HomeMy WebLinkAbout96-035 CC Resolution RESOLUTION NO. 96-35
A RESOLUTION OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF
TEMECULA, CALIFORNIA, ESTABLISHING CABLE
TELEVISION CUSTOMER SERVICE STANDARDS
THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF TEMECULA DOES RESOLVE, DETERMINE
AND ORDER AS FOLLOWS:
WHEREAS, pursuant to Title 47, Section 76.309 of the Code of Federal Regulations,
the Federal Communication Commission authorized cities to establish cable television
customer service standards;
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED, that
Section 1: The Temecula City Council hereby adopts the customer service obligations
contained at Section 76.309 of Title 47 of the Code of Federal Regulations, a copy of which is
attached hereto as Exhibit A. Upon the effective date of this Resolution, all cable operators
within the City shall comply with the standards.
Section 2: The City Clerk is directed to send written notice to the City's current cable
television operators of the adoption of this Resolution. This Resolution shall be applicable to
the operators ninety (90) days after receipt of this Resolution.
PASSED, APPROVED AND ADOPTED by the City Council of the City of
Temecula at a regular meeting held on the 26th day of March, 1996.
Karel F. Lindemans, Mayor
A=T:
T
reek, CMC
City Clerk
[SEAL]
Resos\96-35 1
STATE OF CALIFORNIA)
COUNTY OF RIVERSIDE) ss
CITY OF TEMECULA)
I, June S. Greek, City Clerk of the City of Temecula, California, do hereby certify that
Resolution No. 96-35 was duly and regularly adopted by the City Council of the City of
Temecula at a regular meeting thereof held on the 26th day of March, 1996 by the following
vote:
AYES: 4 COUNCILMEMBERS: Birdsall, Ford, Stone, Lindemans
NOES: 0 COUNCILMEMBERS: None
ABSENT: 1 COUNCILMEMBERS: Roberts
June S. Greek, CMC
City Clerk
Resos\96-35 2
Cable Television Service Appendix III 76.309
(c) Cable operators must maintain records sufficient to 76.305 Records to be maintained locally by cable svstem
verifv compliance with this rule and make such records operators for public inspection.
available to the public. Such records must be retained for a (a) Records to be inaiiiiained. The operator of everv
period sufficient to cover the limitations period specified in cable television system having 1,000 or more subscribers shall
47 U.S.C. 503(b)(6)(B). maintain for public inspection a file containing a copy of all
NOTE 1: Commercial matter means air time sold for records which are required to be kept by 76.207 (political
purposes of selling a product or service. file); 76.221(f) (sponsorship identifications): 76.79 (EEO
NOTE 2: For purposes of' this section, children's records available for public inspection); 76.225(c)
programmin- refers to programs originally produced and
(commerical records for children's programming); 76.601(c)
broadcast primarily for an audience of children 12 years old (proof-of-performance test data)-, 76.601(c) (signal leakage
and youneer. logs and repair records) and 76.701(h) (records for leared
access).
Subpart H - General Operating Requirements (b) Location of records. The public inspection file shall
be maintained at the office which the system operator
76.300 Scope of application. maintains for the ordinary collection of subscriber charges,
(a) The provisions of 76.302, 76.306, and 76.307 are resolution of subscriber complaints, and other business or at
any accessible place in the community served by the svstem
applicable to all cable television systems.
NOTE: In addition to this band, stations in Puerto Rico unit(s) (such as a public registry for documents or an
may continue to be authorized on 942.5, 943.0, 943.5. 944.0 attorney's office). The public inspection file shall be available
MHz in the band 942-944 MHz on a primary basis to stations for public inspection at any time during regular business
and services operating in accordance with the Table of hours.
Frequency Allocations. (c) The records specified in paragraph (a) of this section
(b) The provisions of 76.301 and 76.305 are not shall be retained for the period specified in 76.207.
applicable to any cable television system serving fewer than 76,221(f), 76.79, 76.225(c), 76.601(c), and 76.601(e),
1,000 subscribers. respectively.
