(a) Undefined words. Unless otherwise expressly stated, words not defined in this article have the meanings set forth in Title 47 of the United States Code.
(b) Definitions. In this article, the following words have the meanings indicated.
(1) "Access channel" means a channel on a cable system set aside by a franchisee for public, educational, or governmental use.
(2) "Affiliate" means a person who owns or controls, is owned or controlled by, or is under common ownership or control with a franchisee.
(3) "Basic cable service" means a service tier that includes the retransmission of local television broadcast signals.
(4) "Broadcast signal" means a television or radio signal that is transmitted over the air to a wide geographic audience and is received by a cable system off-air, by microwave or by any other technology.
(5) "Cable Act" means the Cable Communications Policy Act of 1984, 47 U.S.C. § 521.
(6) "Cable service" means the one-way transmission to subscribers of video programming or other programming service and any subscriber interaction that is required for the selection or use of the video programming or other programming service.
(7) "Cable system" or "system" means 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, including video programming, and is provided to multiple subscribers within a community, but the term does not include:
(i) a facility that serves only to retransmit the television signals of one or more television broadcast stations;
(ii) a facility that serves only subscribers in one or more multiple-unit dwellings under common ownership, control, or management, unless the facility uses, crosses, or occupies any public right-of-way;
(iii) a facility of a common carrier which is subject in whole or in part to the provisions of Title II of the Communications Act of 1934, except that the facility is considered a "cable system" to the extent that the facility is used in the transmission of video programming directly to subscribers, unless the extent of such use is solely to provide interactive on-demand services; or
(iv) any facilities of an electric utility used solely for operating its electric utility system.
(8) "Channel" means a portion of the electromagnetic frequency spectrum that is used in a cable system and that is capable of delivering a television channel as defined by the Federal Communications Commission.
(9) "Commencement of construction" means the time and date when construction of a cable system is considered to have begun which, unless otherwise specified, is when the first connection is physically made to a utility pole or the installation of cables underground is initiated, after preliminary engineering (strand mapping) and after all necessary permits and authorizations have been obtained.
(10) "Completion of construction" means that point in time when the franchisee has installed all distribution facilities specified in a franchise agreement so as to permit the offering of cable service to all of the potential subscribers in the franchise area and has provided in an operational state any facilities required by the franchise agreement.
(11) "Converter" means an electronic device that may serve as an interface between a system and a subscriber's television receiver or other terminal equipment and that may perform a variety of functions, including signal security, de-scrambling, electronic polling, frequency conversion, and channel selection.
(12) "County" means Anne Arundel County, any agency, department, board, commission, or agent of Anne Arundel County, or any official or employee of any of them.
(13) "County Council" means the Anne Arundel County Council.
(14) "Educational access channel" or "educational channel" means a channel on a cable system set aside by a franchisee for educational use.
(15) "FCC" means the Federal Communications Commission, its designee, or any successor governmental entity.
(16) "Franchise" means an initial or renewal authorization issued by the County, whether designated as a franchise, permit, license, resolution, contract, certificate, agreement, or otherwise, that authorizes the construction or operation of a cable system and the rights and obligations conferred by this article and the franchise agreement.
(17) "Franchise agreement" means a franchise award ordinance or a contractual agreement that contains the specific provisions of the franchise granted, including referenced specifications, franchise applications, franchise requirements, ordinances, and other related materials.
(18) "Franchise fee" means a tax, fee, or assessment of any kind imposed by the County on a franchisee or subscriber solely because of its status as a franchisee or subscriber, but the term does not include:
(i) a tax, fee, or assessment of general applicability, including a tax, fee, or assessment imposed on both utilities and cable operators or their services;
(ii) capital costs that are required by the franchise agreement to be incurred by the franchisee for public, educational, or governmental access facilities;
(iii) requirements or charges incidental to the awarding or enforcing of the franchise, including application fees, franchise processing costs, payments for bonds, security funds, letters of credit, insurance, indemnification, penalties, or liquidated damages; or
(iv) a fee imposed under the authority of Title 17 of the United States Code.
(19) "Franchisee" means a person who receives a franchise under a franchise agreement and this article, and the person's lawful successor, transferee, or assignee.
(20) "Governmental access channel" or "governmental channel" means a channel on a cable system set aside by a franchisee for government use.
(21) "Gross revenues" means those revenues specified in a franchise agreement.
(22) "Information Technology Officer" or "Officer" means the Anne Arundel County Information Technology Officer.
(23) "Installation" means the connection of a cable system from feeder cable to subscriber terminals and the provision of cable service.
(24) "Leased access channel" or "commercial access channel" means a channel on a cable system designated or dedicated for use by a person unaffiliated with the franchisee.
(25) "Normal business hours" means those hours during which most similar businesses in the community are open to serve customers, including some evening hours at least one night per week and some weekend hours.
(26) "Normal operating conditions" means those conditions that are within the control of a franchisee, such as special promotions, pay-per-view events, rate increases, regular peak or seasonal demand periods, and maintenance or upgrade of a cable system, but the term does not include such conditions as natural disasters, civil disturbances, power outages, or telephone network outages.
(27) "PEG" means public, educational, or governmental.
(28) "PEG access facilities" means channel capacity designated for public, educational, or governmental use, and facilities and equipment for the use of that channel capacity.
(29) "Person" means an individual, partnership, association, joint stock company, organization, corporation, or a lawful successor to them or transferee of them, but the term does not include the County.
(30) "Programmer" means a person who produces or otherwise provides program material or information for transmission by video, audio, digital, or other signals, either live or from recorded tapes or other storage media, to subscribers by means of the cable system.
(31) "Public access channel" or "public channel" means a channel on a cable system set aside by a franchisee for public use.
(32) "Public right-of-way" means the surface, the air space above the surface, and the area below the surface of any public street, highway, lane, path, alley, sidewalk, boulevard, drive, parkway, waterway, or similar property within the County, which, consistent with the purposes for which it was dedicated, may be used for the purpose of installing and maintaining a cable system.
(33) "School" means a public or accredited private educational institution, including primary and secondary schools, colleges, and universities.
(34) "Service interruption" means the loss of picture or sound on one or more channels or the degradation of picture or sound beyond practically usable levels.
(35) "Service tier" means a category of cable service provided by a franchisee and for which a separate rate is charged by the franchisee.
(36) "Subscriber" means a person who subscribes to a cable service provided by a franchisee by means of or in connection with the cable system.
(37) "Tower" means an antenna supporting structure.
(38) "User" means a person or the County lawfully using a channel or equipment and facilities for the purpose of producing or transmitting material, as contrasted with receiving material in the capacity of a subscriber.
(Bill No. 54-06)