The County Council is hereby authorized and
empowered to issue a franchise for the construction and operation
of a cable system as defined by this chapter and to regulate such
system consistent with the terms of this chapter and any other applicable
laws or regulations.
To the full extent permitted by federal law,
the County Council shall ensure that the same terms, conditions and
requirements are included under all franchises issued under this chapter
for the construction, maintenance, and operation of a cable system.
Except where, by the context, it is clear that
a different meaning is intended, the following words and expressions
shall have the following meanings:
ACCESS CHANNEL
Any video channel, which franchisee shall make available
to the granting authority without charge for noncommercial public,
educational, or governmental use for the transmission of video programming
as directed by the granting authority.
ADDITIONAL SERVICE
Any communications service other than the basic service that
the company provides or that persons not related to the company provide
over its system, including but not limited to data transmissions,
facsimile reproduction, meter reading, fire and burglar alarm services
and the like.
APPLICANT
The person who files an application for the cable system
franchise to serve the County.
APPLICATION
A.
All written materials that are filed by or on
behalf of any applicant with the granting authority.
B.
All oral representations that are made at any
public or private hearings that are conducted by the granting authority
or its duly authorized personnel.
C.
Both the letter and intent of all such written
and oral presentations from the applicant.
BASIC SERVICE
The simultaneous delivery by the company to the television
receivers or any other suitable type of audio-video communications
receivers of all residential subscribers and to public or quasi-public
facilities or buildings, without charge to the County, of all signals
that are received from broadcast stations and carried consistent with
the Cable System Rules and Regulations of the FCC, the channels on
which the company originates the programming and the channels on which
the County, school system or members of the public originate programming.
BUNDLED SERVICES
The combination of voice, data, and video services offered
together as one, "bundled."
CABLE ACT
Shall mean the Cable Communications Policy Act of 1984, 47
U.S.C. §§ 521 et seq., as may be amended from time
to time.
CABLE CHANNEL OR CHANNEL
Shall be defined herein as it is defined under Section 602
of the Communications Act, 47 U.S.C § 522(4), as may be
amended from time to time. "Channels" shall be classified as follows:
A.
COMPANY CHANNELSThose channels that are reserved or are available for the carriage of programming that is originated by the company in accordance with the FCC's Rules.
B.
COUNTY CHANNELSThose channels on the system which are used or are reserved for use by the County as it shall, in its discretion, determine.
C.
EDUCATIONAL CHANNELSThose channels that are used or are reserved for use by the school system, public or private, in the County, including but not limited to colleges, universities and libraries.
D.
PUBLIC CHANNELSThose channels that are used or are reserved for use by the public, either at no charge or upon the effectuation of a lease arrangement with the company.
CABLE SERVICE
The one-way video transmission of video or other programming
service to subscribers and any subscriber interaction provided in
connection with that service.
CABLE SYSTEM
Shall be defined herein as it is defined under Section 602
of the Communications Act, 47 U.S.C. § 522(7), as may be
amended from time to time.
CONTROL OF A FRANCHISEE OR APPLICANT
Means the legal or practical ability to exert actual working,
de facto or de jure control over the day-to-day policies, operations,
management or corporate affairs of the franchisee or applicant either
directly or indirectly, whether by contractual agreement, majority
ownership of an interest, any lesser ownership interest, or in any
other manner.
FCC
The Federal Communications Commission as presently constituted
by the United States Congress, or any successor agency.
FRANCHISE
The grant of a nonexclusive right to construct, maintain
and operate a cable system, in the County.
FRANCHISE AGREEMENT
Shall mean the agreement entered into in accordance with
the provisions of the Harford County Code between the granting authority
and a franchisee that sets forth the terms and conditions under which
the franchise will be exercised.
FRANCHISEE or COMPANY
The person who is awarded a franchise by the Council to construct
and operate a cable system in accordance with the provisions of applicable
law within the County.
GROSS SUBSCRIBER REVENUES
Only those revenues derived from the monthly service charge
fees paid by subscribers for regular cable television, including the
transmission of broadcast signals and access and origination channels,
if any, and premium or pay-television channels. As specified by the
Federal Communications Commission (FCC), "gross subscriber revenues"
shall not include any revenues derived from the provision of telephone
services or telephone-related services (including personal computing
and other online services) unless inclusion is expressly allowed or
required by federal law; reimbursement of expenses in the operation
of any access channels, advertising, leasing of cable channels, programs
for which per-channel or per-program charges are made; furnishing
other communications and nonbroadcast services, either directly or
as a carrier for another party; or any other income derived from the
system.
