Based upon studies of this community, a review of other communities, comments received at a public hearing, meetings, interviews, surveys, and the experience of other communities in the development of such cable television systems as well as general developments in the cable industry, the City has determined that a minimum number of channels should be designated for public, educational and governmental access, and that additional channels should be available as channel use grows. It further concludes that, to facilitate the reception and efficient use of available resources, there must be guarantees: (i) that ensure each franchisee shall bear a fair share of the cost associated with public, educational and governmental access; (ii) that require such connections so that programming might be simultaneously transmitted over each cable system; and (iii) to ensure that access facilities and equipment can continue to be used as cable system technology changes. In any specific franchise grants or renewals, different access requirements may be imposed to accommodate changes in access needs of the City, so long as the relative burden on any particular cable system compared to the burden on others is fair, considering other franchise differences, the time at which the franchise was issued, and the franchise term. Nothing in this Section shall be read to impose obligations inconsistent with the requirements of 47 U.S.C. § 546.
(A) 
The City may designate PEG access providers, including itself for governmental access purposes, to control and manage the use of any or all access facilities provided by a franchisee under this Chapter. To the extent authorized by the City, the designated access provider shall have sole responsibility for operating and managing such access facilities.
(B) 
A franchisee shall cooperate with designated access providers in the use of the cable system and access facilities for the provision of PEG access. A franchisee may enter into operating agreements with designated access providers under which the designated access providers will facilitate and coordinate the provision of PEG access services.
(A) 
A franchisee shall provide a minimum of four (4) downstream and upstream channels for PEG access.
(B) 
If PEG access channels are not being used for access purposes, a franchisee may request the City to establish rules and procedures to permit the franchisee to use such channel capacity for other services, together with rules and procedures providing for such use to cease when the channel capacity is required for access purposes.
A franchisee shall ensure that technically adequate signal quality, routing systems, and switching and/or processing equipment are initially and continuously provided for all access interconnections both within franchisee’s cable system and with other cable systems throughout the duration of this Chapter.
In the event a franchisee makes any change in the cable system and related equipment and facilities or in the franchisee’s signal delivery technology which directly or indirectly substantially affects the signal quality or transmission of access programming, the franchisee shall at its expense take necessary steps or provide necessary technical assistance, including the acquisition of all necessary equipment, to ensure that the capabilities of access programmers are not diminished or adversely affected by such change.
A franchisee shall maintain all access channels (both upstream channels and downstream channels) and all interconnections of access channels at the same level of technical quality and reliability required by this Chapter and all other applicable laws, rules, and regulations for subscriber channels.