753.02 DEFINITIONS.
(a) For the purpose of this chapter and any permit, the following terms, phrases, words, and their derivations shall have the meanings given herein. When not inconsistent with the context, words used in the present tense include the future tense, words in the plural number include the singular number, and words in the singular number include the plural number. All capitalized terms used in the definition of any other term shall have their meaning as otherwise defined in this Section 753.02.
The words "shall" and "will" are mandatory and "may" is permissive. Words not defined shall be given their common and ordinary meaning
(1) "Approved" means approval by the City under the requirements of this chapter or any permit.
(2) “Auditor" shall mean the Auditor of the City.
(3) "Basic service" means a separately available basic service tier to which subscription is required for access to any other tier of service. Such basic service tier shall, at a minimum, consist of the following:
A. All signals required to be carried by federal law or any federal agency;
B. Any public, educational, and governmental access programming required by this chapter or the permit;
C. Except as otherwise permitted by law, any signal of any television broadcast station that is provided by the provider to any subscriber, except a signal which is secondarily transmitted by carrier beyond the local service area of such station
A provider may add additional video programming signals or services to the basic service tier.
(4) “Best efforts" means the best reasonable efforts under the circumstances, taking into consideration, among other appropriate matters, safety, expedition, available technology and human resources and cost.
(5) “Cable Act" means Title VI of the 1996 Telecommunications Act or any successor legislation thereto, and any amendments thereto and any rules or regulations adopted thereunder.
(6) "Cable service" means:
A. The one-way transmission to subscribers of video programming or other programming service; and
B. Subscriber interaction, if any, which is required for the selection or use of such video programming or other programming service.
(7) “Cable system" means a facility, consisting of a set of closed transmission paths and associated signal generation, reception, and control equipment that is designed to provide cable service which includes video programming and which is provided to multiple subscribers within the City that is owned by or under the control of a provider but such term does not include:
A. Facilities that serves only to retransmit the television signals of one or more television broadcast stations;
B. Facilities that serves only subscribers in one or more multiple unit dwellings unless such facility or facilities crosses or uses any public right-of-way;
C. Facilities of a common carrier which is subject, in whole or in part, to the provisions of Title II of the Cable Communications Policy Act of 1984, except that such facility shall be considered a system to the extent such facility is used in the transmission of video programming service to subscribers; or
D. Any facilities of any electric utility used solely for operating its electric utility systems.
(8) “Channel" means a band of frequencies in the electromagnetic spectrum, or any other means of transmission (including, without limitation, optical fibers or any other means now available or that may become available), which is capable of carrying a video signal, an audio signal, a voice signal, or a data signal.
(9) "Chapter" or "this chapter" means Chapter 753
of the Code of Ordinances of the City, as amended from time to time.
(10) "City" means the City of Whitehall, Ohio, or, as appropriate in the case of specific provisions of this Chapter, any board, bureau, authority, agency, commission, department of, or any other entity of or acting on behalf of, the City of Whitehall, or any officer, official, employee, representative or agent thereof, the designee of any of the foregoing, or any successor thereto.
(11) "City Council" means the governing body of the City.
(12) “Competitive Video Service” means video programming provided, by a provider other than a cable service provider through the use of a proprietary network through wireline facilities located at least in part in the public rights of way without regard to delivering technology, including internet protocol technology and does not require access to the public Internet to access. This definition does not include:
A. Video programming provided by a commercial mobile service provider defined in 47 U.S.C. 332(d); or
B. Video programming delivered over the public Internet.
(13) “Competitive Video System” means the facilities and equipment necessary to provide competitive video service in the City that is owned by or under the control of an competitive video service provider.
(14) "Compliance Committee" means the Committee described in Section 753.06 which consists of the Mayor or the Mayor's designate, the President of Council or the President's designate, and a third person mutually selected by the Mayor and the President of Council. The Committee shall act by majority vote.
(15) "Converter" means an electronic device with an appropriate channel selector which permits a subscriber to view all signals delivered at designated converter dial locations and which contains a parental control device.
(16) "Force majeure" means a strike, acts of God, acts of public enemies; judicial, administrative or regulatory orders of any kind of a government of the United States of America or of the State of Ohio or any of their departments, agencies or political subdivisions; riots, epidemics, landslides, lightning, earthquakes, fires, tornadoes, storms, floods, civil disturbances, explosions, partial or entire failure of utilities or any other cause or event not reasonably within the control of the disabled party, but only to the extent the disabled party notifies the other party as soon as practicable regarding such force majeure.
