[HISTORY: Adopted by the City Council of the City of Warren 3-16-2020 by Ord. No. 1944.[1] Amendments noted where applicable.]
[1]
Editor's Note: This ordinance also repealed former Ch. 180,
Cable Television, adopted 12-13-1993 by Ord. No. 1573 (Ch. 13, Part 2, of the
1997 Code of Ordinances).
The purpose of this chapter is:
A.
To authorize the City of Warren to set forth the process for the
franchising and regulation of any cable system within its geographical
boundaries; and
B.
To create a uniform process by which all cable operators seeking
to provide cable service in the City shall follow in making application
for a cable franchise; and
C.
To protect the health, safety, and welfare of the City's citizens;
and
D.
To maintain the integrity of City property; and
E.
To achieve the above-described purposes in a manner consistent with
applicable laws and regulations.
As used in this chapter, the following terms shall have the
meanings indicated:
Title VI of the Communications Act of 1934,[1] 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.
Any person or group of persons:
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.
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 City, but
such term does not include:
A facility that serves only to retransmit the television signals
of one or more television broadcast stations; or
A facility that serves subscribers without using any public
right-of-way; or
A facility of a common carrier which is subject, in whole or
in part, to the provisions of Title II of the Communications Act,[2] except that such facility shall be considered a cable
system (other than for purposes of Section 621 of the Cable Act[3]), to the extent that facility is used in the transmission
of video programming directly to subscribers, unless the extent of
that use is solely to provide interactive on-demand services; or
An open video system that complies with Section 653 of the Cable
Act[4]; or
Any facilities of any electric utility used solely for operating
its electric utility systems.
The City of Warren.
The Federal Communications Commission.
The right granted by the City to construct, operate, and
maintain a cable system within the corporate limits of the City as
further embodied in the terms and conditions of a cable franchise
agreement.
A person, firm, or corporation that is awarded a franchise
by the Warren City Council to construct, operate, and maintain a cable
system in all, or part, of the City.
Any governmental entity empowered by federal, state, or local
law to grant a franchise.
The loss of picture or sound on one or more channels.
A person or entity who contracts with the cable operator
for, and lawfully receives, the video signals and cable services distributed
by the cable system.
As set forth in Section 621(a)(1) of the Cable Act, 47 U.S.C.
§ 541, the City has the legal authority to award one or
more cable franchises within its jurisdiction, except that it may
not grant an exclusive franchise and may not unreasonably refuse to
award an additional competitive franchise.
No cable operator shall install, maintain, or operate within
the City or any of its public streets or other public areas any equipment
or facilities for the operation of a cable system without first obtaining
a franchise from the City authorizing the use of public streets or
areas pursuant to the provisions of this chapter and applicable law.
Such franchise shall contain all of the terms and conditions as set
forth in a cable franchise agreement as required by this chapter and
applicable law.
Any cable operator desiring to construct, operate, and maintain
a new cable system within the City must first file an application
with the Warren City Council; the application shall contain such information
as the City may require. Any franchise granted by the City shall be
in accordance with Section 621 of the Cable Act, entitled "General
Franchise Requirements" (47 U.S.C. § 541), and a franchise
agreement must be executed by both the franchisee and the City.
A franchisee seeking renewal of a franchise may, on such franchisee's
initiative, or upon the initiative of the City, submit a written request
to the City for a cable franchise renewal agreement. Such request
for renewal, as well as the entire franchise renewal process, shall
comply with the terms and provisions of Section 626 of the Cable Act,
entitled "Renewal" (47 U.S.C. § 546).
Before authorizing the issuance of any cable franchise, including
initial franchises and renewals, the City shall conduct a public hearing
to obtain citizen comments. Such public hearing shall be scheduled
after affording the public adequate notice. The City shall also review
the applicant's financial and technical qualifications and adequacy
and feasibility of its qualifications to operate a cable system. In
the case of renewals, the City shall also identify the City's
future cable-related community needs and interests and review the
past performance of the cable operator during the expiring franchise
term.
Any cable franchise agreement entered into between the City
and a franchisee shall contain, but is not limited to, the following
provisions:
A.
Length of franchise term; and
B.
Franchise fee provisions; and
C.
Construction, operation, and maintenance standards; and
D.
Insurance requirements; and
E.
Indemnification provisions; and
F.
Public, educational, and government (PEG) access channel provisions
(should the City wish to operate one or more access channels); and
G.
Performance bond or other form of security; and
H.
Penalties for breach of franchise agreement; and
I.
Provisions for transfer and assignment of franchise; and
J.