(d)Reproduction of records. Copies of any material in
76.301 Copies of rules. the public inspection file shall be available for machine
The operator of a cable television system shall have a reproduction upon request made in person, provided the
current copy of Part 76, and is expected to be familiar with requesting party shall pay the reasonable cost of reproduction.
the rules 2overning cable television systems. Copies of the Requests for machine copies shall be fulfilled at a location
commission's rules may be obtained from the Superintendent specified by the system operator, within a reasonable period
of Documents. Government Printing Office, Washington. DC of time. which in no event shall be longer than seven davs.
20402, at nominal cost. The system operator is not required to honor requests made
by mail but may do so if it chooses.
76.302 Required recordkeeping for must-carry purposes.
(a) Effective June 17, 1993, the operator of every cable 76.307 System inspection.
television system shall maintain for public inspection a file The operator of a cable television system shall make the
containing a list of all broadcast television stations carried by system, its public inspection file (if required by 76.305), and
its system in fulfillment of the must-carry requirements its records of subscribers available for inspection upon request
pursuant to 76.56. Such list shall include the call sign. by any authorized representative of the commission at any
community of license, broadcast channel number, cable reasonable hour.
channel number, and in the case of a noncommercial 76.309 Customer service obligations.
educational broadcast station, whether that station was carried
by the cable system on March 29, 1990. (a) A cable franchise authority may enforce the customer
(b) The operator of every cable television svstem shall service standards set forth in paragraph (c) of this section
maintain for public inspection the designation and location of against cable operators. The franchise authority must provide
its principal headend. affected cable operators ninety (90) days written notice of its
(c) Such records must be maintained in accordance with intent to enforce the standards.
the provisions of 76.305(b). (b) Nothing in this rule should be construed to prevent or
(d) Upon written request from any person, a cable prohibit:
operator is required to provide the list of signals specified in (I ) A franchising authority and a cable operator from
paragraph (a) of this section in writing within 30 days of agreeing to customer service requirements that exceed the
receipt of such request, standards set forth in paragraph (el of this section;
(2) A franchising authority from enforcing. through the
end of the franchise term, pre-existing customer service
Thompson Publishing Group, Inc. October 1994 Appendix III - Page 139
76.309 Appendix III Cable Television Service
equirements that exceed the s[LiiL!arLis set forth in paragraph
c)of this section and are contained in current franchise
@Qreements:
(3) Any SL3tC or any franchisine authority from enacting
or enforcing any consumer protection law, to the extent not
specifically preempted herein: or
(4) The establishment or enforcement of any state or
municipal law or regulation concerning customer service that
imposes customer service requirements that exceed, or address
matters not addressed by the standards set forth in paragraph
(c)of this section.
(c) Effective July 1, 1993, a cable operator shall be
subject to the following customer service standards:
(I ) Cable s.N-steiii office liours atid telephot7e ai,ail-
(ibilit@N, -
(i) The cable operator will maintain a local, toll-free or
collect call telephone access line which will be available to its
subscribers 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
(A)Trained company representatives will be available to
respondto customer telephone inquiries during normal
businesshours.
(B)After normal business hours, the access line may be
answered by a service or an automated response system,
including an answering machine. Inquiries received after
normal business hours must be responded to by a trained
company representative on the next business day.
(ii) Under normal operating conditions, telephone answer
time by a customer representative, including wait time, shall
,lot exceed thirty (30) seconds when the connection is made.
If the call needs to be transferred, transfer time shall not
@xceed thirty (30) seconds. These standards shall be met no
less than ninetv (90) percent of the time under normal
operating conditions, measured on a quarterly basis.
(iii) The operator will not be required to acquire
equipmentor perform surveys to measure compliance with the
telephoneaiis%NlcrinL, standards above unless an historical
record ofcomplaints indicates a clear failure to comply.
(iv)Under normal operating conditions, the customer will
rccein,e a busy signal less than three (3) percent of the time.
