Sec. 7B-1. Short title.
Sec. 7B-2. Definitions.
Sec. 7B-3. Findings; purpose.
Sec. 7B-4. License application and agreement.
Sec. 7B-5. Franchise application and agreement.
Sec. 7B-6. Policy of innovation.
Sec. 7B-7. Time is of the essence.
Sec. 7B-8. License or franchise required.
Sec. 7B-9. Grant of authority.
Sec. 7B-10. Local regulatory framework.
Sec. 7B-11. Regulation costs.
Sec. 7B-12. Geographic area of the system.
Sec. 7B-13. Shared facilities.
Sec. 7B-14. Conditions of street occupancy.
Sec. 7B-15. Use, rental or lease of utility poles and facilities.
Sec. 7B-16. Construction and technical standards.
Sec. 7B-17. Provision of service and equipment to the city.
Sec. 7B-18. Renewal and termination.
Sec. 7B-19. Purchase of system by city.
Sec. 7B-20. Foreclosure and receivership.
Sec. 7B-21. Transfers and assignments.
Sec. 7B-22. Indemnification.
Sec. 7B-23. Insurance.
Sec. 7B-24. Bonding.
Sec. 7B-25. Security deposit.
Sec. 7B-26.1. Alternative license fee for long distance only licenses.
Sec. 7B-27. Rights reserved to the city.
Sec. 7B-28. Nondiscrimination and equal employment opportunities.
Sec. 7B-29. Application for licenses and franchises.
Sec. 7B-30. Cost of consultant.
Sec. 7B-31. Damages.
Sec. 7B-32. Remedies, violation or civil infraction.
Sec. 7B-33. Severability.
Sec. 7B-34. Effective date; application to existing systems.
Sec. 7B-35. Permit moratorium.
Sec. 7B-36. Limited point-of-presence only licenses authorized.
Sec. 7B-37. Exemption for pre-statehood telecommunications providers.
Sec. 7B-38. No vested rights.
For the purposes of this chapter, the following terms, phrases, words, and their derivatives shall have the meanings given herein. When not inconsistent with the context, words used in the present tense include the future, words in the plural number include the singular number, and words in the singular number include the plural number. The word "shall" is mandatory, and "may" is permissive. Words not defined herein or in the Arizona Public Service Law, A.R.S. sec. 40-201, et seq. or the Federal Communications Act of 1934, as amended, U.S. Code, Title 47, Chapter 5, shall be given their generally accepted meaning in the telecommunications industry.
Applicant means a person, as defined in this section, who submits a written response to the city's request for proposals to provide competitive telecommunications service to the city.
City is the city of Tucson, a municipal corporation of the State of Arizona.
Competitive telecommunications service means the provision of long distance competitive access and/or any telecommunications service where customers of the service within the city have or are likely to have reasonably available alternatives, as determined by the mayor and council after public notice and opportunity to comment, or when so classified by the Arizona Corporation Commission by rule or order duly adopted and published.
Competitive telecommunications service does not include cable service, as defined in Section 602(6) of the Federal Cable Act, or the distribution of video programming directly to one or more of a multiplicity of subscribers to a cable system as defined in Section 602(7) of such federal act, 47 U.S.C. Sections 522(6), (7) which is subject to local governmental regulation under the Act.
Core system means that portion of the licensee's/franchisee's system as shown in the license/franchise agreement which constitutes the initial operating system of the licensee/franchisee.
FCC means the Federal Communications Commission or any legally designated successor.
Franchise means a grant of authority to a telecommunications company to place facilities in the public streets and other municipally owned rights-of-way pursuant to Section 7B-14 hereof for the purpose of providing competitive telecommunications services.
Gross annual revenues means all cash, credits, property of any kind or nature, or other consideration received directly or indirectly by the licensee or franchisee, its affiliates, subsidiaries, parent and any person in which the licensee or franchisee has a financial interest, arising from or attributable to the sale or exchange of long distance competitive access or competitive telecommunications services by the licensee within the city or in any way derived from the operation of its system, including, but not limited to:
(1) All telecommunications service revenues charged on a flat rate basis;
(2) All telecommunications services charged on a usage sensitive or mileage basis;
(3) All revenues from installation service charges;
(4) All revenues from connection or disconnection fees;
(5) All revenues from penalties or charges to customers for checks returned from banks, net of bank costs paid;
(6) All revenues from equipment sold or rented to customer upon customer premises;
(7) All revenues from local and long distance full rate service;
(8) All revenues from authorized rental of conduit space;
(9) All revenues from charges for access to local and long distance networks;
(10) All revenues from any leases or subleases of any portion of licensee/franchisee's network, including plant, facilities, or capacity leased to others for any other purpose;
(11) All other revenues collected by licensee/franchisee from business pursued within the city; and
(12) All recoveries of bad debts previously written off and revenues from the sale or assignment of bad debts.
This sum shall be the basis for computing the fee imposed pursuant to section 7B-26 ("License Fee").
License means that ordinance or resolution which contains the right, authority or grant, given by a licensing authority enabling the license holder to provide long distance competitive access or competitive telecommunications services.
Licensee means a person who, in accordance with the provisions of this chapter and the city's request for proposals, executes a license agreement with the city for the nonexclusive privilege to provide long distance competitive access service in the city.
Long distance competitive access service means the instantaneous transmission for hire of voice or data signals by digital high speed fiber optic transmission capacity to carry interstate voice and data signals only to (a) carry interexchange carrier traffic between interexchange carrier points of presence, or (b) to connect customer locations to interexchange carrier points of presence.
Mayor and council means the governing body of the city. They are the licensing and franchising authority.
