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(1) As used in this section, "valid authorization" shall mean an authorization valid under federal or state law.
(2) The licensee shall strictly observe and protect the rights of privacy and property rights of subscribers and users at all times. Individual subscriber preferences of any kind, viewing habits, political, social or economic philosophies, beliefs, creeds, religions or names, addresses or telephone numbers shall not be revealed to any person, governmental unit, police department or investigating agency unless upon the authority of a court of law or upon prior voluntary valid authorization of the subscriber, which shall not in any event be required as a condition of receiving service.
(3) The licensee may release the number of its subscribers but only as a total number and as a percentage of the potential subscribers throughout the city. When indicating the number of subscribers viewing a particular channel at a particular time, the licensee shall indicate only the total number of subscribers viewing during the relevant time and the percentage of all subscribers which they represent, but never the identity of a particular subscriber.
(4) The licensee may maintain such information as is necessary to bill subscribers for the purchase of any system service.
(5) Neither the licensee nor any other person shall initiate in any form the discovery of any information on or about a subscriber's premises without prior valid authorization from the subscriber potentially affected.
(6) A subscriber may at any time revoke any authorization previously made, by delivering to the licensee in writing by mail or otherwise, his/her decision to so revoke. Any such revocation shall be effective upon receipt by the licensee.
(7) No monitoring of any subscriber terminal shall take place without specific prior valid authorization by the user of the terminal in question; however, the licensee may conduct systemwide or individually addressed "sweeps" for the purpose of verifying system integrity. In no event shall aural or visual monitoring of any kind take place without a clear indication to the subscriber that such monitoring is taking place. The licensee shall not initiate a subscriber response mechanism without the city manager's making a finding that the system can operate effectively and yet give absolute protection against any invasion of privacy.
(8) The licensee shall not tabulate any test results, nor permit the use of the system for such tabulation, which would reveal the commercial product preferences or opinions of subscribers, members of their families or their invitees, licensees or employees without prior valid authorization of the subscriber.
(9) Each compilation, publication, tabulation or other dissemination of each piece of information made or permitted to be made in violation of this section shall be considered a separate violation.
(Ord. No. 8937, § 2, 9-2-97)
(1) Compliance with construction codes.
(a) Construction practices shall be in accordance with all applicable provisions of the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970 and any amendments thereto as well as all applicable laws, rules and regulations of the state and the city, including but not limited to requirements of the city in regard to various electrical wiring necessary to the operation of city functions, including but not limited to traffic-control signalization, right-of-way lighting, fire lines and communications lines.
(b) All installation of electronic equipment shall be of a permanent nature, durable and installed in accordance with the applicable provisions of the current editions of the National Electrical Safety Code as published by the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, the National Electrical Code of the National Fire Protection Association, and all state and local codes where applicable.
(c) Antenna supporting structures (towers) shall be painted, lighted, erected and maintained in accordance with all applicable rules and regulations of the United States Department of Transportation and all other applicable laws, rules and regulations of the state and the city.
(2) Performance standards. The system shall be installed, maintained and operated in accordance with the highest accepted standards of the industry. The licensee shall design and construct the system so as to meet the following minimum standards:
(a) The cable system should be capable of continuous twenty-four-hour daily operation without severe material degradation of signal except during extremely inclement weather, and immediately following extraordinary storms which adversely affect utility services or which damage major system components.
(b) The cable system should be capable of operating over an outdoor temperature range of 0 degrees F to +135 degrees F and over variation in supply voltages from 105 to 130 volts AC without catastrophic failure or irreversible performance changes.
(3) Technical standards. Except as otherwise provided in federal law, each cable system shall be designed, installed and operated so as to comply with all applicable technical standards, codes, and regulations as promulgated by the FCC and other federal, state and local authorities. In this regard, 47 C.F.R. section 76.60, relating to technical standards (including but not limited to performance monitoring and measurements), shall apply in full and is hereby incorporated herein by this reference, except as preempted by federal law. All other applicable state or city laws, rules or regulations relating to technical standards and operation of the system as may be enacted or promulgated from time to time shall apply and govern the installation and operation of the system to the extent such laws, rules or regulations are not preempted by federal regulation.
(Ord. No. 8937, § 2, 9-2-97)
(1) Definitions.
