§ 76.910   Franchising authority certification.

   (a) A franchising authority must be certified by the Commission in
   order to regulate the basic service tier and associated equipment of a
   cable system within its jurisdiction.

   (b) To be certified, the franchising authority must file with the
   Commission a written certification that:

   (1) The franchising authority will adopt and administer regulations
   with respect to the rates for the basic service tier that are
   consistent with the regulations prescribed by the Commission for
   regulation of the basic service tier;

   (2) The franchising authority has the legal authority to adopt, and the
   personnel to administer, such regulations;

   (3) Procedural laws and regulations applicable to rate regulation
   proceedings by such authority provide a reasonable opportunity for
   consideration of the views of interested parties; and

   (4) The cable system in question is not subject to effective
   competition. The franchising authority must submit specific evidence
   demonstrating its rebuttal of the presumption in § 76.906 that the cable
   operator is subject to effective competition pursuant to section
   76.905(b)(2). Unless a franchising authority has actual knowledge to
   the contrary, the franchising authority may rely on the presumption in
   § 76.906 that the cable operator is not subject to effective competition
   pursuant to section 76.905(b)(1), (3), or (4). The franchising
   authority bears the burden of submitting evidence rebutting the
   presumption that competing provider effective competition, as defined
   in § 76.905(b)(2), exists in the franchise area. If the evidence
   establishing the lack of effective competition is not otherwise
   available, franchising authorities may request from a multichannel
   video programming distributor information regarding the multichannel
   video programming distributor's reach and number of subscribers. A
   multichannel video programming distributor must respond to such request
   within 15 days. Such responses may be limited to numerical totals.

   (c) The written certification described in paragraph (b) of this
   section shall be made by filing the FCC form designated for that
   purpose. The form must be filed by

   (1) Registered mail, return receipt requested, or

   (2) Hand-delivery to the Commission and a date-stamped copy obtained.
   The date on the return receipt or on the date-stamped copy is the date
   filed.

   (d) A copy of the certification form described in paragraph (c) of this
   section must be served on the cable operator before or on the same day
   it is filed with the Commission.

   (e) Unless the Commission notifies the franchising authority otherwise,
   the certification will become effective 30 days after the date filed,
   provided, however, That the franchising authority may not regulate the
   rates of a cable system unless it:

   (1) Adopts regulations:

   (i) Consistent with the Commission's regulations governing the basic
   tier; and

   (ii) Providing a reasonable opportunity for consideration of the views
   of interested parties, within 120 days of the effective date of
   certification; and

   (2) Notifies the cable operator that the authority has been certified
   and has adopted the regulations required by paragraph (e)(1) of this
   section.

   (f) If the Commission denies a franchising authority's certification,
   the Commission will notify the franchising authority of any revisions
   or modifications necessary to obtain approval.

   [ 58 FR 29753 , May 21, 1993, as amended at  80 FR 38013 , July 2, 2015]

   return arrow Back to Top