A franchisee shall:
(a) Render efficient service, make repairs promptly and interrupt service only for good cause and for the shortest time possible. Such interruptions, insofar as is possible, shall be preceded by notice and shall occur during periods of minimum use of the system.
(b) Maintain an office in the City which shall be open during all usual business hours, have a listed telephone and be so operated that complaints and requests for repairs or adjustments may be received at any time, 24 hours each day.
(c) Limit failures to a minimum by locating and correcting malfunctions promptly, but in no event longer than 24 hours after receiving notice of same. Should it be impossible or impractical to correct any such malfunctions in 24 hours or less, then, unless the franchisee can show that the disruption in service was
entirely beyond its control, the franchisee shall give a rebate in the amount of $1.00 for every additional 12-hour period or the greater portion thereof that television reception is so disrupted to every affected subscriber who notifies the franchisee of the disruption and to any other subscribers whom the franchisee otherwise reasonably should have been aware were affected by the reception disruption. The rebate to any subscriber under this section in any month shall not exceed the subscriber’s normal monthly fee paid to the franchisee. In the event a disruption of service for any reason extends beyond three days from the time the franchisee is notified or otherwise reasonably becomes aware of the disruption, the affected subscribers shall receive a rebate proportionate to the time of the disruption.
(d) Should any failure or malfunction in the operation of the cable communications system take more than eight hours to correct or repair, then the franchisee shall, within 15 days from the occurrence of the failure or malfunction, file a report with the City Administrator, providing the following information:
(1) The cause of the failure or malfunction;
(2) The length of time the service was disrupted;
(3) The geographical area affected by the failure or malfunction;
(4) The number of subscribers affected by the failure or malfunction; and
(5) What, if anything, is being done or can be done to prevent such failure or malfunctions from occurring in the future.
(e) Comply with the cable system customer service obligations set forth in 47 C.F.R. § 76.309 as in effect on January 1, 1999, and in addition, as those regulations may hereafter be amended.
(Ord. 2428, passed 2-18-1974; Ord. 2899, passed 3-21-1984; Ord. 3486, passed 1-28-2002)
Statutory reference:
Cable system customer service obligations, see 47 U.S.C. § 76.309