(a) 
This chapter establishes the criteria, procedures and standards by which the County will grant and enforce an ordinance cable franchise to a provider of cable services pursuant to § 15.2-2108.19 et seq. of the Code of Virginia as an alternative to a negotiated cable franchise pursuant to § 15.2-2108.20 of the Code of Virginia. The County, on request by an applicant, will continue to grant a negotiated cable franchise in accordance with Title VI of the Communications Act of 1934, as amended, 47 U.S.C. § 521 et seq., and as provided by § 15.2-2108.20 of the Code of Virginia. The ability to seek an ordinance cable franchise under this chapter shall be available to:
(1) 
A cable operator with previous consent to use the public rights-of-way to provide cable services whose negotiated franchise with the County is up for renewal;
(2) 
A certificated provider of telecommunications services with previous consent to use the public rights-of-way in the County through a franchise;
(3) 
A certificated provider of telecommunications services that lacked previous consent to provide cable service in the County but provided telecommunications services over facilities leased from an entity having previous consent to use of the public rights-of-way in the County through a franchise; and
(4) 
A cable operator with previous consent to use the public rights-of-way to provide cable service in the County through a negotiated franchise agreement that chooses to opt into the terms of a franchise pursuant to this chapter.
(b) 
Ordinance cable franchises shall be nonexclusive franchises that authorize the franchisee to construct and operate a cable system in the public rights-of-way, and for that purpose to erect, install, construct, repair, replace, reconstruct, maintain, or retain in any public right-of-way such poles, wires, cables, conductors, ducts, conduits, vaults, manholes, pedestals, amplifiers, appliances, attachments, and other related property or equipment as may be necessary or appurtenant to the cable system and to provide such cable services over the cable system as may be lawfully allowed. The ordinance cable franchise shall neither authorize the franchisee to use the public right-of-way for purposes of providing any service other than cable service nor prohibit the franchisee from doing so.
(c) 
Incorporation of amendments to state code, federal law and regulations. Sections 15.2-2108.19 through 15.2-2108.31 of the Code of the Virginia, 1950, as amended, and all of the provisions and standards referenced therein, are hereby adopted and incorporated as fully as if set out at length herein. All future amendments to such sections and provisions are hereby automatically incorporated into this chapter.
State Law reference — Similar provisions, Code of Virginia, § 15.2-2108.19 et seq.
All terms used in this chapter, unless otherwise defined herein, shall have the same meaning as set forth in § 15.2-2108.19 et seq. of the Code of Virginia, and if not defined therein, then as set forth in Title VI of the Communications Act of 1934, 47 U.S.C. § 521 et seq., and if not defined therein, their common and ordinary meaning. In addition, references in this chapter to any federal or state law shall include amendments thereto as are enacted from time-to-time.
ACT
The Communications Act of 1934.
AFFILIATE
In relation to any person means another person who owns or controls, is owned or controlled by, or is under common ownership or control with, such person.
BASIC SERVICE
The service tier that include (i) the retransmission of local television broadcast channels and (ii) public, educational, and governmental channels required to be carried in the basic tier.
BOARD
The Board of Supervisors of the County of Buchanan, Virginia.
CABLE ADMINISTRATOR
The County Administrator for the County of Buchanan, Virginia, who is hereby designated as the person responsible for administration of the ordinance cable franchise for the County.
CABLE OPERATOR
Any person or group of persons that (i) provides cable service over a cable system and directly or through one or more affiliates owns a significant interest in such cable system or (ii) otherwise controls or is responsible for, through any arrangement, the management and operation of a cable system. "Cable operator" does not include a provider of wireless or direct-to-home satellite transmission service.
CABLE SERVICE
The one-way transmission to subscribers of (i) video programming or (ii) other programming service, and subscriber interaction, if any, which is required for the selection or use of such video programming or other programming service. Cable service does not include any video programming provided by a commercial mobile service provider defined in 47 U.S.C. § 332(d).