(a) Normal business hours shall be a minimum of fifty (50) hours Monday through Friday, and four (4) hours on Saturday.
(b) Normal operating conditions include those service conditions which are within the control of the licensee. These include, but are not limited to, special promotions, pay-per-view events, rate increases, regular peak or seasonal demand periods, and maintenance or upgrade of the cable system. Conditions which are not within the control of the licensee include, but are not limited to, natural disasters, civil disturbances, power outages, telephone network outages, and severe weather out of the ordinary for the area.
(c) Service interruption means the loss of picture or sound on one or more channels. The definition of service interruption affects the timing of when the licensee must respond to a service problem.
(2) Office and phone service.
(a) The licensee shall maintain an office in the city which shall be open and staffed during normal business hours. The licensee shall have a locally listed telephone number and be so operated that complaints and requests for repairs or adjustments may be received twenty-four (24) hours per day, each day of the year. Licensee's personnel at the local office shall, at a minimum, be able to provide immediate billing information, provide for equipment pick-up and drop-off, and customer service information.
(b) Trained company representatives will be available to respond to telephone inquiries from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. Monday through Saturday. Between 8 p.m. and 7 a.m. Monday through Saturday, the access line may be answered by a service or an automated response system, including an answering machine. Inquiries received by licensee's answering service or automated response system must be responded to by a trained company representative on the next business day.
(c) Under normal operating conditions, telephone answer time by a customer representative, including wait time, shall not exceed thirty (30) seconds from when the connection is made. If the call needs to be transferred, transfer time shall not exceed thirty (30) seconds. Callers will receive a busy signal less than three (3) percent of the time. Calls will be lost or abandoned less than three (3) percent of the time. These standards shall be met no less than ninety (90) percent of the time, measured on a quarterly basis.
Failure to meet these standards shall subject licensee to appropriate enforcement actions.
(d) Customer service center and bill payment locations will be open at least during normal business hours and will be conveniently located. A licensee may use an agent such as a bank or other business to receive bill payment from cable customers during and outside of normal business hours. Such an arrangement, however, will not relieve the licensee of its obligation to have its own bill payment location open at least during normal business hours. The account of a customer who remits payment at any authorized bill payment location will be credited by licensee no later than the beginning of the following business day.
(e) Licensee shall notify the city manager or his designee as promptly as possible, by any available means including accessing telephones away from licensee's premises, whenever there is a total interruption of telephone service which affects licensee's subscriber service phone lines.
(3) Notification requirements.
(a) The licensee shall provide written information on each of the following areas at the time of installation of service; at least annually to all subscribers; and at any time upon request of a subscriber or potential subscriber. A current version of the information will be provided to the city upon request, and automatically whenever the material provided to subscribers or potential subscribers changes. The notice provided must provide information specific to Tucson. However, nothing prevents the company from complying with this section by sending a national notice and a separate notice that provides detail concerning local procedures, so long as the two are consistent.
(i) Products and services offered;
(ii) Prices and options for programming services and conditions of subscription to programming and other services. In order that subscribers are fully apprised of the charges they may incur, licensee shall note that advertised rates are subject to additional taxes and fees;
(iii) Installation and service maintenance policies, including, when applicable, information regarding the subscriber's home wiring rights and information describing ownership of internal wiring during the period service is provided;
(iv) Instructions on how to use the cable service;
(v) Channel positions of programming carried on the system;
(vi) Billing and complaint procedures, including address and telephone number of the city's cable office. Such notification shall be either a separate document which may be included with a billing statement or included on the portion of the monthly bill that is to be retained by the subscriber;
(vii) The availability of a parental control device;
(viii) Licensee's practices and procedures for protecting against invasions of privacy;
(ix) The address and telephone number of licensee's office to which complaints may be reported;
(x) When applicable, licensee's community unit identifier as specified by the FCC;
(xi) The manner in which the licensee will provide notice of any rate or service changes; and
(xii) Subscribers' rights to obtain refunds or credits from the licensee and the steps that must be taken to obtain the refunds and credits.
(b) At any time a subscriber's services are changed due to action by licensee, licensee shall send the following notice:
(i) Products and services offered;
(ii) Prices and options for programming services and conditions of subscription to programming and other services. In order that subscribers are fully apprised of the charges they may incur, licensee shall note that advertised rates are subject to additional taxes and fees;
(iii) Channel positions of programming carried on the system;
(iv) Subscribers' rights to downgrade or to disconnect.