MONITORING
Observing a one-way communication signal or the absence of
a signal, where the observer is neither the subscriber nor the programmer,
when the signal is observed by visual or electronic means for any
purpose.
OVERBUILD
Means a cable system constructed to serve any subscribers
served by an existing cable system, including those parts of an existing
system scheduled by the incumbent cable operator to be constructed
and activated pursuant to a staging map already on file with the County.
PERSON
Means any individual, corporation, partnership, association,
joint venture, or organization of any kind and the lawful trustee,
successor, assignee, transferee, or personal representative thereof.
PROCEDURES
The methods by which the granting authority will analyze,
evaluate, and otherwise premise its ultimate decision to grant or
deny any cable franchise application.
PUBLIC RIGHTS-OF-WAY
The surface, the air space above the surface, and the area
below the surface of any public street, road, highway, lane, court,
way, path, alley, sidewalk, boulevard, drive, bridge, tunnel, park,
parkway, public waterway, public utility easement, public land, or
similar property used as public rights-of-way, as the same now or
may thereafter exist, which are under the jurisdiction, control, or
within the County, which, consistent with the purposes for which it
was dedicated, may be used for the purpose of installing and maintaining
the cable system. No reference herein to a "public right-of-way" shall
be deemed to be a representation or guarantee by the granting authority
that its interest or other right to control the use of such property
is sufficient to permit its use for such purposes and only those rights
to use as are properly in Harford County and as the granting authority
may have the right and power to give. Public rights-of way do not
include the airwaves above a right-of-way with regard to cellular
or other non-wire communications or broadcast services.
RESIDENTIAL SUBSCRIBER
A purchaser of any service that the company delivers to an
individual dwelling unit, provided that such service is not utilized
in connection with a business, trade or profession.
RESPOND
Franchisee's investigation of a service interruption after
receiving a subscriber call and opening a trouble ticket, if required.
SERVICE CALL
The action taken by the franchisee to correct a service interruption
the effect of which is limited to an individual subscriber.
SERVICE INTERRUPTION
The loss of picture or sound on one or more cable channels
or channel equivalents.
SIGNIFICANT OUTAGE
A significant outage of the cable service shall mean any
service interruption lasting at least 4 continuous hours that affects
at least 10 subscribers in the service area.
SUBSCRIBER
A person who lawfully receives cable service of the cable
system, including, without limitation, a residential subscriber.
SYSTEM
The specific cable system, as referred to above, that is
proposed to be or is ultimately constructed, operated and maintained
by the franchisee in the County.
SYSTEM MALFUNCTION
An equipment or facility failure or service interruption
that results in the loss of satisfactory service on one or more channels.
A malfunction is a major malfunction if it affects 10 or more subscribers.
TAPPING
Observing two-way communication signal exchange, where the
observer is neither of the communicating parties, whether the communication
signal exchange is observed by visual or electronic means, for any
purpose whatsoever.
TRANSFER
Any transaction in which:
A.
Control of the franchise is transferred, whether
by a transfer, or a grant of ownership or other interest in franchisee,
directly or indirectly, from one person or group of persons to another
person or group of persons; or
B.
The rights held by franchisee under this franchise
agreement are transferred or assigned to another person or group of
persons. Notwithstanding the above, a transfer shall not include:
transfer of an ownership or other interest in franchisee to the parent
of franchisee or to another affiliate of franchisee; transfer of an
interest in franchisee or the rights held by franchisee under this
agreement to the parent of franchisee or to another affiliate of franchisee;
or any action which is the result of a merger of the parent of franchisee
or another affiliate of franchisee (unless and to the extent such
merger would result in a combination of two wireline cable services
competitors in the service area.)
TRANSFER OF INTEREST
The sale or transfer, directly or indirectly, of an existing
or newly created equity interest in franchisee that does not result
in a transfer of control of the franchisee.
It shall be unlawful to operate a cable system
in the County without a franchise that has been awarded pursuant to
the terms and provisions of this chapter.
On the application due date, each applicant
for a franchise under this chapter shall be required to file a fee
of $5,000 payable to the County.
This section sets forth customer service standards
that a franchise must satisfy. In addition, the franchise shall at
all times satisfy any additional or stricter requirements established
by the Federal Communications Commission Regulations, or other federal,
state, or local law or regulation, as the same may be amended from
time to time. Nothing in this section may be construed to prevent
or prohibit the County from waiving, for good cause, requirements
established in this section.
