The County Council shall require that the grantee's CATV system shall be installed, maintained, and operated in accordance with the highest accepted standards of industry to the end that the subscriber may receive the best and most desirable form of service. Towards accomplishment of this purpose, grantee and its CATV system shall meet the following minimum standards and service offerings:
(A) Compliance with FCC rules. The grantee shall comply with all current and present rules and regulations of the FCC in connection with and relating to the operation of its CATV system, regardless of whether the rules and regulations are changed in the future, or deregulation shall occur, or for any other such event.
(B) Quality of color signals. The grantee's CATV system shall be capable of transmitting and passing the entire color television spectrum without the introduction of material degradation of color intelligence and fidelity.
(C) Rated for continuance operation. The grantee's CATV system shall be designated and rated for 24 hours a day continuous operation.
(D) Quality of picture. The grantee's CATV system shall be capable of and shall produce a picture upon any subscriber's television screen in black and white or color, a color picture, that is undistorted and free from ghost images and accompanied by proper sound, assuming the technical, standard production television set is in good repair and the television broadcast signal transmission is satisfactory. In any event, the picture produced shall be as good as the state-of-the-art allows.
(E) No cross-modulation or interference. The grantee's CATV system shall transmit or distribute signals of adequate strength to produce good pictures with good sound in all television receivers of all subscribers without causing cross modulation in the cables or interference with other electrical or electronic system including existing television service in the franchise area.
(F) Channel capacity. The grantee's CATV system shall have a minimum channel capacity of 54 television channels.
(G) Signals to be carried. The grantee shall carry on its own CATV system the signals of all stations significantly viewed in the franchise area and the signal of one distant independent commercial station as well as the signals of the distant educational and non-English language stations as may be technically and economically feasible.
(H) Temperature range. The grantee's CATV system shall be capable of operating throughout the air temperature range of -20 to 100°F. (-29 to +38°C.) without degradation of audio or video facility.
(I) Educational and public access channel. At least one channel shall be reserved for the use of public access and the educational authorities in the franchise area and adjoining areas. This channel shall be provided free of charge.
(J) Standard of care. The grantee shall install, maintain and use approved methods and devices for preventing failures or accidents which are likely to cause damages, injuries or nuisances to the public.
(K) Service and repair. The grantee shall render efficient service, make repairs promptly and interrupt service only for good cause and for the shortest time possible. Insofar as possible, the interruptions shall be preceded by 48-hours' notice and shall occur during periods of minimum use of the CATV system. The grantee shall provide a daily prorate credit to any subscriber who is without service for any continuous period in excess of 24 hours due to fault of the grantee.
(L) Grantee's office. The grantee shall maintain a business office located in the franchise area which shall be open during all usual business hours, have a listed telephone and be so equipped, and operated that complaints and requests for installation, repairs, or adjustments may be received 24 hours a day, seven days a week. The grantee shall furnish the County Council or its designee or other designee of the franchise area with all the information requested by him or her or his or her office concerning subscriber complaints. The office shall maintain complete and updated maps of the grantee's CATV system and the construction plans and specifications thereof. The updated maps shall be provided at no cost to the franchise area from time to time reflecting the latest update.
(M) Complaints. The County Council designee shall be responsible for receiving and acting on any complaints unresolved within a reasonable time, and shall handle the same as electrical inspections and complaints are handled generally under the electrical code. The grantee shall be responsible for and shall remit to the county a sum equal to the prevailing charge for an electrical inspection generally for each and every complaint so handled. A written notice of this complaint procedure, including the identity of the responsible official, shall be given to each new subscriber at the time of initial subscription to the cable system. Subsequent notices thereof shall be sent to all subscribers at least biannually.
(N) Service calls. The grantee shall respond to all service calls within 24 hours and correct malfunctions as promptly as possible, but, in all events, within a reasonable time which shall be 72 hours after notice thereof, except during the time of general breakdown due to weather or other catastrophe. For this purpose, the grantee shall maintain a competent staff of employees sufficient in size to provide adequate and prompt service to subscribers. The grantee shall keep written record of all complaints as much as is reasonably possible, and the same shall be open for inspection by officials of the county during regular business hours.
(O) State of the art. The grantee shall, where economically feasible, undertake any and all construction and installation necessary to keep current with the latest developments in the state-of-the-art CATV, whether with respect to increasing channel capacity, developing other new services, instituting more extensive two-way service or otherwise.
(P) Cable locator. A cable locator shall be available at no cost to the franchise area at the franchise area's request.
(Q) Key lock. The grantee shall provide and install free of charge a parental guidance key lock system to all subscribers who desire to censor programming; however, the grantee may require a reasonable deposit on all these systems.
(R) Public, educational and government channel programming. Public, educational, and government channel programming may be combined on one or more composite channels. Grantee may utilize any time not otherwise used on the access channels for its own programming.
(Prior Code, § 92.13) (Ord. 966E, passed 2-22-1982; Ord. 1061A, passed 5-9-1989)