(v) Customer service center and bill payment locations
be open at least during normal business hours and will be
con%,criiently located.
(2) Iiistallatiotis, outages aiid seri?ice calls. Under normal
operatin- conditions, each of the following four standards will
he i-net no less than ninct), five (95) percent of the time
measured on a quarterly basis:
(i) Standard installations will be performed withinseven
(7) business days after an order has been placed. "Standard"
installations are those that are located up to 125 feet from the
existing distribution svstem.
(ii) Excluding conditions beyond the control of the
operator, the cable operator will begin working on "service
interruptions" promptly and in no event later than 24 hours
after the interruption becomes known. The cable operator
must begin actions to correct other service problems the next
business day ;ifter notification of the service problem.
(iii) 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 operator may
schedule service calls and other installation activities - utside
of normal business hours for the express convenience of the
customer.)
(iv) An operator may not cancel an appointment with a
customer after the close of business on the business day prior
to the scheduled appointment.
(v) If a cable operator representative is running late for
an appointment with a customer and will not be able to keep
the appointment as scheduled, the customer will be contacted.
The appointment will be rescheduled, as necessary, at a time
which is convenient for the customer.
(3) Cottii??unications bet"@eeti cable operators ayid cable
subscribers
(i)Notifications to subscribers
(A)The cable operator 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:
(1)Products and services offered@
(2)Prices and options for programming services and
conditions of subscription to programming and other services;
(3)Installation and service maintenance policies;
(4)Instructions on how to use the cable service:
(5)Channel positions programming carried on the
system:and,
(6)Billing and complaint procedures, including the
address and telephone number of the local franchise
authoritv's cable office.
(B) Customers will be notified of any changes in rates,
programming services or channel positions as soon as possible
through announcements on the cable system and in writing.
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 cable operator. In addition, the cable operator
shall notify subscribers thirty (30) days in advance of any
significant chanlyes in the other information required by the
preceding paragraph.
(ii) Billing -
(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.
(B) In case of a billing dispute, the cable operator must
respond to a written complaint from a subscriber within 30
days.
(iii) Refunds - Refund checks will be issued promptly,
but no later than either
(A) The customer's next billing cycle following
resolution of the request or thirty (30) days, whichever is
earlier, or
(B)The return of the equipment supplied by the cable
operatorif service is terminated.
(iv)Credits - Credits for service will be issued no later
than the customer's next billing cycle following the
determination that a credit is warranted.
(4)Defiilitio72s -
(i)Nory?ial business liours - The term "normal business
hours" means those hours during which most similar
businesses in the community are open to serve customers. In
Page 140 - Appendix III October 1994 The Cable Re-Regulation Handbook
Cable Television Service Appendix III 76.501
all cases, "normal business tiou@s" must include some eveninly
hours at least one iii2ht per week and/or some weekend hours.
(ii) Noi-iiial ol)elatii7g copiditiotis - The teri-n "normal
operating conditions" means those service conditions which
are within the control of the cable operator. Those conditions
which are not within the control of the cable operator include,
but are not limited to. natural disasters. civil disturbances,
power outa2es, telephone network outae!es, and severe or
unusual weather conditions. Those conditions which are
ordinarily A?ithin the control of the cable operator include, but
are not limited to, special promotions, pav-per-\-iew events,
rate increases. regular peak or seasonal demand periods, and
maintenance or upgrade of the cable snstem.
(iii) Sei-i,ice i'lliet-riii)ti I oil - The term "ser%-ice
interruptions' means the loss of picture or sound on one or
more cable channels.
Subpart I - Forms and Reports
76.400 Operator, mail address, and operational status
- changes.
Within 30 days following a chaneie of cable television
system operator, and/or chan2e of the operator's mail address,
and/or chan2e in the operational status of a cable television
system, the operator shall inform the commission in writinc, of
the following, as appropriate-.
