[Ord. 6614, passed 1-22-1976]
No person, association, partnership or corporate entity shall erect, install, maintain or operate a closed circuit television transmission and distribution system, commonly known as CATV within the limits of the City without a license to do so granted by Council.
[Ord. 6614, passed 1-22-1976]
Any person, association, partnership or corporate entity desiring to install, erect, operate or maintain a closed circuit television transmission and distribution system in the City shall apply in writing to the City Clerk for such license, setting forth evidence of its financial responsibility and outlining its qualifications and experience in this field.
The City Clerk shall refer the application to Council and if Council passes upon such application and approves the same, the City Clerk shall issue the required license to the applicant as soon as the applicant has submitted a performance bond of $25,000 which has been approved by the City Clerk.
[Ord. 6614, passed 1-22-1976]
Any license issued shall be nonexclusive except that Council shall have the right to withhold the granting of more than one license or any number of additional licenses if it decides that the needs of the residents of New Castle are adequately served by one licensee or a limited number of licenses, and additional CATV operations would be detrimental to the public interest.
[Ord. 6614, passed 1-22-1976]
The erection, installation, maintenance and operation of closed circuit television transmission and distribution systems shall be conducted only under and in accordance with the following rules, regulations and requirements.
[Ord. 6614, passed 1-22-1976; Ord. 7177, passed 9-8-1994]
(a) 
Local business office. Any person, association, partnership or corporate entity applying for a license under the provisions of this article shall be properly registered to do business in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, and if licensed under the provisions of this article shall maintain a local business office or agent which subscribers may telephone during regular business hours without incurring added messages or toll charges, so that CATV maintenance shall be promptly available.
(b) 
License fee. Any person, association, partnership or corporate entity licensed under the provisions of this article shall pay an annual license fee in the amount of 5% of all gross subscriber revenues received from subscribers within the limits of the City, payable to the City Treasurer on or before March 15 of the following year.
(c) 
Default. If, in the opinion of Council, the licensee should be in default, or has violated any provisions of this article or other pertinent City ordinances or the rules and regulations of any appropriate Federal or State agency, the license may be terminated by resolution of Council which shall be adopted 10 days following written, certified notice of the default or violation to the license at its local office or agent.
(d) 
Complaint procedure. Should a subscriber have an unresolved complaint regarding the quality of cable television service, equipment malfunction or similar matters, the subscriber shall be entitled to file his complaint with the City Clerk, who in turn shall notify Council of such complaint. Within 30 days thereafter, a meeting shall be set with a representative of Council, the licensee and the subscriber to resolve the matter. The subscriber shall be notified of this procedure upon subscription to the service.
(e) 
Renewal of license. Any licensee may file an application to renew a license in accordance with the Cable Communications Policy Act of 1984, as amended by The Cable Television Consumer Protection and Competition Act of 1992.
[Ord. 6614, passed 1-22-1976]
(a) 
Actual construction of the system shall be commenced within 12 calendar months following the date the license is issued and service to the residents shall commence within 18 months following the date the license is issued.
(b) 
The licensee shall provide the City Engineer with complete and detailed drawings of the proposed system to be installed prior to commencement of construction. These drawings shall show the location of all electronic equipment and cables and shall sufficiently describe the same.
(c) 
The licensee shall have the right to construct its system within the right-of-way lines of all City streets, ways or alleys, provided, however, that no additional poles shall be erected without the prior consent of Council as to number and location. This right is in conjunction with the rights of other utility companies to use the streets, ways and alleys. Any use the licensee makes of the equipment and property of another utility shall be made in accordance with the terms of a written contract made with the utility company by the licensee.
(d) 
All equipment employed in the system shall be erected, constructed and maintained in a manner that will not endanger the lives and property of persons, interfere with Municipal improvements or hinder or obstruct the use of streets, ways, alleys, driveways or public highways.
(e) 
The cable used in the system shall be capable of simultaneously transmitting television signals on a minimum of 12 channels.
(f) 
Construction and maintenance of the system shall be in accordance with the specifications set forth in the National Electrical Safety Code prepared by the National Bureau of Standards and all applicable City ordinances now in effect or hereafter enacted including amendments thereto.
