A. 
In addition to the provisions contained herein, a franchisee must comply with the customer service obligations established by the FCC, as may be amended from time to time, and which are set forth in current form in Exhibit B[1] and are incorporated herein by reference. In addition, a franchisee shall at all times satisfy any additional or stricter requirements established by a franchise agreement or other applicable law or regulation.
[1]
Editor's Note: Exhibit B, FCC Customer Service Obligations, is on file in the township offices.
B. 
Nothing in this chapter may be construed to prevent or prohibit the municipality from waiving, for good cause, requirements established in this article.
A. 
Standard installations. Except as federal rate regulations may otherwise require, the franchisee shall not assess a subscriber any cost other than a standard installation charge for service drops of 150 feet or less, for a single outlet, unless the franchisee demonstrates to the municipality's satisfaction that extraordinary circumstances justify a higher charge.
B. 
Nonstandard installations. Except as applicable law may otherwise require, where a drop exceeds 150 feet in length, a franchisee may charge a subscriber for the franchisee's actual costs associated with installing the longer drop, provided that drop length shall be the shorter of: the actual length of the installed drop; or the shortest distance to the point where the franchisee would be required to extend its distribution system. The subscriber's preference as to the point of entry into the residence shall be observed whenever feasible. Runs in building interiors shall be as unobtrusive as possible. The franchisee shall use due care in the process of installation and shall repair any damage to the subscriber's property caused by said installation. Such restoration shall be undertaken within no more than 30 days after the damage is incurred and shall be completed as soon as possible thereafter.
C. 
Location of drops. Except as federal rate regulations may otherwise require, in any area where a franchisee would be entitled to install a drop aboveground, the franchisee will provide the homeowner the option, where feasible, to have the drop installed underground, if requested, but may charge the homeowner the difference between the actual cost of the aboveground installation and the actual cost of the underground installation.
D. 
Time for extension. Except as a franchise agreement may otherwise require, where a franchisee is required under this section to provide service to a person, it must provide such service: within 30 days of the person's request if such person resides no further than 150 feet from the franchisee's distribution system; or within 60 days if the person resides more than 150 feet from the franchisee's distribution system, provided that the person agrees to reimburse the franchisee for the cost of installing such service in accordance with Subsection B above; but the distribution system need not be extended for 1/4 mile or more to provide service.
E. 
Deposits. A franchisee may require a reasonable, nondiscriminatory deposit on equipment provided to subscribers, in addition to any allowable monthly rental fees. Any subscriber deposit required by the franchisee shall bear interest in accordance with applicable law or at the going rate, which shall be not less than the prime rate of the bank being used by the municipality for the conduct of ordinary business. All deposits, with interest, shall be returned to the subscriber within six months or when the equipment is returned at time of disconnection of reception of service (whichever is sooner).
F. 
Antennas and antenna switches. A franchisee shall not, as a condition to providing cable service, require any subscriber or potential subscriber to remove any existing antenna structures for the receipt of over-the-air television signals.
G. 
Delinquent accounts. A franchisee shall use its best efforts to collect on delinquent subscriber accounts before terminating service. In all cases, the franchisee shall provide the customer with at least 10 days' written notice prior to disconnection.
A. 
Each franchisee shall maintain an office at a convenient location in the municipality, or in the general geographical area which includes the municipality, that shall be open during normal business hours to allow subscribers to request service, pay bills and conduct other business.
B. 
Each franchisee will maintain at least one local, toll-free or collect-call telephone access line which will be available to subscribers 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Trained representatives of a franchisee shall be available to respond to subscriber telephone inquiries during normal business hours.
C. 
A franchisee must hire sufficient staff so that it can adequately respond to customer inquiries, complaints and requests for service in its office, over the phone and at the subscriber's residence.
In addition to the customer service standards contained in Exhibit B,[1] all franchisees shall meet the following service standards, under normal operating conditions, at least 95% of the time, as measured on a quarterly basis:
A. 
Prompt service. Repairs for service interruptions and other system repairs not requiring work within a subscriber's premises must be begun within 24 hours after the subscriber reports the problem to the franchisee or its representative or the interruption or need for repairs otherwise becomes known to the franchisee. All such work must be completed within three days from the date of the initial request, except installation requests, or in the shortest time possible where, for reasons beyond the franchisee's control, the work could not be completed within three days even with the exercise of all due diligence; the failure of a franchisee to hire sufficient staff or to properly train its staff shall not justify a franchisee's failure to comply with this provision. Except as federal law permits, no charge shall be made to the subscriber for this service or for the cost of repairs to the franchisee's equipment or facilities, except where it can be shown that the equipment or facility was damaged by a subscriber.