Person includes any individual, partnership, association, corporation, legal entity or organization of any kind. Whenever used in any clause prescribing a penalty, the term "person" as applied to partnerships or associations includes partners or members thereof, and if applied to corporations, the officers thereof.
Proposal means an applicant's formal written response to the city's request for proposals to provide long distance competitive services or telecommunications service to the city, pursuant to this chapter. Upon award by the city of a license or franchise, the proposal shall become part of the license or franchise agreement.
Street means the surface, the air space above the surface and the area below the surface of any public streets, roadways, highways, avenues, lanes, alleys, courts, places, curbs, sidewalks, easements, rights-of-way, or other public ways in the city which have been or may hereafter be dedicated to or otherwise acquired by the city.
Telecommunications company means any person providing long distance competitive access or competitive telecommunication services as a public service corporation, as defined in the Arizona Constitution, Article 15, Section 2, that provides telecommunications services in the public rights-of-way of the city.
Telecommunications service means any transmission of interactive switched and non- switched signs, signals, writing, images, sounds, messages, data or other information of any nature by wire, radio lightwave, or any other electromagnetic means (including access services), which originate or terminate in the city and are offered to or for the public, or some portion thereof, for compensation.
(Ord. No. 8522, § 1, 6-12-95; Ord. No. 8545, § 1, 7-10-95)
(a) The mayor and council finds that the city's streets constitute valuable public property,
(1) Having been acquired and maintained by the city over many years at taxpayer expense;
(2) Being capable of providing rights-of-way uniquely valuable to private companies in their respective businesses for providing telecommunications services for hire;
(3) Constituting public investments for which the taxpayers are entitled to a fair monetary return on the city's past and future investment in the city's infrastructure; and
(4) Comprising significant assets which should be managed fairly and appropriately to enhance the public safety and economy.
(b) Therefore, this chapter is intended:
(1) To regulate the provision of long distance competitive access services and competitive telecommunications services within the jurisdiction of the city;
(2) To provide for the payment of certain fees; and other valuable considerations to the city to allow the construction, operation, use and development of the system within the city;
(3) To provide conditions under which the system will serve present and future needs of government, public institutions, commercial enterprises, lawful public and private organizations, and the citizens and general public of the city; and
(4) To provide remedies and prescribe penalties for any violation of this chapter.
(Ord. No. 8522, § 1, 6-12-95)
(a) Application for license. Any applicant desiring a license to occupy the streets and other municipal rights-of-way of the city to operate a long distance competitive access service shall file an application with the department of information services in the form prescribed by the department and shall pay the filing fee prescribed by this chapter. Such application shall be processed in accord with A.R.S. Section 9-563 and section 7B-29 below.
(b) License agreement. Prior to, or in no event later than sixty (60) days after written notification of the award of a license by the city, the selected applicant shall execute a license agreement which shall set forth the terms and provisions of the license. The license agreement shall be subject to all provisions of this chapter and shall incorporate all terms and provisions included in the licensee's proposal. The licensee shall provide all that is set forth in its proposal to provide long distance competitive access service within the city. In case of any conflict or ambiguity between the terms of the license agreement and this chapter, that provision which provides the greatest benefit to the city, in the sole opinion of the city, shall govern. The license agreement may be amended only in writing upon mutual agreement of the city and licensee provided, however, that the city reserves the right to amend this ordinance to reflect or accommodate local concerns, or changes in the Arizona Revised Statutes and rules or orders of the Arizona Corporation Commission or the Federal Communications Commission pertaining to telecommunications services and providers and to conform any license issued hereunder accordingly.
(Ord. No. 8522, § 1, 6-12-95; Ord. No. 8545, § 2, 7-10-95)
(a) Application for franchise. Any applicant desiring a franchise to occupy the streets and other municipal rights-of-way of the city to operate facilities to provide competitive telecommunications services shall file an application with the department of information services in the form prescribed by the department and pay the filing fee prescribed by this chapter. Such application shall be processed in accordance with paragraph (b) of this subsection and Section 7B-29 below.
(b) Franchise election. Upon finding that the application is in good order, the department of information services shall promptly notify the applicant of its determination and advise it to pay a franchise election fee to the city clerk in an amount to be determined by the city clerk within a specified number of days thereafter. Upon the city clerk's receipt of the fee, the city clerk shall cause a franchise election to be scheduled at the next date as determined by the mayor and council.
(c) Franchise agreement. Within sixty (60) days after notification of acceptance of the terms of the franchise by the city, the applicant shall execute a franchise agreement which shall set forth the terms and provisions of the franchise and which shall be submitted to the electorate pursuant to subsection (b) above. The franchise agreement shall be subject to all provisions of this chapter and shall incorporate all terms and provisions included in the applicant's proposal. In case of any conflict or ambiguity between the terms of the franchise agreement and this chapter, that provision which provides the greatest benefit to the city, in the sole opinion of the city, shall govern. The franchise agreement may be amended only in writing upon mutual agreement between the city and the franchisee and upon approval of the electorate; provided, however, that the city reserves the right to amend this ordinance to reflect or accommodate local concerns, changes in the Arizona Revised Statutes and rules or orders of the Arizona Corporation Commission or the Federal Communications Commission pertaining to telecommunications services and providers and to conform any franchise issued hereunder accordingly.
(Ord. No. 8522, § 1, 6-12-95)
Recognizing the fluid and expanding state of the development of communications technology and uses, it is the policy of the city to strongly encourage experimentation and innovation in the development of system uses, services, and techniques that will be of general benefit to the community; provided that all such experiments and innovations shall be subject to the rules of the FCC and any other state and city laws.
(Ord. No. 8522, § 1, 6-12-95)
Loading...