Any other terms which are deemed by the Warren City Council to be
in the best interests of the City residents and are consistent with
applicable law.
Any cable franchise agreement entered into between the City
and a franchisee shall contain, at a minimum, the following customer
service standards:
A.
office hours and telephone availability.
(1)
The cable operator shall maintain a payment location that is located
within the City and shall be open during normal business hours.
(2)
The cable operator shall provide and maintain a toll-free telephone
access line that will be available to subscribers twenty-four (24)
hours a day, seven (7) days a week. Trained representatives shall
respond to subscribers' telephone inquiries during normal business
hours. After normal business hours, the access line may be answered
by a service or an automated response system. Inquiries received after
normal business hours must be responded to by a trained company representative
on the next business day.
(3)
Under normal operating conditions and during normal business hours,
telephone answering time by a subscriber 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. Under normal operating conditions,
the subscriber shall receive a busy signal less than 3% of the time.
(4)
If an historical record of complaints indicates clear failure to
comply, the cable operator may be required to perform surveys to measure
compliance with the telephone answering requirements above. If the
City determines, after receiving complaints itself and/or receiving
a record of complaints made to the cable operator, that there is a
failure to comply with the telephone answering requirements above,
the City shall notify the cable operator, in writing, that it must
measure its compliance with these requirements for the next 90 days
and report to the City with its results.
B.
Installations and service calls.
(1)
The cable operator shall maintain a staff of employees sufficient
to provide adequate and prompt service to subscribers; and
(2)
The cable operator shall require that any employee or agent, including
any subcontractor, who personally visits a subscriber's property
shall display a photo identification badge; and
(3)
Any vehicle used for installation, operation, or maintenance activities
by any cable operator's employees or agents, including any subcontractors,
shall prominently display the company logo; and
(4)
Standard installations will be performed within seven business days
after an order has been placed. Standard installations are those aerial
installations that are located not more than 125 feet from the existing
distribution system; and
(5)
Upon scheduling of appointments with the subscriber for installations,
service calls, and other activities, the cable operator shall provide
the subscriber with either a specific time or an appointment window
of a maximum of four hours during normal business hours. The cable
operator may schedule service calls and installation activities outside
of normal business hours at a time that is convenient for the subscriber.
C.
Notices.
(1)
The cable operator shall provide written notice to each subscriber
upon initial subscription, and once per calendar year thereafter and
at any time upon request, regarding each of the following:
(a)
Products and services offered;
(b)
Prices and options for programming services and conditions of
subscription to programming and other services;
(c)
Channel positions of programming carried on the cable system;
(d)
Installation and service maintenance policies;
(e)
Instruction on how to use the cable service and any converters;
(f)
Billing and subscriber complaint procedures;
(g)
The cable operator's address, telephone number, and office
hours; and
(h)
A notice of subscriber privacy rights as required by federal
law.
(2)
In accordance with applicable law, the cable operator shall notify
subscribers and the City, in writing, of any changes in rates, programming,
service, or channel positions a minimum of thirty (30) days in advance
of such changes, provided that such change is within the control of
the cable operator. The cable operator shall not be required to provide
prior notice to subscribers of any rate change that is a result of
a regulatory fee, franchise fee, or any other fee, tax assessment,
or charge of any kind imposed by any federal agency, the Commonwealth
of Pennsylvania, or the City on the transaction between the cable
operator and the subscriber.
(3)
In accordance with federal law, the cable operator shall maintain
a file available to the public containing all written notices provided
to subscribers pursuant to the requirements contained herein by the
cable operator during the previous 12 months. Such file may be maintained
electronically.
D.
Billing.
(1)
Bills shall be clear, concise, and understandable. Bills must be
fully itemized, including all applicable service tiers, equipment
charges, and any installation or repair charges. Bills shall state
the billing period, including an effective due date, the amount of
current billing, and any relevant credits or past-due balances.
(2)
The cable operator shall not assess late fees for nonpayment of a
current bill until at least 30 days have elapsed since the invoice
date of the bill generated by the cable operator.
E.
Subscriber complaint procedures. The cable operator shall establish
clear written procedures for resolving all subscriber complaints which
shall include at least the following:
(1)
The cable operator shall provide the customer with a written response
to a written complaint within 30 days of its receipt. Such response
shall include the results of its inquiry into the subject matter of
the complaint, its conclusions based on the inquiry and its decision
in response to the complaint.
(2)
If the City is contacted directly about a customer complaint, it
shall notify the cable operator promptly and in writing. When the
cable operator receives such notification, the time period for the
cable operator to respond as required above shall commence.
