Spokane Municipal Code

Title 10 Regulation of Activities

Chapter 10.27A Cable Communications Code

Article I. General

Section 10.27A.040 Definitions

For the purpose of this chapter 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, 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 the word “may” is permissive. Words not defined shall be given their common and ordinary meanings.

1. “Access channel” shall mean any channel set aside for public use, educational use or governmental use without a channel usage charge.
    
2. “Access user” shall mean any person entitled to make use of an access channel consistent with the intended purpose of the channel. [See SMC 10.27A.510]
    
3. “Application” shall mean a proposal seeking authority to construct and operate a cable system within the City. It shall include the initial proposal plus all related subsequent amendments. [See Article III of this chapter.]
    
4. “Basic cable service” shall mean any service tier which includes the lawful retransmission of local television broadcast signals and any public, educational and governmental access programming required by the franchise to be carried on the basic tier.
    
5. “Cable advisory board” shall mean a City or regional cable advisory board as established by ordinance or interlocal agreement. [See chapter 10.27A SMC, Article IV]

6. “Cable service” or “service” shall mean:

   1. the one-way transmission to subscribers of:

      1. video programming, or

      2. other programming service; and

   2. subscriber interaction, if any, which is required for the selection or use of such video programming or other programming service.

7. “Cable system” or “system” shall mean 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 a community, but such term shall not include:

   1. a facility that serves only to retransmit the television signals of one or more television broadcast stations;

   2. a facility that serves only subscribers without using any public right-of-way;

   3. a facility of a common carrier which is subject, in whole or in part, to the provisions of 47 U.S.C. section 201 et seq., except that such facility shall be considered a cable system (other than for purposes of 47 U.S.C. section 541(c)) to the extent such facility is used in the transmission of video programming directly to subscribers, unless the extent of such use is solely to provide interactive on-demand services;

   4. an open video system that complies with 47 U.S.C. section 573; or

   5. any facilities of any electric utility used solely for operating its electric utility system.
       
8. “Channel” shall mean a portion of the electromagnetic frequency spectrum which is used in a cable system and which is capable of delivering a television channel.

9. “City” shall mean the City of Spokane, Washington.

   1. For purposes of enforcement of any provision, “City” further means the deputy mayor or their designee except where otherwise specified.

10. “Complaint” shall mean a subscriber contact with the franchisee to express a grievance or dissatisfaction concerning cable service. Complaints do not include matters not within the scope of the franchise or chapter 10.27A SMC.

    1. A complaint may be verbal or in writing but need not include initial contacts where an issue is promptly resolved to the subscriber’s satisfaction.
        
11. “Converter” shall mean an electronic tuning device which converts transmitted signals to a frequency which permits their reception on a television receiver.
     
12. “Council” shall mean the legislative body of the City of Spokane, Washington.
     
13. “Deputy mayor” shall mean the city administrator.
     
14. “FCC” shall mean the Federal Communications Commission or any legally appointed or designated agent or successor.

15. “File” shall mean the delivery, by mail or otherwise, to the appropriate office, officer or agent of the City of any document or franchise required to be filed with the City.

    1. The date of receipt by the City shall be considered the file date.

    2. Unless specified to the contrary by the City, the filing shall be with the deputy mayor.
        
16. “Franchise” or “agreement” or “franchise agreement” shall mean the nonexclusive right and authority to construct, maintain and operate a cable system through use of public rights-of-way in the City pursuant to a contractual agreement approved by the city council and executed by the City and a franchisee.
     
17. “Franchise area” shall mean the entire geographic area within the City as it is now constituted or may in the future be constituted. [See SMC 10.27A.720]
     
18. “Franchisee” shall mean an entity or person granted a franchise under this chapter.

19. “Gross revenues” shall mean all revenue from the cable system derived by the franchisee, including its affiliates, subsidiaries, parent and any person in which the franchisee has a financial interest from the operation of a cable system to provide cable service within the City, including, but not limited to, basic cable service monthly fees, premium service fees, institutional service fees, installation, service transfer and reconnection fees, leased channel fees, converter rentals, home shopping revenues, franchise fees, advertising revenues and copyright fees; provided, however, that this shall not include any taxes on subscribers payable to the State of Washington or any other governmental unit or agency and collected by the franchisee on behalf of said governmental unit or agency, or any revenues from the provision of cable services outside the City, or any revenues from sale of capital assets or lease of property for purposes unrelated to cable service or any bad debt related directly to gross revenues as described herein and further, shall not include the value of complimentary services provided by franchisee to its employees or non-profit agencies.

