Sec. 16-331e. Certificate of video franchise authority.
Sec. 16-331e. Certificate of video franchise authority. (a) An entity or person,
other than a community antenna television company certified to provide community
antenna television service pursuant to section 16-331 on or before October 1, 2007, or
an affiliate, successor or assign of such community antenna television company, seeking
to provide video service in the state on and after October 1, 2007, shall file with the
Department of Public Utility Control an application for a certificate of video franchise
authority, containing such information as required by this section. A community antenna
television company may apply for a certificate of video franchise authority pursuant to
this section for any service area in which it was not certified to provide community
antenna television service pursuant to section 16-331 on or before October 1, 2007. The
application shall be accompanied by a fee of one thousand dollars.
(b) Notwithstanding subsection (a) of this section, any entity, other than a community antenna television company certified to provide community antenna television service pursuant to section 16-331 on or before October 1, 2007, that was offering video
service in the state on or before October 1, 2007, shall be required to file its application
for a certificate of video franchise authority on or before October 31, 2007, and shall
be allowed to continue to offer such video service while its application for a certificate
of video franchise authority is pending.
(c) The application shall include a completed affidavit submitted by the applicant
and signed by an officer or general partner of the applicant, affirming: (1) The location
of the applicant's principal place of business and the names of the applicant's principal
executive officers; (2) that the applicant has filed or will timely file with the Federal
Communications Commission all forms required by said commission in advance of
offering video service in the state; (3) that the applicant agrees to comply with all applicable federal and state statutes and regulations and with all applicable orders of the department, including, but not limited to, those statutes, regulations and orders regarding the
provision of video service by certified competitive video service providers and the use
and occupation of public rights-of-way in the delivery of the video service by such
providers; (4) that the applicant shall comply with the requirements of sections 16-331g
to 16-331o, inclusive. The affidavit shall also include a description of the service area
footprint to be served within the state, and such description shall be updated by the
applicant before the expansion of video service to a previously undesignated service
area, and a general description of the type or types of technologies the applicant will
use to provide video service in its service area footprint, which may include wire line,
satellite or any other alternative technology.
(d) The department shall notify the applicant whether the application is complete
or incomplete on or before the fifteenth calendar day after the applicant submits the
application. The department shall limit its review of the application to whether it provides the information required pursuant to subsection (c) of this section. In reviewing
such application, the department shall not conduct a hearing or contested case proceeding
in accordance with chapter 54. The department may submit written questions to the
applicant and require written answers regarding the information provided, and may
accept written comments and reply comments from the applicant, the Office of Consumer Counsel, the Attorney General and other interested companies, organizations and
individuals. These written comments and reply comments shall be limited solely to the
issue of whether the application complies with the requirements set forth in subsection
(c) of this section.
(e) The department shall issue a certificate of video franchise authority not later
than thirty calendar days after notifying the applicant that the application was complete.
The certificate issued by the department shall provide: (1) A grant of authority to provide
video service as requested in the application; (2) a grant of authority to own, lease,
maintain, operate, manage or control facilities in, under or over any public highway in
the delivery of such service, subject to the laws of the state; and (3) a statement that the
grant of authority is subject to lawful operation of the video service by the applicant or
its successor in interest.
(f) If the department finds that the applicant's application is incomplete, it shall
specify with particularity the items in the application that are incomplete and permit the
applicant to amend the application to cure any deficiency. The department shall issue
a certificate of video franchise authority on or before thirty calendar days from its receipt
of the amended and completed application.
(g) The failure of the department to notify the applicant of the completeness or
incompleteness of the application pursuant to subsection (d) of this section shall be
deemed to constitute issuance of the certificate of video franchise authority.
(h) The certificate of video franchise authority issued by the department is fully
transferable to any successor in interest to the applicant to which it was initially granted.
A notice of transfer shall be filed with the department not later than fourteen business
days after the completion of such transfer. The certificate of video franchise authority
issued by the department may be terminated by the certified competitive video service
provider by submitting notice to the department.
(P.A. 07-253, S. 2.)