(c) Customers will be notified of any changes in rates, programming services, or channel positions as soon as possible in writing unless otherwise expressly provided by federal law. Notice must be given to subscribers a minimum of thirty (30) days in advance of such changes if the change is within the control of the licensee. In addition, the licensee shall notify subscribers thirty (30) days in advance of any significant changes in the other information required by the preceding paragraph in writing. Notices of changes of programming services and/or channel locations shall include a concise description of the new programming service and the specific channel position of that programming service. In addition, should the channel position be affected by the introduction of a new service, such information must also be included in the notice.
The city shall be notified of any change in rates, programming services, channel position or policy at least forty-five (45) days in advance of such change by letter delivered to the telecommunications administrator, except where such notification is impossible because the change is beyond the control of licensee or any affiliate, in which case the notice must be given as quickly as possible. As part of this notice, licensee will tell the city how notice will be provided to subscribers and provide a copy of the notice that will be given to subscribers, or if the precise notice is not available, licensee will provide the text of the notice. For informational purposes only, a listing of licensee closings or holidays will be provided to the city annually, by no later than January 1 of each year.
(d) Notice to subscribers must be reasonable.
(e) Notice of termination. Every notice of termination of service shall include all of the following information:
(i) The name and address of the subscriber whose account is delinquent;
(ii) Current account balance;
(iii) The date by which payment is required in order to avoid termination of service; and
(iv) The telephone number of a representative of licensee who can provide additional information and handle complaints or initiate an investigation concerning the service and charges in question.
(f) Special notice procedures
(i) At any time a person subscribes to any service, the person must be specifically informed whether there will be a charge to drop the service.
(ii) If there is any charge for terminating a promotional or free product or service, the charge must be disclosed in writing prior to connection of the service or provision of the product.
(iii) At the time a person schedules a service call or installation, licensee shall inform the person that the person is entitled to refunds or credits if the licensee's personnel misses the appointment without the consent of the person.
(g) Missed appointments. Under normal operating conditions, if licensee does not arrive for installations or service calls by appointment within the scheduled four-hour time frame agreed to by the person, the person may request within thirty (30) days of the missed appointment and is entitled to receive a twenty dollars ($20.00) credit in addition to providing the installation, service and products as promised to the customer at the time the call was first scheduled (for example, if the company had agreed to provide the install for free, it would be obligated to provide the twenty dollars ($20.00) credit and provide free installation). Failure to comply will subject licensee to appropriate enforcement action.
(4) Service calls and response time. Under normal operating conditions, each of the following standards will be met no less than ninety-five (95) percent of the time, as measured on a quarterly basis:
(a) Installations to locations that are located within one hundred and twenty-five (125) feet of the existing distribution system will be performed within seven (7) business days after an order has been placed. Installations to locations that are located more than 125 feet away from, but within three hundred (300) feet of the existing distribution system will be performed within fourteen (14) days after an order has been placed.
(b) Where a request for service can be satisfied without a service call, the request must be satisfied within three (3) business days from the date of request.
(c) For installations to locations that are more than three hundred (300) feet from the existing distribution system, service must be provided within thirty (30) days of the date the person requesting service agrees to pay the charges associated with the installation. Nothing in this section 7A-20 permits a licensee to charge for extending service in an area where the licensee is required to provide service pursuant to section 7A-11. Installations on new construction entitled to service under a license agreement or this ordinance shall be completed within ninety (90) days of the date of occupancy.
(d) The "appointment window" alternatives for installations, service calls, and other installation activities will be either a specific time or, at maximum, a four-hour time block during normal business hours. The licensee may schedule service calls and other installation activities outside of normal business hours for the express convenience of the customer.
(e) Licensee may not cancel an appointment with a person after the close of business on the business day prior to the scheduled appointment without the person's consent.
(f) If licensee's representative is running late for an appointment with a subscriber and will not be able to keep the appointment as scheduled, licensee will make an effort to contact the person directly. If, however, the person is unavailable at the time the contact attempt is made, licensee will attempt a second contact at least one more time during the previously agreed upon appointment window. The appointment will be rescheduled, as necessary, at a time which is convenient for the customer. This later contact is an independent obligation and will not necessarily excuse a missed appointment. Contacting the person will not negate any applicable requirement for a credit.