CABLE SYSTEM or CABLE TELEVISION SYSTEM
Any facility consisting of a set of closed transmission paths and associated signal generation, reception, and control equipment that is designed to provide cable service that includes video programming and that is provided to multiple subscribers within a community, except that such definition shall not include (i) a system that serves fewer than 20 subscribers; (ii) a facility that serves only to retransmit the television signals of one or more television broadcast stations; (iii) a facility that serves only subscribers without using any public rights-of-way; (iv) a facility of a common carrier that is subject, in whole or in part, to the provisions of Title II of the Communications Act of 1934, 47 U.S.C. § 201 et seq., except that such facility shall be considered a cable system to the extent such facility is used in the transmission of video programming directly to subscribers, unless the extent of such use is solely to provide interactive on-demand services; (v) any facilities of any electric utility used solely for operating its electric systems; (vi) any portion of a system that serves fewer than 50 subscribers in the County, where such portion is a part of a larger system franchised in an adjacent County; or (vii) an open video system that complies with § 653 of Title VI of the Communications Act of 1934, as amended, 47 U.S.C. § 573.
CERTIFICATED PROVIDER OF TELECOMMUNICATIONS SERVICES
A person holding a certificate issued by the State Corporation Commission to provide local exchange telephone service.
COUNTY
The County of Buchanan, Virginia, a political subdivision of the Commonwealth of Virginia.
FORCE MAJEURE
An event or events reasonably beyond the ability of cable operator to anticipate and control. "Force majeure" includes, but is not limited to, acts of God, incidences of terrorism, war or riots, labor strikes or civil disturbances, floods, earthquakes, fire, explosions, epidemics, hurricanes, tornadoes, governmental actions and restrictions, work delays caused by waiting for utility providers to service or monitor or provide access to utility poles to which cable operator's facilities are attached or to be attached or conduits in which cable operator's facilities are located or to be located, and unavailability of materials or qualified labor to perform the work necessary.
FRANCHISE
An initial authorization, or renewal thereof, issued by the County, whether such authorization is designated as a franchise, permit, license, resolution, contract, certificate, agreement, or otherwise, that authorizes the construction or operation of a cable system, a telecommunications system, or other facility in the public rights-of-way. A negotiated cable franchise is granted by a County after negotiation with an applicant pursuant to Va. Code § 15.2-2108.20.
FRANCHISEE
A person that has been granted a cable television franchise by the County pursuant to this chapter or any predecessor ordinance or franchise agreement.
GROSS REVENUE
All revenue, as determined in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles, that is actually received by the cable operator and derived from the operation of the cable system to provide cable services in the franchise area; however, in an ordinance cable franchise "gross revenue" shall not include: (i) refunds or rebates made to subscribers or other third parties; (ii) any revenue which is received from the sale of merchandise over home shopping channels carried on the cable system, but not including revenue received from home shopping channels for the use of the cable service to sell merchandise; (iii) any tax, fee, or charge collected by the cable operator and remitted to a governmental entity or its agent or designee, including without limitation a local public access or education group; (iv) program launch fees; (v) directory or Internet advertising revenue, including, but not limited to, yellow page, white page, banner advertisement, and electronic publishing; (vi) a sale of cable service for resale or for use as a component part of or for the integration into cable services to be resold in the ordinary course of business, when the reseller is required to pay or collect franchise fees or similar fees on the resale of the cable service; (vii) revenues received by any affiliate or any other person in exchange for supplying goods or services used by the cable operator to provide cable service; and (viii) revenue derived from services classified as noncable services under federal law, including, without limitation, revenue derived from telecommunications services and information services, and any other revenues attributed by the cable operator to noncable services in accordance with rules, regulations, standards, or orders of the Federal Communications Commission.
