Connecticut General Statutes 16-331u – Cable franchise authority companies’ offerings, charges, privacy policy, billing and billing disputes
(a) At the time of initial subscription, and annually thereafter, a company issued a certificate of cable franchise authority shall provide subscribers with a description of the community antenna television service or video service offerings and current rates, a description of the company’s credit policies, including any finance charges or late payment charges and a description of the company’s billing practices and complaint procedures upon request.
Terms Used In Connecticut General Statutes 16-331u
- Authority: means the Public Utilities Regulatory Authority and "department" means the Department of Energy and Environmental Protection. See Connecticut General Statutes 16-1
- Certificate of cable franchise authority: means an authorization issued by the Public Utilities Regulatory Authority pursuant to section 16-331q conferring the right to a community antenna television company to own, lease, maintain, operate, manage or control a community antenna television system in, under or over any public highway to (A) offer community antenna television service in a community antenna television company's designated franchise area, or (B) use the public rights-of-way to offer video service in a designated franchise area. See Connecticut General Statutes 16-1
- Community antenna television service: means (A) the one-way transmission to subscribers of video programming or information that a community antenna television company makes available to all subscribers generally, and subscriber interaction, if any, which is required for the selection of such video programming or information, and (B) noncable communications service. See Connecticut General Statutes 16-1
- Complaint: A written statement by the plaintiff stating the wrongs allegedly committed by the defendant.
- Jurisdiction: (1) The legal authority of a court to hear and decide a case. Concurrent jurisdiction exists when two courts have simultaneous responsibility for the same case. (2) The geographic area over which the court has authority to decide cases.
- Video service: means video programming services provided through wireline facilities, a portion of which are located in the public right-of-way, without regard to delivery technology, including Internet protocol technology. See Connecticut General Statutes 16-1
(b) In accordance with 47 USC 551, at the time of entering into an agreement to provide community antenna television or video service to a subscriber, a company issued a certificate of cable franchise authority shall inform the subscriber of its practices regarding the collection and use of personally identifiable customer information, including (1) the type of information collected, (2) the purposes for which it is used, (3) the extent and manner in which it is shared with unaffiliated third parties for purposes of enabling delivery of the community antenna television or video service, and (4) its procedures to ensure the subscriber’s right to privacy. A holder of a certificate of cable franchise authority shall not disclose personally identifiable customer information other than anonymous or aggregate data to unaffiliated third parties for their own marketing purposes without the consent of such subscriber.
(c) A company issued a certificate of cable franchise authority shall implement an informal process for handling Public Utilities Regulatory Authority and customer inquiries, billing issues, service issues and other complaints. In the event an issue is not resolved through this informal process, a customer may request from the authority a confidential, nonbinding mediation with the company, and a designated member of the authority staff shall serve as the mediator. If the mediation is unsuccessful, the customer may file a formal complaint with the authority. The authority’s sole jurisdiction over the complaint is to determine if the company is in compliance with sections 16-331q to 16-331aa, inclusive, or any other laws, regulations or orders applicable to companies holding a certificate of cable franchise authority. If the company is found to be in noncompliance, the authority shall order the company to remedy such noncompliance within a reasonable period of time. Failure to comply may subject the company to civil penalties and revocation of the certificate, as provided in section 16-331aa.
(d) A company issued a certificate of cable franchise authority shall comply with the customer service requirements of 47 C.F.R. § 76.309(c) for its community antenna television or video services. A company issued a certificate of cable franchise authority shall not be subject to any other state law or regulation or authority order to the extent it imposes customer service requirements in excess of or more stringent than 47 C.F.R. § 76.309(c).