(g) Excluding conditions beyond the control of the licensee, the licensee will begin working on "service interruptions" promptly and in no event later than twenty-four (24) hours after the interruption becomes known to the licensee. The licensee must begin actions to correct other service problems the next business day after notification of the service problem. Merely acknowledging the existence of the problem does not satisfy this requirement.
(h) Service interruptions must be corrected within thirty-six (36) hours of the time that the interruption becomes known to the licensee.
(i) Other problems must be solved within ninety-six (96) hours of the time that the problems become known to the licensee.
(5) Disconnect charges; time for disconnection. Licensee shall be prohibited from levying a disconnect charge upon any subscriber who wishes to stop subscribing to licensee's service. For purposes of billing, a request for disconnection shall be effective immediately upon the subscriber's oral or written request, and the subscriber may not be billed for any service provided after the request, and is entitled to refunds on any prepaid period. However, in the case of special promotions, a subscriber is not entitled to a refund of prepayment amounts if the subscriber was fully and clearly informed in writing prior to taking the service that prepaid amounts would not be returned. Nothing prevents a licensee from establishing reasonable charges to disconnect the service of persons who fail to pay their bills.
(6) Refunds, credits and rebates. In addition to such refunds, credits and rebates provided for in the foregoing sections, subscribers shall be entitled to a refund, rebate or credit in each of the following circumstances:
(a) In the case of any failure to notify a subscriber of a rate increase that is implemented before the notice is corrected, the subscriber shall be entitled to service at the old, lower rate until notice is provided as required herein; provided that, if the licensee is not notified that the notice was defective within thirty (30) days of the date the increase was implemented, the old, lower rate will apply only for the first full monthly billing cycle;
(b) In the case of any failure to provide other required notices, where the licensee implements the change before the notice violation is corrected:
(i) Where the change involves a change in services but not in charges, subscribers as to whom the notice was defective will be provided a credit equivalent to free basic service for one month upon the subscriber's request; a complaint from the subscriber related to the notice will be deemed to be a request for the credit;
(ii) Where the change involves a charge (e.g., a late fee), any incremental increase in the charge, or in the case of a new charge, the entire charge, shall be waived until the notice is corrected;
(7) Unscheduled service interruptions, notifications and sanctions.
(a) The licensee may interrupt system service after 7:00 a.m. and before 1:00 a.m. only upon necessary cause for the shortest time possible and only after publishing notice of such service interruption, except for emergency situations. Services may be interrupted between 1:00 a.m. and 7:00 a.m. for routine testing, maintenance and repair, without notification, provided that all such interruptions are limited to the shortest possible time. Except for conditions not within the licensee's control, or for authorized and scheduled interruptions, in the event of an aggregate of more than two (2) hours of service interruptions or six (6) distinct service interruptions within a twenty-four-hour period, the licensee shall provide a rebate for the twenty-four-hour period to any customer that calls and reports the outage or that requests a rebate.
(b) Subject to the preceding paragraph, except for acts of God, and except in circumstances where prior approval has been obtained from the city, in the event that there is repeated, unscheduled interruption of service to any subscriber or user, the licensee shall, upon request, rebate a percentage of the monthly fee to affected subscribers or users as follows:
(i) Three (3) daily rebates within any 30-day period: Twenty-five (25) percent of the monthly fee in lieu of the required daily rebate in paragraph (a) of this section;
(ii) Four (4) or more daily rebates within any 30-day period: One hundred (100) percent rebate of the monthly fee in lieu of the required daily rebate in subsection (b)(i) of this section;
(iii) Twenty-four(24) consecutive hours: Five (5) percent rebate of the monthly fee;
(iv) Twenty-four (24) to forty-eight (48) consecutive hours: Fifteen (15) percent rebate of the monthly fee;
(v) Forty-eight (48) to seventy-two (72) consecutive hours: Twenty-five (25) percent rebate of the monthly fee;
(vi) Greater than seventy-two (72) consecutive hours: One hundred (100) percent rebate of the monthly fee.
(8) Bills and billing disputes.
