27.110 Technical and Construction Requirements.

(1) Generally. The construction, operation and repair of franchisee’s cable system shall be performed in a safe, thorough and reliable manner using equipment of good and durable quality. The construction, operation and repair of the cable system shall be performed by experienced personnel familiar with their responsibilities under this chapter, the franchise agreement, applicable laws, construction standards and safety codes. The franchisee shall at all times have sufficient, trained personnel on site in the franchise area to satisfy all its obligations under its franchise, including customer service standards, and applicable laws and regulations. In addition to all other obligations, franchisee must repair or cure as soon as possible any defect with its system where such defect presents a hazard or danger to the public or subscribers.

(2) Codes and Industry Standards. Franchisee shall construct, operate and maintain its system in accordance with all applicable laws and regulations, including, but not limited to, Federal, State and local building, zoning and other land use, and safety laws, codes and regulations now in effect or hereafter adopted. Without limiting the foregoing, the City, after consultation with the franchisee, may direct the franchisee to follow standards for construction, operation or repair of the cable system as required to ensure that work continues to be performed in an orderly and workmanlike manner, or to reflect changes in standards which may occur over the term of a franchise. In any event, the construction, operation and repair of the franchisee’s cable system shall at all times be in accordance with the requirements of the:

(a) National Electrical Code.

(b) National Electrical Safety Code.

(c) Rules and Regulations of the Federal Communication Commission, Parts 76 and 78.

(d) Obstruction Marking and Lighting, AC 70/7460-IE-Federal Aviation Administration.

(e) OSHA Safety and Health Standards.

(f) NCTA Standards of Good Engineering Practices, NCTA 008-0477 EIA Standard RS-222C, “Structural Standards for Steel Towers and Antenna Supporting Structures.”

(3) Technical Standards. The franchisee shall strive to attain the best possible technical performance for the system. At a minimum, throughout the term of the franchise, the cable system shall meet or exceed the technical standards set forth in 47 CFR 76.601 and under applicable State law, as the same may be amended from time to time. The City may enforce those standards, whether they are required or advisory. In addition, the City may regulate technical standards for the cable system to the extent it may do so consistent with Federal and State law or regulation.

(4) Maintenance Policies.

(a) Subject to other provisions of this section, the franchisee shall promulgate and adhere to a preventive maintenance policy directed toward maximizing the reliability (mean time between malfunctions) and maintainability (mean time to repair) of the cable system.

(b) The franchisee shall perform scheduled maintenance so as to minimize the extent of any interruption of service and so that such interruption occurs, if possible, at the time of lowest television use. Except in emergency situations, service may only be interrupted after a minimum of 48 hours’ advance notice to subscribers and the City of the anticipated service interruption; provided, however, that planned maintenance which is not expected to require more than two hours’ interruption of service and which occurs between the hours of midnight and 6:00 a.m. shall not require such notice, except to institutional users (including schools), which must receive at least oral notice the last business day before the planned interruption. The institutional users may designate a person or office to receive notice.

(c) In the course of maintaining its cable system, the franchisee shall use replacement components of good and durable quality, with characteristics better than or equal to the replaced equipment and that at least satisfy all Federal, State and local requirements.

(d) The franchisee shall identify and provide the telephone number for a senior employee or employees whom the City can contact whenever the business office is closed.

(e) The City shall have the right to inspect the cable system and franchisee’s equipment used in the construction, operation or maintenance of that system at any time upon reasonable notice.

(5) Picture Quality. The cable system shall deliver to the subscriber’s terminal a signal that is capable of producing a black-and-white or color picture without visual material degradation.

(6) Interference with Reception. The cable system shall transmit or distribute signals without causing objectionable cross-modulation in the cables or interfacing with other electrical or electronic networks or with the reception of other television or radio receivers in the area not connected to the network.

(7) Inspection. The City shall have the right to inspect the cable system and franchisee’s equipment used in the construction, operation or maintenance of that system at any time upon reasonable notice.

(8) Submission of Plans for System Upgrade. Before the franchisee upgrades its cable system, or changes out any component across the cable system, it shall submit a plan to the City for its review at least 90 days before the upgrade or change-out is to commence. The plan, at a minimum, shall describe:

(a) The nature of the upgrade or change-out; the expected duration of the work; why it is being done and the alternatives considered; the manner of performance of the work, including any back-up or contingency plans, the potentially beneficial and negative effects of the upgrade or change-out on the City, the public, and subscribers; the steps taken to minimize public and subscriber inconvenience; the effect of the upgrade or change-out on the services offered or which can be offered by the franchisee; whether the upgrade or change-out may affect the way in which subscribers can use consumer electronic equipment, and whether it will require subscribers to use additional or replacement equipment.

(b) A plan for notifying subscribers of the upgrade or change-out that at a minimum satisfies the requirements of applicable laws and regulations and customer service standards in the franchise agreement;

(c) A precise description of the changes that will be made to the cable system, including a description of the equipment that will be installed and replaced;

(d) A timetable for the upgrade or change-out, showing the date the project is to commence, the date it is scheduled to end, and the work that will be completed at six-month intervals over the project term;

(e) A map showing the portions of the cable system that will be affected, if less than the entire cable system will be affected; and

(f) For a system upgrade, design maps and tree trunk maps for the upgrade.

(9) Completion of Plans for Upgrade or Change-Out. The franchisee shall follow the plan submitted to the City, except as it may be amended in response to any comments by the City, and except for such minor variations as may be typical to avoid violation of applicable laws and regulations. Upon completion of the upgrade or change-out, the City reserves the right to require the franchisee to commission an engineering study (the engineer to be approved by the City) to determine whether the cable system operates in accordance with the plan and applicable technical standards.

(10) Location of Physical Facilities.

(a) Franchisee’s System. The franchisee shall furnish to the City a map describing the location of all of the physical elements comprising the cable system, including, but not limited to, antennas or other electromagnetic wave receivers, head-end and sub-head-end, trunk and feeder cable runs, studio and business office. All such elements and facilities within the franchise area shall be delineated on a street map of the City. The map shall be updated whenever portions of the cable system are relocated. Upon request, the franchisee promptly shall locate any of its facilities for the City, any person authorized to occupy the streets, or any other person.

(b) No Guarantee of Accuracy of Maps. The City does not guarantee the accuracy of any maps showing the horizontal or vertical location of existing structures. In public streets, where necessary, the location shall be verified by excavation.

[Prior code § 27.11]