(3)
Any subscriber who, in good faith, disputes all or part of any bill
sent by the cable operator has the option of withholding the disputed
amount, without a late fee or disconnection, until the cable operator
has investigated the dispute in good faith and has made a determination
that the amount is owed, provided that:
(4)
The cable operator shall maintain subscriber complaint records for
inspection by the affected subscriber, which shall contain the date
each complaint is received, the name and address of the affected subscriber,
a description of the complaint, the date of resolution of the complaint,
and a description of the resolution.
F.
Disconnection. The cable operator may disconnect or terminate a subscriber's
service for cause:
(1)
If at least 45 days have elapsed from the due date of the bill that
the subscriber has failed to pay; and
(2)
If the cable operator has provided at least 10 days' written
notice to the affected subscriber prior to disconnection, specifying
the effective date after which cable services are subject to disconnection.
For purposes of this section, written notice contained in the customer's
statement shall be deemed sufficient; and
(3)
If there is no pending written dispute with the cable operator regarding
the bill; or
(4)
If at any time and without notice, the cable operator determines
in good faith that the subscriber has tampered with or abused the
cable operator's equipment or is engaged in theft of cable service.
G.
Service interruptions. In the event that there is a service interruption
to any subscriber for 12 or more consecutive hours, excluding those
service interruptions which are a result of force majeure or not under
the control of the cable operator, and upon receipt of a request of
the subscriber, the cable operator shall grant such subscriber 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.
H.
Privacy. The cable operator shall respect the rights and privacy
of every subscriber and shall not violate such rights through the
use of any device or signal associated with the cable system. The
cable operator shall at all times comply with the privacy provisions
of Section 631 of the Cable Act[1] and all other applicable federal and state privacy laws
and regulations.
[1]
Editor's Note: See 47 U.S.C. § 551.
A.
The City reserves the regulatory authority arising from the Cable
Act and any other applicable federal or state regulations. Nothing
in this chapter shall remove, restrict, or reduce the City's
authority, rights, and privileges it now holds, or which hereafter
may be conferred upon it, including any right to exercise its police
powers in the regulation and control of the use of the public rights-of-way.
B.
The cable operator's rights are subject to the police powers
of the City to adopt and enforce general laws and regulations necessary
for the safety and welfare of the public. Such laws and regulations
are separate and distinct from the terms and conditions contained
in the agreement.
C.
Nothing in this chapter shall be construed to limit the authority
of the City to impose any tax, fee, or assessment of general applicability.
Such taxes, fees, or assessments shall be in addition to franchise
fees.
D.
Any cable operator providing cable service in the City shall apply
to the City for all generally applicable required permits and shall
not undertake any activities in the public rights-of-way subject to
a permit without receipt of such permit, the issuance of which shall
not be unreasonably withheld by the City. cable operators shall not
be required to obtain permits for cable service drops for individual
subscribers or for servicing or installation of pedestals or routine
maintenance that does not disturb surface grade or impact vehicular
traffic. The cable operator shall pay any and all required permit
fees.
A.
Determination of violation. In the event a determination is made by the City that a cable operator has violated any provision of the franchise or this chapter, the City shall provide such cable operator written notice of the determination and the reasons thereof. Except in the case of emergency, the cable operator shall have 30 days after receiving such notice to cure the violation. If the nature of the violation is such that it cannot be fully cured within such time period, the City may, in its reasonable judgment, extend the time period to cure, provided the cable operator has commenced to cure and is diligently pursuing its efforts to cure. If the violation has not been cured within the time allowed, the cable operator shall be subject to the penalties set forth in Subsection B, Penalties for violation, below.
B.
Penalties for violation. Any cable operator found by the City to
have violated any provision of this chapter shall be subject, upon
conviction, to a fine not exceeding $150 per day for each and every
offense. A separate and distinct offense shall be deemed to be committed
each day on which a violation occurs or continues to occur. The first
day that these penalties may be assessed, if there has been no cure
after the end of the applicable cure period, shall be the day after
the end of the applicable cure period, including any extension of
the cure period granted by the City.
C.
Revocation. In addition to any action to enforce any penalty imposed
by this section and any other remedy at law or in equity under this
section, the City reserves a separate and distinct right to revoke
the franchise in a manner consistent with the terms and conditions
of the franchise and applicable law.
A cable operator shall not transfer, assign, or otherwise encumber,
through its own actions or by operation of law, its right, title,
or interest in any franchise awarded pursuant to this chapter without
prior written consent of the City, and according to the applicable
provisions set forth in the franchise and applicable law.