(17) "Permit fee" means the fee to be paid to the City as set forth in Section 753.06.
(18) “Gross revenues" means all cash, credit, property of any kind or nature, or other consideration received directly or indirectly by an provider arising from or attributable to the sale or exchange of cable services or competitive video services by a Provider within the City, including, but not limited to, monthly fees charged to subscribers for basic service; monthly fees charged to subscribers for any optional video programming service; monthly fees charged to subscribers for any tier of service other than basic service; pay television fees; installation, disconnection, and reconnection and late payment fees; leased channel fees; fees, payments, or other consideration received from programmers (exclusive of payments in support of marketing); converter rentals or sales; and the sale, exchange, or cablecast of any programming developed on or for community service channels or institutional users.
Traditional advertising revenues, production revenues and revenues from home shopping channels and like services in which goods or services are purchased by subscribers utilizing the system that are not delivered to or on behalf of the subscribers via the system shall not be included in gross revenues; provided, however, that "infomercials" and rental or lease payments for programming or channel time and like revenues are not classified as advertising revenue. This sum shall be the basis for computing the fee imposed pursuant to Section 753.06
(b)(1). This sum shall not include any taxes on services furnished by an provider which are imposed upon any subscriber or user by the state, county, City or other governmental unit and collected by the provider on behalf of said governmental unit. Franchise permit fees paid to the City are not deemed to be taxes but are not to be included in the total gross revenues figure on which franchise permit fees are paid. Other than adjustments for subscriber refunds and uncollectible, there shall be no other deductions from this sum unless specified herein. Gross revenues shall also include revenues received by a provider's affiliates, subsidiaries, parent, or any person in which an provider has a financial interest, arising from or attributable to the sale or exchange of cable services or competitive video services within the City, where such revenue was diverted by the provider in such a manner as to lower gross revenues and therefore avoid payment of franchise permit fees hereunder.
(19) "Installation" means the act of connecting the cable system or competitive video system from the providers facilities to the subscriber terminal so that service may be received by the subscriber.
(20) "Mayor" means the Mayor of the City of Whitehall.
(21) "Noncable service" means any service provided by a cable provider other than cable service.
(22) “Noncompetitive Video Service” mean any service provided by a competitive video services provider other than a competitive video service.
(23) “Provider" means any person operating a cable system or competitive video system within the City and, for purposes of the reporting, auditing, inspection and provision of information requirements herein which are necessary to ascertain the provider's compliance with this chapter, also includes any affiliate, parent, subsidiary, or successor of the provider. A Cable Services Provider and Competitive Video Services Provider are mutual exclusive. An entity that has a valid cable franchise or permit issued by the City pursuant to this chapter prior to April 1, 2007, shall be a Cable Services Provider for the purposes of this chapter. A Cable Services Provider is not a Competitive Video Services Provider for the purposes of this chapter.
(24) "Parental control device" (Reserved for future legislation).
(25) "Pay television" means the delivery over the system of per-channel or per-program audio-visual signals to subscribers for an additional fee or charge.
(26) "Permit" means either :
A. A nonexclusive franchise agreement entered into between the City and a cable system provider pursuant to which provider is granted the authority to operate a cable system within the City pursuant to this chapter and pursuant to the terms and conditions contained in such permit; or
B. A non-exclusive agreement entered into between the City and a competitive video system provider pursuant to which provider is granted the authority to operate a competitive video system within the City pursuant to this chapter and pursuant to the terms and conditions contained in such permit.
(27) "Person" means any natural person or any association, firm, partnership, joint venture, corporation, or other legally recognized entity, whether for profit or not for profit.
(28) "Public property" means any real property, other than a street, owned by any governmental unit.
(29) "Signal" means any transmission of radio frequency energy or of optical information.
(30) "Street" means the surface of and the space above and below any public street, public road, public highway, public freeway, public lane, public path, public way, public alley, public court, public sidewalk, public boulevard, public parkway, public drive or any public easement or right-of-way now or hereafter held by the City which shall, within its proper use and meaning in the sole opinion of the City, entitle an provider to the use thereof for the purpose of installing or transmitting over poles, wires, cables, conductors, ducts, conduits, vaults, manholes, amplifiers, appliances, attachments and other property as may be ordinarily necessary and pertinent to a system.
(31) "Subscriber" means any person or entity who lawfully subscribes to any service provided over a cable system or competitive video system.
(32) "Video programming" means programming provided by, acquired from, or generally considered comparable to programming provided by, a national broadcast network, cable television network, local television network affiliate, or independent television station.
(Ord. 30-07. Passed 4-3-07.)