(a) Bills will be clear, concise and understandable. Bills must be fully itemized, with itemizations including, but not limited to, basic and premium service charges and equipment charges. Bills will also clearly delineate all activity during the billing period, including optional charges, rebates and credits. In case of a billing dispute, the licensee must respond to a written complaint to a subscriber within thirty (30) days. If, on bills, licensee chooses to itemize as a separate line item license fees and/or other governmentally imposed fees attributable to the total bill, such fees must be shown in accordance with any applicable law concerning licensee's ability to itemize such fees.
(b) Refund checks or rebates will be issued promptly, but no later than either (i) the customer's next billing cycle following resolution of the request or thirty (30) days whichever is earlier, or (ii) a return of the equipment supplied by the cable operator if service is terminated. Credits for service will be issued no later than the customer's next billing cycle following the determination that a credit is warranted.
(c) A specific due date at least ten (10) business days from the date of mailing shall be indicated on every subscriber bill. This provision applies only to active accounts in good standing, not those accounts pending disconnect for prior delinquencies. A late charge or other fee for late payment may not be imposed earlier than the later of (i) twenty-three (23) days after the bill is mailed; or (ii) the twentieth (20th) day of the month in which the service for which payment is sought is rendered. For purposes of determining whether a fee may be imposed, the bill is deemed paid on the date licensee receives payment, and it is licensee's responsibility to ensure that its posting and crediting practices will not result in assessment of improper fees and charges upon subscribers.
(d) Any subscriber who, in good faith, disputes all or part of any bill has the option of withholding the disputed amount without disconnection or imposition of late fees until licensee has investigated the dispute and has made a determination that the amount is owed provided that:
(i) The subscriber pays all undisputed charges;
(ii) The subscriber provides written notification of the dispute to the licensee in a timely manner and includes identifying information; and
(iii) The subscriber cooperates in determining the appropriateness of the charges in dispute.
(e) Subscriber bills from licensee shall include the name, address, and telephone number of the telecommunications administrator. The telecommunications administrator will provide the required information to licensee on an annual basis by January 1, or as needed.
(f) Licensee shall forward all regulatory billing inserts affecting rates, policies and procedures and copies of all other mailings required by law or license to subscribers to the telecommunications administrator fifteen (15) days prior to the time they are provided to subscribers. Copies of notices to subscribers must be forwarded to the telecommunications administrator to determine compliance pursuant to applicable law.
(g) It is licensee's obligation to pick up any equipment upon termination of any service if licensee initially delivered the equipment to the subscriber. Any charges imposed for pick-up of such equipment shall not exceed the charge for delivering the equipment, assuming that the customer honors the equipment pick-up appointment agreed to with the company.
(9) Complaints. If a complaint to a licensee cannot be resolved to a customer's satisfaction, the city may consider individual cases brought to its attention and may seek that information necessary to investigate the dispute and to exercise any authority the city may have to resolve the dispute.
(10) Disconnection or denial of service.
(a) Licensee shall not terminate residential service for nonpayment of a delinquent account unless licensee provides initial written notice of the delinquency and impending disconnection at least ten (10) days prior to the proposed termination. The notice shall be mailed, postage prepaid, to the subscriber to whom the service is billed. This notice shall not be sent until thirty (30) days after the delinquent date of the bill. The disconnect notice may be included as part of a mailing containing a billing statement so long as the disconnect notice is prominent and in at least sixteen-point bold type.
(b) Licensee shall terminate service only on days when the subscriber can reach a representative of licensee either in person or by telephone. Service terminated without good cause must be restored without charge for the service restoration. In addition, licensee must provide two (2) months' credit or refund for basic service plus one other service tier selected by the subscriber at no cost to the subscriber. Good cause includes, but is not limited to, failure to pay, payment by check for which there are insufficient funds, or theft of service.
(c) Subject to provisions of the license agreement, licensee shall furnish and maintain services to each person in the license area who makes a request to receive any programming service. Nothing in these standards shall limit the right of licensee to deny service to any household or individual which has a negative credit or service history with licensee, which may include nonpayment of bills or theft or damage to licensee's equipment, or who has threatened or assaulted employees of licensee in the course of their employment, or for other good cause, which must be documented; provided, however, that in the event service is denied, licensee will give notice to the subscriber of the right to contact the appropriate regulatory authority, providing name, address, and phone number as directed by the licensing authority.