INTERACTIVE ON-DEMAND SERVICES
A service providing video programming to subscribers over switched networks on an on-demand, point-to-point basis, but does not include services providing video programming prescheduled by the programming provider.
PERSON
An individual, partnership, association, joint-stock company, organization, corporation, or any other legal entity, but such term does not include the County.
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 in which the County or the Commonwealth of Virginia now or hereafter holds any property interest, which, consistent with the purposes for which it was dedicated, may be used for the purpose of installing and maintaining cable facilities. No reference herein, or in any franchise, to "public rights-of-way" shall be deemed to be a representation or guarantee by the County 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 County and as the County may have the undisputed right and power to give.
TRANSFER
Any transaction in which (i) an ownership or other interest in the cable operator is transferred, directly or indirectly, from one person or group of persons to another person or group of persons, so that majority control of the cable operator is transferred; or (ii) the rights and obligations held by the cable operator under the cable franchise granted under this article are transferred or assigned to another person or group of persons. However, notwithstanding clauses (i) and (ii) of the preceding sentence, a transfer of the cable franchise shall not include (a) transfer of an ownership or other interest in the cable operator to the parent of the cable operator or to another affiliate of the cable operator; (b) transfer of an interest in the cable franchise granted under this article or the rights held by the cable operator under the cable franchise granted under this article to the parent of the cable operator or to another affiliate of the cable operator; (c) any action that is the result of a merger of the parent of the cable operator; (d) any action that is the result of a merger of another affiliate of the cable operator; or (e) a transfer in trust, by mortgage, or by assignment of any rights, title, or interest of the cable operator in the cable franchise or the system used to provide cable in order to secure indebtedness.
VDOT
The Virginia Department of Transportation.
VIDEO PROGRAMMING
Programming provided by, or generally considered comparable to, programming provided by a television broadcast station.
State Law reference — Similar provisions, Code of Virginia § 15.2-2108.19.
(a) 
Renewal. A franchisee electing to renew its negotiated cable franchise shall do so (i) pursuant to the renewal procedures in 47 U.S.C. § 546, or (ii) by providing notice to the cable administrator that it will opt into an ordinance cable franchise pursuant to this chapter along with the application materials listed in this section. A franchisee may file notification that its cable franchise will be renewed by an ordinance cable franchise one year in advance of the expiration date of its existing franchise.
(b) 
Initial franchise application. In order to obtain a cable franchise, an applicant shall file with the cable administrator a written request for a franchise along with the application materials required by this section.
(c) 
Application materials. Any request to obtain an ordinance cable franchise or to renew a negotiated cable franchise shall include the following materials:
(1) 
Applicant's complete business name, as registered with the Virginia State Corporation Commission, when applicable;
(2) 
Business address of the applicant;
(3) 
Name and contact information of a designated contact for the applicant;
(4) 
Name and contact information of the registered agent for the applicant, when applicable;
(5) 
The local, toll-free, or collect telephone access line that will be available to provide customer service to its subscribers;
(6) 
A map that shows the service area in which the applicant intends to provide cable service in the County;
(7) 
A map that shows the area in the County in which the applicant has its telephone facilities, if any;
(8) 
A list of services and channels offered and subscription rates within the County; and
(9) 
Current certificate of insurance in the amounts required by this chapter.
(d) 
Upon receipt of all necessary application materials, the Board may, by resolution, grant to the applicant an ordinance cable franchise after notice and public hearing.
State Law reference — Similar provisions, Code of Virginia §§ 15.2-2108.30, 15.2-2108.21.
All ordinance cable franchises granted pursuant to this chapter shall have a term of 15 years.
State Law reference — Similar provisions, Code of Virginia § 15.2-2108.21.
If the governing body of any town within the County adopts an ordinance pursuant to the provisions of § 15.2-2108.19 et seq. of the Code of Virginia, such town shall not be subject to the terms of this chapter.
State Law reference — Similar provisions, Code of Virginia § 15.2-2108.21(G).