B. 
Emergency maintenance. A franchisee shall keep an emergency system maintenance and repair staff, capable of responding to and repairing system malfunctions or interruptions, on a twenty-four-hour basis, and shall respond to service interruptions 24 hours a day, seven days a week, under normal operating conditions.
C. 
Other inquiries. Under normal operating conditions, requests for service, repair and maintenance not involving service interruptions must be acknowledged by a trained customer service representative within 24 hours, or prior to the end of the next business day, whichever is earlier. A franchisee shall respond to all other inquiries (including billing inquiries) within five business days of the inquiry or complaint.
D. 
Mobility-limited subscribers. With regard to mobility-limited subscribers, upon a subscriber request, each franchisee shall arrange for pickup and/or replacement of converters or other franchisee equipment at the subscriber's address or by a satisfactory equivalent (such as the provision of a postage-prepaid mailer).
[1]
Editor's Note: Exhibit B, FCC Customer Service Obligations, is on file in the township offices.
A franchisee may intentionally interrupt service on the cable system only for good cause and for the shortest time possible and, except in emergency situations or as necessary to fix a service problem, only after a minimum of 48 hours' prior notice to subscribers and the municipality of the anticipated service interruption; provided, however, that planned maintenance that does not require more than two hours' interruption of service and that occurs between the hours of 12:00 midnight and 6:00 a.m. shall not require such notice to subscribers, but shall require notice to the municipality no less than 24 hours prior to such an anticipated service interruption.
A. 
In addition to the notification requirements contained within the customer service standards in Exhibit B,[1] a franchisee shall also provide the following materials to each subscriber at the time cable service is installed, at least annually thereafter, and at any time upon request. Copies of all such subscriber materials shall also be provided to the municipality, upon request.
(1) 
A schedule of rates and charges.
(2) 
A written description of the franchisee's delinquent subscriber disconnect and reconnect procedures, and any other of its policies applicable to its subscribers.
[1]
Editor's Note: Exhibit B, FCC Customer Service Obligations, is on file in the township offices.
B. 
All promotional materials, announcements and advertising of residential cable service to subscribers and the general public, where price information is listed in any manner, shall clearly and accurately disclose price terms. In the case of pay-per-view or pay-per-event programming, all promotional materials must clearly and accurately disclose price terms and, in the case of telephone orders, a franchisee shall take appropriate steps to ensure that price terms are clearly and accurately disclosed to potential subscribers before the order is accepted.
C. 
Each franchisee shall maintain a public file containing all notices provided to subscribers under these customer service standards. Copies of all promotional or special offers made to subscribers shall be filed promptly with the municipality, upon request.
A. 
A franchisee's first billing statement after a new installation or service change shall be prorated as appropriate and shall reflect any security deposit.
B. 
A franchisee's billing statement must show a specific payment due date not earlier than the midpoint of the period for which the service being billed is rendered (e.g., the 15th day of a thirty-day billing cycle). Any balance not received by seven days after the end of the period for which the service being billed is rendered may be assessed a late fee as set from time to time by resolution of the Board of Supervisors, or such other amount as the municipality and the franchisee may agree, consistent with state and local law. The late fee shall appear on the following month's billing statement.[1]
[1]
Editor's Note: Amended at time of adoption of Code (see Ch. 1, General Provisions, Art. I).
C. 
A franchisee must notify the subscriber that he or she can remit payment in person at the franchisee's business office and inform the subscriber of the address of that office.
D. 
Subscribers shall not be charged a late fee or otherwise be penalized for any failure by a franchisee, including failure to timely or correctly bill the subscriber, or failure to properly credit the subscriber for a payment timely made.
E. 
The account of any subscriber shall be credited a prorated share of the monthly charge for the service upon the subscriber's prompt request, or where the franchisee can reasonably identify the affected subscribers, if said subscriber is without service or if service is substantially impaired for any reason for a period exceeding four hours during any twenty-four-hour period, except where it can be shown that a subscriber seeks a refund for an outage or impairment which that subscriber caused, or in the case of a planned outage occurring between the hours of 12:00 midnight and 6:00 a.m.