[Ord. 6831, passed 5-9-1985; Ord. 7177, passed 9-8-1994; Ord. 6614, passed 1-22-1976]
(a) 
The receiving and distribution equipment shall be maintained and operated so as to provide clear pictures on the receivers of all subscribers of the same quality as is received at the antenna site providing the subscriber's receiver is in good working order.
(b) 
If the licensee expands channel capacity beyond 12 channels, it shall provide a public, educational and governmental channel as provided by the Cable Television Consumer Protection and Competition Act of 1992.
(c) 
The installed system shall operate on a twenty-four hour basis each day with maintenance personnel available on a standby basis for emergency repairs. The licensee shall not engage in any repair work to the television set of the individual consumer. Should the licensee receive a request for emergency repair work after daylight hours from only one subscriber within a City block, the licensee shall be justified in believing that the fault lies in the customer's television set rather than the CATV system and may delay making the service call until regular working hours.
(d) 
Upon request of Council, the licensee shall furnish free installation and service to any or all of the City fire stations and to the Municipal Building.
(e) 
The licensee shall abide by the rules and regulations of the Federal Communications Commission and the laws of the Commonwealth pertaining to the transmission of electronic signals.
(f) 
The licensee shall furnish to basic level subscribers all necessary converters, switches and adapters, at its own cost.
(g) 
In the event of a civil or national emergency, the Mayor, or his designee, shall have the right to preempt the public, educational and governmental channel at any time for making emergency announcements.
[1]
Editor's Note: Former § 311.08, Rates, was repealed by Ord. 7177, passed 9-8-1994.
[Ord. 6614, passed 1-22-1976]
(a) 
Required of licensee and subcontractors. The licensee shall at all times during the existence of its license be covered with sufficient insurance to protect the City from and against any and all claims, suits, actions, judgments, costs or losses due to injury or damage done to persons or property, both real and personal, caused by the construction, operation or maintenance by the licensee's transmission and distribution system, and the licensee shall require its subcontractors to carry similar insurance.
(b) 
Personal injury liability. The licensee shall carry insurance coverage of not less than $100,000 on each person, nor less than $300,000 on each accident resulting in injury or death.
(c) 
Property liability insurance. The licensee shall carry insurance coverage of not less than $100,000 for damage done to property, both personal or real.
(d) 
Approval by City Solicitor. Insurance policies or certificates of insurance shall be supplied by the licensee to the City Solicitor prior to the commencement of the construction of the system for his approval. When the policies have been approved by the City Solicitor, they shall not be cancelled or changed without the written approval of Council.
(e) 
Workmen's compensation. The licensee shall provide and obtain Workmen's Compensation Insurance in accordance with the provision of the laws of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.
[Ord. 6614, passed 1-22-1976]
(a) 
Inspections. It shall be the duty of the City Engineer, or such officer as named for the purpose by Council, to make or cause to be made an annual inspection of all poles, cables and transmission lines which are erected and maintained by the licensee. The inspecting officer shall make a report of this inspection to Council during the month of January and the report shall set forth the condition of the system and the number of customer connections in use. The City, through its properly designated officials or agents, shall have the right of access to and inspection of all books, records and accounts of the licensee.
(b) 
Audits. The records of the licensee shall be made available to the City Controller for audit as to the number of accounts maintained by the licensee.
[Ord. 6630, passed 10-28-1976]
(a) 
The provisions of this article or any license issued hereunder shall be subject to any Federal and State legislation enacted or which shall be enacted, pertaining to the construction, operation and maintenance of closed circuit television transmission and distribution systems, commonly known as CATV. Any conflict between the provisions of this article and the rules and regulations adopted or hereinafter adopted by the Federal and State governments shall be resolved in favor of the Federal and State regulations.
(b) 
Any lawful modification resulting from amendment of Section 76.31 ("Franchise Standards") of the Rules and Regulations of the Federal Communications Commission shall be incorporated into this franchise as of the date such modification becomes obligatory under FCC regulations, or in the event no obligatory date is established, within one year of adoption or at the time of franchise renewal, whichever occurs first.
Any licensee refusing or neglecting to pay any fees imposed under this article when the same is due shall be punished as provided in Section 101.99 of the Administrative Code for each month the fee remains unpaid and such violation shall be immediate grounds to have the license terminated.