The maintenance of such information shall be subject
to approval by the issuing authority, which approval shall not be
unreasonably or arbitrarily withheld, provided that the licensee presents
sound business reasons for the need to maintain such information.
(10)
Every subscriber shall have a right to inspect any and all records
maintained by the licensee that pertain to the subscriber. Such records
shall be made available at no cost to the subscriber within five business
days after requesting them.
(11)
All data collected by the operator, except data necessary for billing
and/or service, shall be maintained in the aggregate except with the
prior written consent of the subscriber. When written consent of the
subscriber must be obtained, a written detailed explanation of the
reasons the consent is sought shall be given to the subscriber.
(12)
If subscriber information is to be released to third parties, a list
of all persons and/or organizations to whom the information will be
furnished shall be part of the explanation. Under no circumstances
shall information of any kind regarding individual subscribers, other
than that necessary for billing or service procedures, be made available
to any third party without the prior written consent of the subscriber.
Any written consent of a subscriber so obtained shall automatically
expire six months from the date it is given. Such consent may be revoked
at any time during its six-month life span by written notification
from the subscriber.
(13)
Subscribers shall be informed of any survey that will yield information
regarding their viewing preferences, economic status or political
or religious opinions and shall have an unconditional right not to
participate in such surveys.
(14)
Any device capable of transmitting signals upstream must require
some positive action by the subscriber to initiate such transmission
and must be subject to deactivation by the subscriber. Each subscriber
must be provided with a clearly written description of the purpose
of any upstream device attached to his or her television set or cable
equipment, the type of information obtainable through the device and
the proposed use of this information. Additionally, the subscriber
shall be instructed on how to operate and deactivate the device.
(15)
Any proposed change in the licensee's policies regarding subscribers'
rights and information thereon shall be submitted to the issuing authority
no less than 60 days prior to the proposed effective date of the new
policy. No such change in policy shall take place until approved by
the issuing authority. Once such approval has been granted, a written
statement of the policy change shall be made available to all subscribers
no less than 30 days prior to the effective date of the change.
(16)
Any breach of the privacy policy, whether by employees of the licensee
or by a third party, shall be communicated, in writing, to the issuing
authority within 10 days of discovery.
(17)
In any legally substantiated case in which information about a subscriber
is released without the subscriber's permission, the licensee
shall be assumed to be in direct violation of the subscriber's
rights and shall be liable to civil and criminal penalties, including
revocation of the license.
K.
Severability. If any section, paragraph, term or provision of this
chapter is determined to be illegal, invalid or unconstitutional by
any court of competent jurisdiction or by any state or federal regulatory
agency having jurisdiction thereover, such determination shall have
no effect on any other section, paragraph, term or provision hereof,
all of which will remain in full force and effect for the term of
the license or any renewal or renewals thereof.