(11) Deposits, refunds, and credits.
(a) Licensee may require refundable deposits for service or equipment. Upon termination of service for any reason, subscribers will be entitled to receive a refund or credit against amounts owed to licensee equal to the deposit.
On all deposits, licensee shall be required to pay simple interest at a rate of one- half ( 1/2) percent per month (six (6) percent per year). Such interest shall be accrued and payable upon termination of service. Upon termination of service for any reason, subscribers will be entitled to receive a refund or credit against amounts owed licensee equal to the deposit plus accumulated interest. The rate may be modified to reflect prevailing market rates upon approval by city which shall not be unreasonably withheld. Such interest shall be accrued on deposits charged to subscribers after the effective date of the license.
(b) Refund checks will be issued within thirty (30) days following the resolution of the event giving rise to the refund. In addition to a refund, if licensee fails to mail a check for a refund to any subscriber disconnecting service with an outstanding credit of three dollars ($3.00) or more within thirty (30) days of the date service is ended, and the subscriber has returned all licensee-owned equipment, the subscriber is entitled to receive a ten dollars ($10.00) penalty payment, in addition to the total refund due. Failure to comply with the ten dollars ($10.00) penalty provision shall be grounds for appropriate enforcement actions by the city. Refunds will be provided to subscribers with outstanding credits of less than three dollars ($3.00) upon request by the subscriber.
(c) Credits for service will be issued no later than thirty (30) days after the event giving rise to a credit or the subscriber's next billing cycle following the determination that a credit is warranted, whichever occurs first.
(12) Rates, fees, and charges.
(a) Licensee shall not, except to the extent permitted by law, impose any fee or charge on any subscriber for service calls to said subscriber's premises to perform any repair or maintenance work related to licensee-installed equipment necessary to receive service, except for any such work which was necessitated solely by a negligent or wrongful act of said subscriber.
(b) Where the actions of licensee, its agent(s) or subcontractors(s) can be shown upon a reasonable demonstration of evidence to have contributed to the theft, loss or damage or a converter or other equipment lawfully used by a subscriber, the subscriber's liability with respect to said converter or other equipment shall be reduced to the extent of such contributing actions.
(c) Licensee shall be entitled to recover a reasonable fee for all checks returned due to insufficient funds.
(13) Employee and vehicle identification. All personnel and service vehicles of licensee or its subcontractors contacting subscribers or potential subscribers outside the office of licensee or performing any work within city rights-of-way must be clearly identified as associated with licensee through visible uniform insignia, photo identification devices, or signs affixed to the vehicle.
(14) Rights reserved by city. City reserves the right to establish additional, reasonable subscriber service standards from time to time, as may be necessary.
(Ord. No. 8937, § 2, 9-2-97)
(1) The city may regulate rates except to the extent prohibited by state and federal law.
(2) Each licensee shall file with the city an up-to-date rate schedule of all subscriber and user rates, fees and charges for all cable services and products provided, which schedule shall be on file in the office of the telecommunications administrator at all times. Any and all proprietary special rates for institutions, motels, hotels, inns, multiple-family dwelling units (referred to below as "MDU" rates), shall be made available for inspection promptly upon the city's request. Should a federal agency of competent jurisdiction rule that the City has no authority to review the MDU rates for reasonableness or to prevent discrimination, then the rates would only be available for inspection on the same basis as other books and records would be available for inspection. Licensee shall file any revised rate schedule with the telecommunications administrator in accordance with the requirements of section 7A-20.
(3) The 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 residents, businesses, public agencies or other entities having a legitimate use for the system; and no one shall be arbitrarily excluded from its use. The licensee shall not discriminate in the assessment, levy, charge, imposition or collection of rates, fees or charges on the basis of race, color, religion, ancestry, sex, age, disability which includes but is not limited to, HIV/AIDS, national origin, sexual orientation, gender identity, familial status and/or marital status.
(4) Nothing in this chapter shall be construed to prohibit the reduction or waiving of charges in conjunction with promotional campaigns for the purpose of attracting subscribers or users, so long as the promotion is bona fide, temporary, and available to all similarly situated persons throughout the city.
