Comcast shall comply with all applicable customer service requirements
in the FCC's rules. In addition, Comcast commits to the following:
A. Notices. Comcast shall provide written notice to each subscriber
upon initial subscription, and once per calendar year thereafter to
each subscriber, and at any time upon request, regarding each of the
following areas:
(1) Products and services offered;
(2) Prices and options for programming services and conditions of subscription
to programming and other services;
(3) Channel positions of programming carried on the cable system;
(4) Installation and service maintenance policies;
(5) Instructions on how to use the cable service and any converters;
(6) Billing and customer complaint procedures;
(7) Comcast's address, telephone number and office hours; and
(8) A notice of subscriber privacy rights as required by federal law.
B. Customer complaint; response; repair. Comcast shall comply with the
following:
(1) Telephone procedures. Comcast shall provide a toll-free number and
employ sufficient telephone lines and operators to handle incoming
customer service calls. Under normal operating conditions and during
normal business hours, telephone answering time by a customer representative,
including wait time, shall not exceed 30 seconds after the connection
is made. If the call needs to be transferred, transfer time shall
not exceed 30 seconds. These standards shall be met no less than 90%
of the time, measured on a quarterly basis.
(2) Telephone response time. Should the response time to incoming calls
by Comcast result in an historical record of complaints which indicate
a clear failure to comply and the Comcast response time falls below
the standard in the FCC's rules as measured on a quarterly basis,
Comcast agrees to take appropriate measures to restore telephone response
time to the above standard (see 47 CFR 76.309).
C. Repair response. Comcast agrees to respond to all cable service repair
requests in as expeditious a manner as possible. If Comcast's
record of repairs falls below the FCC standard, Comcast agrees to
take appropriate measures to restore its repair service level to the
above standard.
D. Refunds for outages. The cable system shall be designed for operation
24 hours per day. Under normal operating conditions, Comcast shall
upon written or credible oral request issue credit to its subscribers
for outages of more than six continuous hours and for outages. Refunds
given in accordance with the provisions of this subsection shall be
on a pro rata credit or rebate, on a daily basis, of that portion
of the service charge during the next consecutive billing cycle, or,
at its option, apply such credit to any outstanding balance that is
currently due. No refund shall be required where the outage is a result
of misuse of equipment by the subscriber, defective equipment not
provided by Comcast, or where Comcast is denied access to the subscriber's
premises.
E. Continuity of service. Subscribers are entitled to receive all available cable services insofar as their financial and other obligations to Comcast are honored subject to the force majeure provisions in §
A230-17 of this agreement. Franchisee retains the right to deny service to any customer who violates franchisee's service policies including signal theft, equipment tampering, employee safety or threats to safety, harassment, or other reasonable cause.
Comcast will abide by all the provisions under federal and state
law governing unfair discrimination in employment practices or sales
of its product and services in Town.
This franchise may be renewed upon agreement of the parties
and upon a determination by vote of the Town Council, following public
hearings, in accordance with the renewal standards set forth in § 626
of the Cable Act. In the event of nonrenewal or termination of the
franchise and the Town acquires ownership of or effects a transfer
of ownership of the cable system, any such acquisition or transfer
shall be in accordance with applicable federal law, in particular
§ 627 of the Cable Act and subject to the provisions of § 621(b)
of the same statute.
At all times during the term of the franchise, Comcast shall
maintain and keep in force and effect a performance bond or an irrevocable
letter of credit or some other means of assurance satisfactory to
the Town which shall serve as a performance guarantee or bond, and
as security for the performance and discharge of its obligations under
this franchise agreement. Said guarantee shall be issued by an insurance
company, bank or other entity approved by the Town and shall be conditioned
upon the faithful performance of all terms of this agreement and the
law, and shall specify that in the event Comcast has failed to faithfully
perform or is in default under any of its obligations, then, in such
event, the obligor shall reimburse the Town such funds as are necessary
to pay damages incurred by the Town or otherwise meet the obligations
of this agreement and the law. The performance bond or letter of credit
shall be in the amount of not less than $25,000 for the duration of
the franchise agreement. Failure to establish and maintain at the
full amount the letter of credit or performance bond shall constitute
a material breach of this agreement.
If Comcast is prevented or delayed in the performance of any
of its obligations under this agreement by reason of Acts of God,
floods, fires, hurricanes, tornados, earthquakes or other unavoidable
casualty, acts of public enemy, terrorism or threats of terrorism,
insurrection, war, riot, sabotage, vandalism, strikes, boycotts, lockouts,
labor disputes, shortage of labor, epidemic, freight embargoes, shortages
or unavailability of materials or supplies, unusually severe weather
conditions, or the failure of a utility to provide the make-ready
for the Comcast's cable system construction work, after timely
request by Comcast, the unlawful denial of any permit application
by the Town, or the failure of the Town to respond to any permit application
or approval request by Comcast within a reasonable time period considering
the scope of the request (any of which is hereinafter called "force
majeure"), then the time within which such obligations must be performed
under the terms of this agreement shall be extended for a reasonable
period.
