A. The licensee shall render efficient service, make repairs promptly and interrupt service only for good cause and for the shortest time possible; the licensee shall be able to demonstrate by instruments and otherwise to subscribers that a signal of adequate strength and quality is being delivered to the subscriber's terminal.
B. The following minimum requirements for facilities and services apply to all licenses. The county may require that a licensee exceed these minimum requirements.
1. A cable system shall have a minimum capacity of fifty-four video channels available for immediate or potential use. Two-way capability shall be designed into the system. Upon request, this minimum channel capacity requirement may be modified by the county for a specific licensee, provided said licensee demonstrates that it would be commercially impracticable to comply with said requirement. A licensee shall have the burden of demonstrating, by clear and convincing evidence, that compliance with the minimum channel capacity would be commercially impracticable for its Pima County cable system.
2. A cable system shall provide leased access channels as required by federal law.
3. Standard installation and basic service to public buildings may be required without charge as set forth in the license agreement.
4. A licensee shall design its system to allow the county to interrupt the audio portion of the cable service in an emergency to deliver information to subscribers.
5. A licensee shall provide standby power for the head end so as to be able to operate some channels during a power outage for a minimum of six hours.
C. For purposes of customer service and customer complaint procedure, licensee shall maintain a business office open during normal business hours with a listed local or toll-free telephone number and employ a sufficient number of telephone lines to allow reasonable access by subscribers and members of the public. Unless a waiver is granted by the county, said office shall be located in the county. When the business office is closed, an answering machine or service capable of receiving service complaints and inquiries shall be employed.
1. A licensee shall have available at all times personnel, equipment and procedures capable of locating and correcting major system malfunctions. System outages and major system malfunctions shall be corrected without delay. Corrective action for all other service problems shall be initiated as provided for in the license agreement.
2. A cable system shall be operated in a manner consistent with the principles of fairness and equal accessibility of facilities, equipment, channels, studios and other services to all residences, businesses, public agencies or other entities having a legitimate use of the system, and no one shall be arbitrarily excluded from its use. A licensee shall not discriminate in terms of rates, terms of service, or extension of service on the basis of age, race, creed, color, religion, national origin, sex or marital status. Nor shall a licensee fail to extend service to any part of the county within its licensed service area on the basis of the income of the residents.
3. A licensee shall establish procedures for the investigation and resolution of all complaints, including, but not limited to, those regarding the quality of service and equipment malfunction. A copy of such procedures shall be provided to the county upon request.
4. A licensee shall provide each subscriber, at the time cable service is installed, written instruction for placing a service call, filing a complaint, or requesting an adjustment. The name, address, and telephone number of the county office responsible for supervision of cable operations shall be listed. Each subscriber shall 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 of the licensee's applicable policies in connection with its subscribers.
5. A licensee may interrupt service on the cable system only for good cause and for the shortest time possible and, except in emergency situations, only after prior notice to subscribers and the county of the anticipated service interruption, provided, however, no prior subscriber or county notice shall be required for the performance of system maintenance work requiring a maximum of one-hour duration during the hours of 6:00 a.m. until 12:00 midnight or four-hours duration during the hours of 12:00 midnight until 6:00 a.m.
6. A licensee shall maintain a complete record of service complaints received and action taken. These records shall be open to the county for inspection during normal business hours. A summary of such records shall be submitted to the county upon its request. Such records shall be retained for not less than one year.
7. Upon termination of service to a subscriber and at the subscriber's request, a licensee shall promptly remove all its facilities and equipment from the subscriber's premises. Where removal is impractical, such as with buried cable or internal wiring, facilities and equipment may be disconnected and abandoned rather than removed.
D. The county may waive minimum requirements for licenses where the applicant demonstrates that such waiver is in the public interest.
(Ord 1997-17 § 2, 1997; Prior code § 19.08.010(B)(6))