A. Telephone availability. A franchisee must maintain
in its franchise area a business office open during normal business
hours with a listed local telephone number and a sufficient number
of telephone lines to allow reasonable access by subscribers and members
of the public. When the business office is closed, the franchisee
shall maintain a toll-free number to receive all calls, complaints,
and inquiries from subscribers or residents in the franchise area
regarding cable service. The franchisee must hire sufficient franchisee
representatives trained and qualified to answer questions related
to cable service in the service area and who must be available to
receive reports of service interruptions 24 hours a day, 7 days a
week, and other inquiries at least 45 hours per week. Franchisee representatives
shall identify themselves by name when answering this number.
B. Installations and service appointments. All installations
will be in accordance with FCC Rules, including but not limited to
appropriate grounding, connection of equipment to ensure reception
of cable service, and the provision of required consumer information
and literature to adequately inform the subscriber in the utilization
of franchisee-supplied equipment and cable service. A franchise agreement
must include procedures for the proper performance of service installations,
service appointments, scheduling of the same, and completion of service.
C. Service interruptions and outages.
(1) Notice of significant outage or interruption of repairs.
The franchisee shall notify the granting authority of any significant
outage of the cable service. Whenever it is necessary to shut off
or interrupt service for the purpose of making repairs, adjustments
or installations, the franchisee shall attempt to do so at such times
as shall cause the least amount of inconveniences to its customers,
and unless such interruption is unforeseen and immediately necessary,
it shall attempt to give reasonable notice thereof to its customers
and exercise the most commercially reasonable efforts to limit any
significant outage for the purpose of maintaining, repairing, or constructing
the cable system. Excepting emergency or other situations necessitating
a more expedited or alternative notification procedure, the franchisee
may schedule a significant outage for a period of more than 4 hours
during any 24 hour period only after the granting authority and each
affected subscriber in the service area have been given 15 days prior
notice of the proposed significant outage. Notwithstanding the forgoing,
the franchisee may perform modifications, repairs and upgrades to
the system between 12:01 a.m. and 6:00 a.m. which may interrupt service,
and this section's notice obligations respecting such possible interruptions
will be satisfied by notice provided to subscribers upon installation
and in the annual subscriber notice.
(2) Personnel and equipment for system malfunctions. A
franchisee must have personnel and equipment available at all times
to locate and correct major system malfunctions. Major system malfunctions
must be corrected without delay. Corrective action must be completed
as promptly as possible.
(3) A franchise agreement must include procedures to investigate
and resolve all complaints and inquiries regarding cable service,
including those regarding the quality of service, equipment malfunction,
response times, and credits to be issued subscribers in the event
of interruption or outage.
D. Customer complaints. Franchisee, franchisee's agents
or employees must respond to and investigate subscriber complaints
relating to cable services referred from its subscribers or from the
granting authority and resolve said complaints in an efficient and
timely manner if at all technically or reasonably possible. The granting
authority may require reasonable documentation to be provided from
the franchisee to substantiate a request for additional time for the
franchisee to resolve the problem. Resolve shall mean that the franchisee
shall perform those actions, which, in the normal course of business,
are necessary to investigate the customer's complaint and advise the
customer of the results of that investigation.
(1) A franchisee must maintain a complete record of service
complaints received and action taken. These records must be open to
the granting authority for inspection during the normal business hours.
A quarterly summary of such records must be submitted to the granting
authority by all franchisees or upon request by the granting authority.
Complaint records must be retained for 3 years.
E. Rates, fees and charges. Franchisee shall not, except
to the extent permitted by law, impose any fee or charge for service
calls to a subscriber's premises to perform any repair or maintenance
work related to franchisee equipment necessary to receive cable service,
except where such problem is caused by a negligent or wrongful act
of the subscriber or by the failure of the subscriber to take reasonable
precautions to protect franchisee's equipment.
A franchisee must also provide each subscriber,
at the time cable service is installed, written instructions for placing
a service call, filing a complaint, or requesting an adjustment. These
instructions must include the name, address, and telephone numbers
of the franchisee office designated to handle subscriber complaints.
Each subscriber must also be provided with a schedule of the subscriber's
rates and charges, a copy of the service contract, delinquent subscriber
disconnect and reconnect procedures, and a description of any other
relevant franchisee subscriber policies such as reasonable notice
to subscribers of the possible assessment of a late fee on bills.
The franchisee must provide to the granting authority a copy of all
forms describing customer service policies and procedures when they
are distributed to subscribers, and if possible, should provide these
forms to the granting authority before they are distributed. All forms
must be conspicuously posted in the franchisee's local business office.
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F. Disconnection and denial of service.
(1) Notice prior to termination. Franchisee shall not
terminate cable service for nonpayment of a delinquent account unless
franchisee mails a notice of the delinquency and impending termination
prior to the proposed final termination. The notice shall be mailed
to the subscriber to whom the cable service is billed. The notice
of delinquency and impending termination may be part of a billing
statement.