The franchise granted herein shall be a privilege personal to
Comcast. No interest in the franchise shall be directly or indirectly
transferred or assigned without the prior approval of the Town which
shall not be unreasonably withheld. For the purposes of this section
a merger or consolidation, or the formation of a joint venture or
partnership in which Comcast is a party and/or participant shall be
deemed a transfer or assignment subject to the provisions of this
section and shall not be entered into or consummated without the prior
approval of the Town, which approval shall not be unreasonably withheld.
No consent shall be required, however, for: i) a transfer in trust,
by mortgage, hypothecation, or by assignment of any rights, title,
or interest of Comcast in the franchise or in the cable system in
order to secure indebtedness; or ii) a transfer to an entity directly
or indirectly owned or controlled by Comcast Corporation.
Comcast acknowledges and accepts the legal right of the Town to issue a franchise and Comcast agrees that it shall not now or at any time hereafter challenge this lawful right. Comcast and the Town understand that this franchise is being granted pursuant to state and federal law as it now exists, and agrees that in the event of any changes in such laws (subject to §
A230-21B hereof) which conflict with the terms of this agreement, the Town and Comcast may amend this agreement to comply with such change in statute or regulation of law provided such amendment is mutually approved in writing by the Town and Comcast.
Comcast herewith provides an assurance, promise, and guarantee
that it possesses the financial, legal, and technical ability to offer
and make available cable services to subscribers located in the Town
of Elsmere in accordance with the terms and conditions of this agreement
and federal law and that this statement of fact is true and may be
relied upon by the Town as further represented and warranted Appendix
A.
All terms used in this franchise, unless defined below, shall
have the same meaning as that found in the Cable Act and applicable
Federal Communications Commission regulations:
ACCESS CHANNEL
An access channel that consists of local public, educational
or governmental programming pursuant to § 611 of the Cable
Act, 47 U.S.C. § 531.
AFFILIATED ENTITY
Any corporation, partnership or other business entity that
owns or controls, is owned or controlled by, or is under common ownership
or control with Comcast, but does not include those affiliated entities
that are not involved with the use, management, operation, construction,
repair and/or maintenance of Comcast Corporation's cable systems.
BASIC SERVICE
The service tier that includes at least the retransmission
of local broadcast television signals and any access channels.
CABLE ACT
Title VI of the Communications Act of 1934, as amended by
the Cable Communications Policy Act of 1984, the Cable Television
Consumer Protection and Competitive Act of 1992 and the Telecommunications
Act of 1996, as it may, from time to time, be further amended.
CABLE SERVICE
The one-way transmission to subscribers of video programming
or other programming service and subscriber interaction, if any, which
is required for the selection or use of such video programming or
other programming service, pursuant to § 602(6) of the Cable
Act, 47 U.S.C. § 522(6).
CABLE SYSTEM OR SYSTEM
A facility, consisting of a set of closed transmission paths
and associated signal generation, reception, and control equipment
that is designed to provide cable service which includes video programming
and which is provided to multiple subscribers within the Town pursuant
to § 602(7) of the Cable Act, 47 U.S.C. § 522(7).
CHANNEL
A portion of the electromagnetic frequency spectrum which
is used in a cable system and which is capable of delivering a television
channel as a television channel is defined by FCC regulation pursuant
to § 602(4) of the Cable Act, 47 U.S.C. § 522(4).
COMMUNICATIONS ACT
The Federal Communications Act of 1934, as amended, and as
it may, from time to time, be further amended.
DROP
The coaxial or fiber optic or other cable that connects a
home or building to the cable system.
EMERGENCY
A condition that either: 1) constitutes a clear and immediate
danger to the health, welfare, or safety of the public; or 2) has
caused or is likely to cause the cable system in the public rights-of-way
to be unusable and result in system-wide loss of the services provided.
FCC
Federal Communications Commission or successor governmental
entity.
FRANCHISE
The right granted by the Town to construct, operate and maintain
a cable system for the purpose of providing cable service within the
corporate limits of the Town as embodied in the terms and conditions
of this agreement.
FRANCHISE FEE
The tax, fee or assessment that Comcast remits to the Town for the use of the Town's public rights-of-way pursuant to § 622 of the Cable Act, 47 U.S.C. § 542, and §
A230-15 of this agreement.
NORMAL BUSINESS HOURS
Those hours during which most similar businesses in the community
are open to serve subscribers. In all cases, normal business hours
must include some evening hours at least one night per week and/or
some weekend hours.
NORMAL OPERATING CONDITIONS
Business conditions within Comcast's service department
which are within the control of Comcast. Those conditions that are
not within the control of Comcast include, but are not limited to,
natural disasters, civil disturbances, power outages, telephone network
outages and severe or unusual weather conditions.
OUTAGE
The loss of video programming on one or more channels.
PROGRAMMING
Any video signal carried over the cable system that is generally
considered comparable to video programming provided by a television
broadcast station pursuant to § 602(20) of the Cable Act,
47 U.S.C. § 522(20).
PUBLIC RIGHTS-OF-WAY
The surface and the area across, in, over, along, under and
upon the public streets, roads, lanes, avenues, alleys, sidewalks,
bridges, highways and other rights-of-way, as the same now or may
thereafter exist, and other properties which are under the jurisdiction
or control of the Town.
SUBSCRIBER OR CUSTOMER
A person or entity who contracts with Comcast for, and lawfully
receives, the video programming signals and cable services distributed
by the cable system.