F. 
Except by reason of emergency, loss of programming signal, permanent changes in programming or in the channel lineup on the system, or for other legitimate and business reasons as permitted or required by applicable law or programming contract, the franchisee shall not deliberately interrupt the normal programming offered on the system to subscribers without prior notification. Applicable federal or state law or regulation shall govern whether subscribers are entitled to any refund or credit for such interruptions.
A. 
A subscriber may terminate service at any time.
B. 
Upon request, a franchisee shall promptly disconnect or downgrade any subscriber. No period of notice prior to voluntary termination or downgrade of service may be required of subscribers by any franchisee. No charge may be imposed for any voluntary disconnection or downgrade, except to the extent that federal law specifically provides that the franchisee must be permitted so to charge a subscriber. So long as the subscriber returns any equipment necessary to receive a service within five business days of the disconnection, no charge may be imposed by any franchisee for any cable service delivered 24 hours prior to the return of such equipment. However, if a subscriber does not return, or permit the franchisee to retrieve, such equipment within five business days after disconnection, a franchisee may charge a subscriber for any cable service delivered until the equipment is returned.
C. 
Any security deposit and/or other funds due the subscriber shall be refunded on disconnected accounts after any customer premises equipment provided by the franchisee has been recovered by the franchisee. The refund must be made within 30 days or by the end of the next billing cycle, whichever is earlier, from the date disconnection was requested (or, if later, the date on which any customer premises equipment provided by the franchisee is returned).
D. 
If a subscriber fails to pay a monthly subscriber fee or other fee or charge, a franchisee may disconnect the subscriber's service; however, such disconnection shall not be effected until after 45 days from the beginning of the period for which the service being billed is rendered, plus at least 10 days' advance written notice to the subscriber in question of intent to disconnect, given after the 45 days have elapsed. If the subscriber pays all amounts due, including late charges, before the date scheduled for disconnection, the franchisee shall not disconnect service. After disconnection, upon payment by the subscriber in full of all proper fees or charges, including the payment of the reconnection charge, if any, the franchisee shall promptly reinstate service.
E. 
A franchisee may immediately disconnect a subscriber if the subscriber is damaging or destroying the franchisee's cable system or equipment and may pursue criminal or civil action against said subscriber as appropriate. After disconnection, the franchisee shall restore service if the subscriber provides adequate assurance, including monetary or legal assurances, that it has ceased the practices that led to disconnection, and paid all proper fees and charges, including any reconnect fees and amounts owed the franchisee for damage to its cable system or equipment.
F. 
A franchisee may also disconnect a subscriber that causes signal leakage in excess of federal limits. Disconnection may be effected after five days' written notice to the subscriber, if the subscriber fails to take steps to correct the problem. In addition, a franchisee may disconnect a subscriber without notice where signal leakage is detected originating from the subscriber's premises in excess of federal limits, provided that the franchisee shall immediately notify the subscriber of the problem and, once the problem is corrected, reconnect the subscriber without charge.
G. 
A franchisee shall reconnect service to customers wishing restoration of service, provided that such a customer shall first satisfy any previous obligations owed.
A franchisee shall make available to any subscribers, upon request, the option of blocking the video or audio portion of any channel or channels of programming entering the subscriber's home. The control option described herein shall be made available to all subscribers requesting it when any cable service is provided, or reasonably soon thereafter.
A. 
A franchisee shall file annually with the municipality, in the franchisee's annual report, a statement describing the extent of compliance with the customer service standards contained in Exhibit B herein.[1] If a franchisee is in noncompliance with any element of such standards during any calendar quarter, it shall include in its annual report a description of such noncompliance, the reason for the noncompliance and a remedial plan.
[1]
Editor's Note: Exhibit B, FCC Customer Service Obligations, is on file in the township offices.
B. 
Subject to federal law, and after appropriate notice and a reasonable period allowed for cure, a franchisee may be subject to penalties, forfeitures and any other remedies or sanctions available under federal, state or local law, including without limitation this chapter and a franchisee's franchise agreement with the municipality, if it repeatedly fails to comply with the standards herein.
Except as authorized by federal or state law, no franchisee shall enter into an exclusive contract for the provision of cable service with any person (including but not limited to a building owner), or demand the exclusive right to serve a person or location as a condition of providing or continuing service.