(5) Licensee may request in writing and city may grant, temporary authority to licensees for periods not to exceed twenty-four (24) months to offer specifically identified services, packages and combinations of services to selected groups of subscribers at terms and conditions not generally available to all subscribers. The city may refuse to grant this waiver unless it is persuaded upon sufficient showing by licensee that the temporary authority will be used solely to offer services on an experimental or test market basis, and that the services will either be withdrawn at the conclusion of the test or will be made generally available to all subscribers in a uniform, consistent and nondiscriminatory manner.
(Ord. No. 8937, § 2, 9-2-97; Ord. No. 11057, § 1, 3-27-13)
(1) Annual reports. On or before March 31 of each year during the term of the license agreement, the licensee shall submit a written report to the licensing authority. The reports shall be submitted in accordance with forms prepared by the telecommunications administrator after providing a period for notice and comment and providing interested parties an opportunity for notice and comment on the forms. Until such forms are prepared after notice and opportunity for comment, the annual reports shall be prepared in accordance with the general business practices of a licensee and shall contain at least the following information regarding the previous calendar year:
(a) A summary of activities in the development of the system, including but not limited to services begun or discontinued, total number of subscribers, homes passed, subscribers added or discontinued and user participation, all per the provisions of this chapter and the license agreement.
(b) A list of all complaints and system downtime received or experienced during the reporting period. All such submitted data shall include complaint disposition and response time.
(c) A summary by category of complaints, identifying the number and nature of complaints and their dispositions.
(d) A fully audited revenue report, or a revenue report certified as correct by a Licensee's chief financial officer.
(e) A projected income statement and statement of projected construction for the next two (2) years.
(f) A list of officers and members of the board of directors of the licensee and its parents.
(g) A list of stockholders holding five (5) percent or more of the voting stock of the licensee or its parents.
(h) A copy of the licensee's annual report and those of its parents and subsidiaries.
(i) A full schedule of all subscriber and user rates, fees and charges for all cable services provided.
(j) A copy of subscriber and user agreements used by the licensee.
provided that, when it provides the information required by subsections (i) and (j), a licensee need not include proprietary MDU rates and agreements.
(2) Annual surveys. In addition to providing such other information as may be requested under section 7A-22(1), the licensee shall annually provide the following special reports:
(a) An annual opinion survey report which identifies subscriber satisfaction/dissatisfaction with cable services offered by the licensee. Surveys required to make said report shall be scientifically valid. In lieu of this obligation, a licensee may agree in a license agreement to pay a fixed sum to the city so that the city may perform the survey.
(b) An annual plant survey report, which shall be a survey of the licensee's plant and a full report thereon including new construction and complete annual outages by area of the city. The purpose of the report is to assure the city that the plant is being operated and maintained in accordance with applicable law. Said report shall include but not be limited to an appropriate engineering evaluation and shall be conducted in conformance with standard engineering practices. This requirement does not apply during a period of initial construction, or upgrade mandated by a license.
(3) Quarterly reports. Within forty-five (45) days of the end of each calendar quarter, each licensee shall submit a written report to the licensing authority. The reports shall be submitted in accordance with forms prepared by the telecommunications administrator after providing a period for notice and comment and providing interested parties an opportunity for notice and comment on the forms. Until such forms are prepared after notice and opportunity for comment, the quarterly reports shall be prepared in accordance with the general business practices of a licensee and shall contain the following information:
(a) A report showing compliance with the requirements regarding telephone calls specified in the customer service standards.
(b) The percentage of time service interruptions were cured within thirty-six (36) hours; the average time from notice that a problem existed to final cure; and the percentage of time that other service calls were resolved within ninety-six (96) hours.
(d) The total number of complaints received for the quarter, and the number of complaints by type of complaint; and complaints received as a percentage of basic subscribers.
(e) The total number of outages, divided into planned and unplanned outages, and showing the number of outages and the total duration of outages. An outage is defined as a loss of audio or video or impairment of audio or video affecting more than one subscriber.
(f) A list of all services offered by the licensee, including any non-cable services; provided that, after the initial filing, subsequent filings need only identify new services and changes in services offered.