    1. Any financial monthly PEG access contribution computed based on subscriber count shall not be considered part of gross revenues.

    2. Gross revenues shall include, valued at retail price levels, the value of any goods and services received by the franchisee, including its affiliates, subsidiaries, parent and any person in which the franchisee has a financial interest, where treated as revenue on franchisee’s books in consideration of performance by the franchisee as described above of any advertising or other service in connection with the cable system, without any deduction because of taxes or fees on the franchisee.

    3. The intent of this definition is to clarify the understanding of “gross revenues” and not decrease the historical level of franchise fee payments.
        
20. “Installation” shall mean the process necessary to connect the cable system at the subscriber’s premises.
     
21. “Institutional services” shall mean cable service to businesses, public agencies and community institutions.
     
22. “Leased channel” or “leased access channel” shall mean any channel, or part of a channel, available for commercial use on a fee basis by persons other than a franchisee.
     
23. “Lockout device” shall mean an optional mechanical or electrical accessory to a subscriber’s terminal which inhibits the viewing of a certain program, certain channel or certain channels provided by way of the cable system.
     
24. “Maintain” or “maintenance” shall mean the repair, restoration, replacement, renovation and testing of the cable system or components thereof so as to ensure that it operates in a safe and reliable manner and as required by a franchise and this chapter.

25. “Noncommercial” shall mean, in the context of access channels, that products and services are not sold via the access channel.

    1. The term will not be interpreted to prohibit an access channel operator or programmer from independently (i.e., not in the context of any televised programming) soliciting and receiving financial support to produce and transmit video programming on an access channel, or from acknowledging a contribution, in the manner of the corporation for public broadcasting.

    2. An access channel operator or programmer may cablecast informational programming regarding City events, projects and attractions of interest to residents so long as the format for such programming is consistent with the purposes for which PEG resources may be used.

26. “Normal business hours” shall mean those hours during which most similar businesses in the City are open to serve customers.

    1. In all cases, “normal business hours” must include some evening hours, at least one night per week and/or some weekend hours.

27. “Normal operating conditions” shall mean those service conditions which are within the control of franchisee.

    1. Those conditions which are not within the control of a franchisee include, but are not limited to:

       1. natural disasters,

       2. civil disturbances,

       3. power outages,

       4. telephone network outages, and

       5. severe or unusual weather conditions.

    2. Those conditions which are ordinarily within the control of a franchisee include, but are not limited to:

       1. special promotions,

       2. pay-per-view events,

       3. rate increases,

       4. regular peak or seasonal demand periods, and

       5. maintenance or upgrade of the cable system. [See SMC 10.27A.700]
           
28. “Other programming service” shall mean information that a cable operator makes available to all subscribers generally.
     
29. “Pay television” shall mean the delivery over the system of pay-per-channel or pay-per-program audio-visual signals to subscribers for a fee or charge, in addition to the charge for basic cable service or other programming services.
     
30. “PEG” shall mean public, educational and governmental.
     
31. “Person” shall mean an individual or legal entity, such as a corporation or partnership.
     
32. “Premium service” shall mean pay television offered on a per channel or per program basis.

33. “Public right-of-way” or “public rights-of-way” shall mean the surface of and the space above and below any public street, road, highway, path, sidewalk, alley, court or easement now or hereafter dedicated and opened by the City for the purpose of public travel or public utilities.

    1. Use of skywalks may be subject to additional regulatory requirements.

    2. In the case of any grant of authority or permission by the City to a cable operator however, this term shall not exceed the scope of the City’s interests or power to extend such grant.
        
34. “Service interruption” shall mean the loss of picture or sound on one or more cable channels. [See SMC 10.27A.700(B)(2)(b)]
     
35. “Service tier” shall mean a specific set of cable services which are made available as, and only as, a group for purchase by subscribers at a separate rate for the group.

36. “Standard installation” shall mean those that are located up to one hundred twenty-five feet from the existing distribution system.

    1. Franchisee shall comply with applicable FCC regulations regarding commercial installations as may now or hereafter arise.
        
37. “Subscriber” shall mean any person who lawfully receives cable service via the system.
     
38. “Video programming” shall mean programming provided by, or generally considered comparable to programming provided by, a television broadcast station.

Date Passed: Monday, June 4, 2007

Effective Date: Wednesday, July 11, 2007

ORD C34041 Section 1 (Recodification)