(a) The leeal name of the operator and whether the
operator is an individual, private association, partnership or
corporation. See 76.5(cc). If the operator is a partnership, the
legal name of the partner responsible for communications
with the commisson shall be supplied;
(b) The assumed name (if an\,) used for doinl, business in
each community;
(c) The new mail address, includin@ zip code. to which
all communications are to be directed;
(d) The nature of the operational status chan2e (e.2.,
became operational on (year) (month). exceeded 49
subscribers, exceeded 499 subscribers. operation terminated
temporarily, operation terminated permanently):
(e) The names and FCC identifiers CAOOOI ) of the
system communities affected.
NOTE: FCC system community identifiers are routinel@,
assigned upon registration. They have been assiened to all
reported system communities based on previous Form 325 data.
If a system community in operation prior to March 31, 1972,
has not previously been assigned a system community
identifiers the operator shall provide the following information
in lieu of the identifier: Community Name, Community Type
(i.e., incorporated town, unincorporated settlement, etc.)
County Name. State, Operator Leoal Name, Operator
Assumed Name for Doing Business in the community,
Operator Mail Address, and Year and Month service was first
provided by the physical svstei-n.
76.403 Cable television svstem reports.
The operator of evern,, operational cable television svstein
shall correct and/or furnish information in response to forms,
encompassing each community unit, mailed to said operator
by the commission. These include:
Thompson Publishing Group, Inc.
CommunitN! unit data - "Annual Report of Cable
Television SN,stem," Form 325, Schedule I
Physical sn!stem data - "Annual Report of Cable
Television SN,stem." Form 3'@15, Schedule 2
Operator ownership data "Annual Report of Cable
Tc]eN,ision." Form 3'-15, Schedules 3 and 4
These forms shall be completed and returned to the
commission within 60 days after the date of mailing by the
commission.
NOTE:The operator of a cable television system having
fewer than1,000 subscribers shall only be required to file
SchedulesI and 2 of Form 325 for each community unit.
Subpart J - Diversification of Control
76.501 Cross-ownership.
(a) No cable television system (including all parties
under common control) shall carry the signal of anv television
broadcast station if such system directly or indirectly owns,
operates, controls, or has an interest in a TV broadcast station
whose predicted Grade B contour, computed in accordance
with 73.684 of part 73 of this chapter, overlaps in A,hole or
in part the service area of such system (i.e., the area within
which the svstem is serving subscribers).
(b) (1) A cable television system (including all parties
under common control) mav directly or indirectly own,
operate, control. or have an interest in a national television
neta,ork (such as ABC, CBS, or NBC) only if such a system
does not pass more than:
(i) 10 percent of homes passed on a nationwide basis
when aggregated with all other cable systems in which the
network holds such a cognizable interest, and
(ii) 50 percent of homes passed within any one ADI,
except that a cable television system facing a competing
system will not be counted toward this 50-percent limit.
(2) The requirements of paragraph (b)(1) of this section
are applied at the acquisition date, except that a party with no
prior attributable interests in a broadcast network or cable
systems may exceed these limits in connection with a
purchase of these operations from a party with such existing
network-cable interests. Paraeraph (b) of this section will not
be applied so as to require divestiture of existing facilities.
(3)For purposes of para2raph (b) of this section:
(i)Hoiiies passed is defined as the number of homes to
which cable service is currently available whether or not a
given household subscribes to the service.
(ii) ADI is defined as the Arbitron Area of Dominant
Influence.
(iii) A coi?zpeiiiig silsteiii is faced by a network-owned
cable system where the-cable system provides service in the
same area as another independently owned, multichannel
video delivery sn,stem, as specified in 76.33(a)(2)(ii). In
order to be counted, such multichannel competitor must be
capable of providing a package of local broadcast sianals
integrated within the service.
(el Effeciii,e date. The provisions of paragraph (a) of this
section are not effective until November 8, 1987, as to
ownership interests proscribed herein if such interests were in
existence on or before July 1, 1970 (c.-., if franchise were in
March 1995 Appendix III - Page 141