Sec. 710.103. - Construction system design standards.

(a) Except as approved by the Director and the Director of Public Works on the request of the Franchisee to more effectively construct the cable system, the cable system shall consist of headends and as many area hubs as are necessary to serve effectively the initial service area defined in a Franchise Agreement. The cable system will be designed for a minimum of 750 MHz capacity and a minimum of 78 video channels. The system shall be two-way capable. An applicant for a franchise is free to propose a cable system plan that best accomplishes a modern broadband communications system that meets the reasonable needs and interests of the community. (b) The Franchisee shall provide all local broadcasting television stations as may be required by the FCC or federal law. (c) PEG Channels. (1) Educational and Government Access Channels. Franchisee shall provide a minimum of two EG Access Channels which shall be used for noncommercial government or educational programming, and such other capital support to the City for noncommercial public and educational use as required by a Franchise Agreement issued pursuant to this Ordinance. Franchisee shall provide upstream capacity to the headend as technically necessary for the operation of the Access Channels referred to in this Section. The City may increase the number of EG Access Channels to a number not to exceed four, so long as a threshold use requirement is met for each of the EG Channels the City utilizes. In order to request additional EG Access Channels, the existing EG Access Channels must be programmed at least eight hours a day with nonrepetitive, locally-produced programming, Monday through Saturday, for a minimum of six consecutive weeks. The City must provide Franchisee with written, detailed documentation evidencing the usage meets the threshold requirement for each channel. Franchisee shall have 120 days to provide the requested additional channel. Once the threshold is met and the third EG Channel given, each of the initial two EG Channels must maintain the threshold requirement. If the threshold for provision of the fourth EG Channel is met, use of the first, second and third EG Channels must also continue to meet the threshold requirement. After attaining the threshold requirement, if any of the initial two EG Channels fails to meet the threshold for four consecutive months (or in the case of the fourth EG Channel, if the third EG Channel fails to meet the threshold requirement for four consecutive months), the additional Access Channel may be reclaimed by Franchisee upon 60 calendar days written notice. Under no circumstances shall the City lose the right to its initial two EG Channels. In the event the City elects not to fully program its initial two EG Channels, a Franchisee may program unused time on those channels subject to reclamation by the City upon no less than 60 days notice. (2) Public Access Channel. Franchisee shall provide one Public Access Channel without charge to the public, available in part for users with prior reservations on a nondiscriminatory, not-for-profit, first-come, first-served basis for any person residing within the Franchise Area. (3) Franchisee shall cablecast to all subscribers in the Franchise Area all public, educational, and/or government Channels provided however that the total number of Access Channels shall not exceed the number set forth in this Ordinance or the Franchise Agreement. (4) The Franchisee shall designate channel capacity for Leased Access in accordance with the requirements of Section 612 of the Cable Act, as amended. (d) The Franchisee shall provide both mobile and stationary television production equipment, including designated equipment to be used by access cablecasters with the aid of some technical and production assistance to be provided by the Franchisee, including equipment that can store programs for delayed cablecasting. The Franchisee shall provide two studios, which shall be designed as such, located so as to encourage their use, at least one of which is available to all access users on a first-come, first-served basis during the Franchisee's normal operating hours. One access studio could be located at the master headend. The Franchisee shall also own, maintain and operate a five-camera, two-tape remote production truck which the Franchisee shall use for its own local programming creation, or any other function it may deem appropriate. At a minimum, the Franchisee must maintain at a minimum $2,000,000 in initial purchase value in television production hardware for the above facilities. (e) All system monitoring shall be in compliance with Federal and State privacy and surveillance laws. (f) The City may request that a Franchisee interconnect its cable system to other neighboring cable systems for purposes of providing access to or receiving public, educational or governmental access programming, to the extent it is technically and financially feasible to do so. Any public, educational or governmental access programming so received shall not count towards the usage required to trigger additional EG channels as provided for in Section 710.103 (c)(1). (g) Underground and overhead installation shall be done in accordance with the following requirements: (1) Underground installation shall be done as follows: (i) In areas of the City having telephone lines and electric utility lines underground, all cable television lines, cables and wires shall be underground. It is the policy of the City that existing poles for electric and communication purposes be utilized wherever possible and financially feasible without placement of additional poles by the Franchisee and that underground installation, even when not required, is preferred. However, in limited applications or where no City or JEA poles are available, the Franchisee may set its own poles with notification to and approval by the City upon showing that underground cable is cost prohibitive. The cost of underground installations shall be born by the Franchisee. (ii) It is the policy of the City to encourage underground installation wherever practicable. Within the initial service area, the Franchisee may, at any time, install its cable plant underground in areas where other utilities are aerial. If aerial facilities are required to be moved underground by the City pursuant to a beautification or other public improvement project, the City will assist a Franchisee in recovering the costs of relocation from any local, State or federal funds available for the project. (2) The Franchisee's cable television distribution system in the public streets shall comply with all federal and State laws and regulations, and all its wires and cables suspended from poles in the streets shall comply with the minimum clearances aboveground required for telephone lines, cables, wires and conduits in the Franchise Area. (h) In accordance with FCC requirements, the cable system shall include an emergency alert capability which will permit the Mayor to override, by remote control, the video and audio of all channels simultaneously except those involved in retransmission of television broadcast programming. This provision shall be implemented in a manner consistent with and to the extent permitted by federal and State emergency alert requirements. (i) The Franchisee shall maintain equipment capable of providing standby power for headend, transportation and trunk amplifiers for a minimum of two hours. (j) Franchisee shall permit the City designee to inspect and test the technical equipment and facilities of the system upon reasonable notice not to be less than 48 hours and no more frequently than twice a year unless there has been a continuing problem with the equipment and facilities of the system over a six-month period. (Ord. 2003-188-E, § 1)