(4) Reports to others. The licensee shall file promptly with the city a copy of any document the licensee files with the FCC, the Securities and Exchange Commission or any other regulatory agency with jurisdiction pertaining to the system. To the extent that such documents contain, to the satisfaction of the city manager, the information required by other reports hereunder, the city manager may suspend the requirements to file such other reports with the city so as to avoid duplication and the administrative costs attendant thereto. Alternatively, a licensee may comply with this subsection (4) by providing the city a list and short description of the documents it files, and providing copies of the documents upon request. The list must be kept current.
(5) Material misrepresentations. Any material misrepresentation made by the licensee in any report required by this section shall subject the licensee to the penalty provisions of this chapter and shall subject the licensee to all remedies available to the city by law.
(6) Access to books and records.
(a) The city may inspect and copy books and records of the licensee that are reasonably necessary to the enforcement of any provision of this chapter; the license agreement; to the conduct of performance evaluation sessions; or to the exercise of any authority that the city may have under the same or any other provision of applicable law. Without limiting the foregoing, a licensee shall provide the city access to complaint data to enable the city to fully investigate subscriber complaints. Books and records shall be produced to the city for inspection at City Hall or at such other mutually agreed upon location within the city. The city will not unreasonably refuse a request that it inspect documents at the licensee's facilities within the city. Provided, however, that nothing in this chapter shall be read to require the licensee to violate any provision of federal or state law relating to customer privacy. Information requested shall be made available for inspection within fourteen (14) business days of a request therefor, which period shall be subject to extension for good cause shown where no harm will result to the public interest from the delay.
(b) A licensee must produce the books and records requested by the city even if the licensee does not believe that the request satisfies the standard set out above, unless the city waives the requirement, or the licensee obtains a court order from a court of competent jurisdiction enjoining the request.
(c) A licensee may not refuse to produce books and records on the ground that such books and records contain proprietary information. However, all proprietary information received by the city from a licensee and clearly marked as such shall not be publicly disclosed insofar as permitted by the Arizona Public Records Law, A.R.S. 39-121 et. seq. and other applicable law. The city will notify a licensee if any third party seeks access to any document that is marked confidential, and the city will withhold releasing the document for the maximum period permitted by law to permit the licensee to seek court protection against the release of the requested documents.
(Ord. No. 8937, § 2, 9-2-97)
To provide for technological advances in the state of the art of cable communications, to promote the maximum degree of flexibility and utilization of the system, to evaluate the licensee's performance and compliance with the provisions of this chapter and the license agreement, and to evaluate the performance of every operator to ensure that the quality of every operator's service continues to reasonably meet the needs of the community, the city and each licensee shall comply with the following review procedures:
(1) The city may commence a regularly scheduled review session any time after the second anniversary date of the execution of the license agreement and subsequently every two (2) years thereafter. All review sessions shall be open to the public notice of date, time, location and agenda shall be given by the licensee, at the licensee's cost, by provision of the city of a bill insert to be included in subscribers' bills to arrive at least fourteen (14) days prior to the meeting, and by publication at least once in a newspaper of citywide general circulation at least one (1) week prior to each session. In addition, the licensee shall announce the date, time and location of each session on each of at least five (5) days immediately preceding each session at a minimum of six (6) regularly scheduled intervals daily on at least two (2) subscriber channels of the system. Provided that, the city may waive the billing notice requirement where the notice would be ineffective, and provided further, a licensee is not obligated to provide notice using billing inserts unless: (i) at least ninety (90) days prior to the date scheduled for the review session, the city notifies licensee that it wishes the licensee to provide notice using billing inserts; and (ii) the city provides the licensee the text to be used in the billing inserts or, if the licensee requests it, the billing inserts (prepared in accordance with the standard format for billing inserts used by a licensee).
(2) Topics for discussion and review at the regular review sessions shall include but shall not be limited to the following:
Rate structure, free or discounted services, application of new technologies, system performance, services provided, programming, subscriber complaints, user complaints, rights of privacy, construction progress, community service channel implementation and utilization, amendments to this chapter, undergrounding process and developments in the law.
(3) The city may hold special review sessions at any time on specific issues relevant to the system. All such review sessions shall be open to the public and shall be advertised, if possible, as provided in paragraph (1) of this section. Either the city or the licensee may select additional topics for discussion at any regular or special review session.
(4) The city shall provide for the taking of written minutes and a recording of all review sessions held.
(Ord. No. 8937, § 2, 9-2-97)
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