Sec. 0.101  Functions of the Bureau.

    The Cable Services Bureau develops, recommends and administers 
policies and programs with respect to the regulation of services, 
facilities, rates and practices of cable television systems and with 
respect to the creation of competition to cable systems, and with 
respect to video programming services provided by other multichannel 
video programming distributors and multichannel video programmers. The 
Cable Services Bureau advises and recommends to the Commission, or acts 
for the Commission under delegated authority, in matters pertaining to 
the regulation and development of cable television and other 
multichannel video programming services. The Bureau also performs the 
following functions:
    (a) Administers and enforces rules and policies regarding:
    (1) Cable television systems, operators, and services, including 
those relating to rates, technical standards, customer service, 
ownership, competition to cable systems, broadcast station signal 
retransmission and carriage, program access, wiring equipment, channel 
leasing, and federal-state/local regulatory relationships. This 
includes: acting, after Commission assumption of jurisdiction to 
regulate cable television rates for basic service and associated 
equipment, on cable operator requests for approval of

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existing or increased rates; reviewing appeals of local franchising 
authorities' rate making decisions involving rates for the basic service 
tier and associated equipment, except when such appeals raise novel or 
unusual issues; acting upon complaints involving cable programming 
service rates except for final action on complaints raising novel or 
unusual issues; evaluating basic rate regulation certification requests 
filed by cable system franchising authorities; periodically reviewing 
and, when appropriate, revising standard forms used in administering: 
the Commission's complaint process regarding cable programming service 
rates; the certification process for local franchising authorities 
wishing to regulate rates, and the substantive rate regulation standards 
prescribed by the Commission;
    (2) Access to poles, ducts, conduits and rights-of-way and the 
rates, terms and conditions for pole attachments, when such attachments 
are not regulated by a state and not provided by railroads or 
governmentally or cooperatively owned utilities, and complaints 
involving access to or rates, terms and conditions arising from pole 
attachments, except for final action on complaints raising novel or 
unusual issues;
    (3) Open video systems;
    (4) Preemption of restrictions on devices designed for over-the-air 
reception of television broadcast signals, multichannel multipoint 
distribution service, and direct broadcast satellite services;
    (5) The commercial availability of navigational devices;
    (6) The accessibility of video programming to persons with 
disabilities; and
    (7) Scrambling of sexually explicit adult video programming by 
multichannel video programming distributors.
    (b) Plans and develops proposed rulemakings and conducts studies and 
analyses (legal, engineering, social and economic) of various petitions 
for policy or rule changes submitted by industry or the public.
    (c) Conducts studies and compiles data relating to multichannel 
video programming services necessary for the Commission to develop and 
maintain an adequate regulatory program.
    (d) Advises and assists the public, other government agencies and 
industry groups.
    (e) Administers financial and other reporting systems.
    (f) Investigates complaints and answers general inquiries from the 
public.
    (g) Participates in hearings before the Administrative Law Judges 
and the Commission.
    (h) Processes applications for authorizations in the Cable 
Television Relay Service.
    (i) Processes and acts on all applications for authorization, 
petitions for special relief, petitions to deny, waiver requests, 
requests for certification, objections, complaints, and requests for 
declaratory rulings and stays regarding the areas listed above, that do 
not involve novel questions of fact, law or policy that cannot be 
resolved under existing precedents and guidelines.
    (j) Periodically reviews and, when appropriate, revises standard 
forms related to the areas listed above.
    (k) Exercises authority to issue non-hearing related subpoenas for 
the attendance of witnesses and the production of books, papers, 
correspondence, memoranda, schedule of charges, contracts, agreements, 
and any other records deemed relevant to the investigation of the Cable 
Services Bureau. Before issuing a subpoena, the Cable Services Bureau 
shall obtain the approval of the Office of General Counsel.
    (l) Carries out the functions of the Commission under the 
Communications Act of 1934, as amended, except as reserved to the 
Commission under Sec. 0.321.
[62 1997 FR 8401 , Feb. 25, 1997]

                    Compliance and Information Bureau