§ 22-14. Minimum facilities and services.

(a)

The following minimum requirements for facilities and services shall apply to all franchises granted by the city. The city may require in a franchise agreement that a franchisee exceed these minimum requirements where it determines, under circumstances existing at the time of the application, that the additional requirements are reasonable to meet the city's future cable related needs and interests or to serve the public interest. Notwithstanding anything to the contrary, a franchisee shall make available facilities, services, products, benefits, and a level of technology to all subscribers in the city no less than that offered by the franchisee, its parent, affiliate, or subsidiary to any community in the state of Florida within six months of such facility, service, product, benefit or technology becoming available.

(1)

Any cable system that commences construction, including but not limited to initial construction, rebuild, upgrade or reconstruction after the effective date of the ordinance from which this chapter derives shall have a minimum capacity of at least 750 MHZ providing no less than 78 video channels available for immediate use. A franchise agreement may provide for a larger minimum channel capacity requirement.

(2)

The city shall require in a franchise agreement that a franchisee provide access channels, facilities and other support for public, educational and/or governmental use.

(3)

Cable system shall provide leased access channels as required by Federal law.

(4)

A franchisee shall, upon request, provide at least one cable television service outlet to each and every floor of all municipal facilities and all public schools (K—12) within its franchise area that are passed by its cable system at no cost to the city or schools involved, and shall charge no more than its time and material costs for any additional service outlets to such facilities.

(5)

A franchisee, upon request, shall provide cable modem and cable modem/internet service to municipal facilities and public schools (K-12). Cable modem installation, equipment and service shall be provided at a charge no greater than franchisee's direct costs.

(6)

A franchisee shall, upon request, provide all facilities, equipment, cabling, personnel and such other support as may be required to allow cablecasting of programming and live cablecasting from the city commission chambers or such other location as may be set forth in the franchise agreement.

(7)

A franchisee shall design its system to allow the city or other appropriate government body, to interrupt cable service in an emergency to deliver necessary information to subscribers.

(8)

A franchisee shall make available to its subscribers equipment capable of decoding closed circuit captioning information for the hearing impaired. A franchisee may impose a reasonable charge for such equipment.

(9)

Standard installation shall consist of a drop, not exceeding 125 feet from the cable plant to the nearest part of a subscriber's residence. Residential drops in excess of 125 feet may be charged according to the franchisee's rate schedule.

(b)

Unless a franchise agreement provides otherwise, the city may require a franchisee to make cable service available to every dwelling and every building within the franchise service area or the franchisee's designated services area as defined in a franchise agreement, unless prohibited by a private property owner from doing so.

(c)

Consistent with applicable Federal and state law including, but not limited to, rules and regulations of the FCC and PSC, a franchisee shall make service available to persons requesting service in multi-tenant structures or, in the alternative allow subscribers to discontinue service and exercise their lawful interest over equipment and wiring.

(d)

Applications for an initial or renewed franchise or an application to transfer a franchise shall include a proposal for the interconnection of franchisee's system to any or all other cable systems operating within the city and any cable systems operating within Miami-Dade County carrying county and state government or education programming.

(e)

Internet access. When one of the following conditions precedent is met, franchisee shall provide non-discriminatory access to its cable modem platform by requesting internet service providers, irrespective of whether such providers are affiliated with the franchisee.

(1)

Franchisee or any affiliated entity provides or agrees to provide access to its broadband platform to one or more unaffiliated internet service provider(s) in any of its cable systems;

(2)

Upon entry of an order of the FCC imposing a requirement on a cable operator or any of its affiliated entities to provide access to its broadband internet access transport services to one or more unaffiliated internet service provider(s) in any of its cable systems;

(3)

Upon entry of a final judgment of a decision in Federal court upholding the imposition of a requirement on a cable operator or any of its affiliated entities to provide access to its broadband internet access transport services to one or more unaffiliated internet service provider(s) in any of its cable systems.

(Ord. No. 2001-3289, § 14, 1-10-01)