(2) Service terminated in error. Cable service terminated
in error must be restored without charge within 24 hours of notice.
If a subscriber was billed for the period during which cable service
was terminated in error, a credit shall be issued to the subscriber
if the service interruption was reported by the subscriber.
(3) Nothing in these standards shall limit the right of
franchisee to deny cable service for non-payment of previously provided
cable services, refusal to pay any required deposit, theft of cable
service, damage to franchisee's equipment, abusive or threatening
behavior toward franchisee's employees or representatives, or refusal
to provide credit history information or refusal to allow franchisee
to validate the identity, credit history and credit worthiness via
an external credit agency.
G. Communications with subscribers. All franchisee personnel,
contractors and subcontractors contacting subscribers or potential
subscribers outside the office of franchisee shall wear a clearly
visible identification card bearing their name. Franchisee representatives
shall wear appropriate clothing while working at a subscriber's premises.
Every service vehicle of franchisee and its contractors or subcontractors
shall be clearly identified as such to the public. Specifically, franchisee
vehicles shall have franchisee's logo plainly visible. The vehicles
of those contractors and subcontractors working for franchisee shall
have the contractor's/subcontractor's name plus markings indicating
they are under contract to franchisee. All contact with a subscriber
or potential subscriber by a person representing the franchisee shall
be conducted in a courteous manner.
H. Customer service center. So long as it continues to
operate the system, or any portion thereof in Harford County, franchisee
shall establish, maintain and hereby designate a conveniently located
office or customer service center in Harford County that shall be
open during normal business hours for the purpose of, but not limited
to receiving complaints, for receiving and responding to all service
calls and correct malfunctions as promptly as possible, as the place
where all franchisee subscribers in the franchise area are provided
convenient alternative means for bill payment, for persons to request
new service, and to provide for the pick up or drop off of equipment
by any one or more of (i) having a franchisee representative going
to the subscriber's premises, (ii) using a mailer, or (iii) establishing
a location(s) for the pick up and drop off of equipment.
The County Council shall establish by resolution
procedures for regulation of cable rates that are consistent with
those promulgated by the Federal Communications Commission for review
of basic cable rate and associated equipment rates.
Upon the threat of foreclosure or judicial sale
of all or a substantial part of the system or upon notification of
the termination of any lease covering all or a substantial part of
the system, the company shall immediately notify the granting authority
of such fact, and such notification shall be treated as a notification
that a change in control of the company may take place, and the provision
of this chapter governing the consent of the County to such change
in control of the company shall apply upon the happening of such event.
The granting authority shall have the right
to cancel the franchise 120 days after the appointment of a receiver
or trustee to take over and conduct the business of the company, whether
in receivership, reorganization, bankruptcy or other action or proceeding,
unless such receivership or trusteeship shall have been vacated prior
to the expiration of such 120 days or unless:
A. Within 120 days after his election or appointment,
such receiver or trustee shall have fully complied with all the provisions
of this chapter and remedied all defaults thereunder; or
B. Such receiver or trustee, within such 120 days, shall
have executed an agreement, duly approved by the court having jurisdiction
in the premises, whereby such receiver or trustee assumes and agrees
to be bound by each provision of this chapter.
The right is hereby reserved to the granting
authority to adopt, in addition to the provisions contained in this
chapter and in existing applicable ordinances, such additional regulations
as it shall find necessary in the exercise of the police power, provided
that such regulations, by ordinances or otherwise, shall be reasonable.
The granting authority may create 1 or more
citizens' advisory groups to assist the granting authority in carrying
out fully and effectually the responsibilities retained by the granting
authority to ensure performance, to regulate rates to the public,
to the maximum extent permitted by law and such other and further
duties and responsibilities as the granting authority may see fit
to grant.
Consistent with the requirements of the Federal
Communications Commission, any modification or amendment to the Rules
and Regulations thereof by the Federal Communications Commission shall,
to the extent applicable, be incorporated herein by specific amendments
within 1 year from the effective date of the Federal Communications
Commission's amendment or at the time of renewal of the franchise,
whichever occurs first.
Every direction, notice or order to be served
upon the company shall be sent to its office located in the County.
Every notice to be served upon the County or granting authority shall
be delivered or sent by certified mail. The delivery or mailing of
any such notice, direction or order shall be equivalent to direct
personal notice, direction or order and shall be deemed to have been
given at the time of delivery.
All the provisions of this chapter shall apply
to the company and its successors and assigns as such may be approved
by the granting authority in accordance with this chapter.