§ 43-1. Definitions.

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For the purposes of this chapter, the following terms, phrases, words, and abbreviations shall have the meanings given herein. When not inconsistent with the context, words used in the present tense include the future tense; words in the plural number include the singular number; and words in the singular number include the plural number; and the masculine gender includes the feminine gender. The words "shall" and "will" are mandatory, and "may" is permissive. Words not defined in this chapter shall have the same meaning as in Title VI of Title 47 of the United States Code, and, if not defined therein, their common and ordinary meaning. References to governmental entities (whether persons or entities) refer to those entities or their successors in authority. If specific provisions of law referred to herein are renumbered, then the reference shall be read to refer to the renumbered provision. References to laws, ordinances or regulations shall be interpreted broadly to cover government actions, however nominated, and include laws, ordinances and regulations now in force or hereinafter enacted or amended.

"Access," "PEG access," or "PEG use" means and refers to the availability of a cable system or open video system for public, education or government use (including institutional network use) by various agencies, institutions, organizations, groups and individuals, including the county and its designated access providers, to acquire, create and distribute programming not under a franchisee's editorial control, including, but not limited to:
(1)

"Public access" or "public use" means access where organizations, groups or individual members of the general public are the primary or designated programmers or users having editorial control over their programming;

(2)

"Education access" or "education use" means access where accredited educational institutions are the primary or designated programmers or users having editorial control over their programming;

(3)

"Government access" or "government use" means access where government institutions or their designees are the primary or designated programmers or users having editorial control over their programming;

"Affiliate" means a person that (directly or indirectly) owns or controls, is owned or controlled by, or is under common ownership or control with, another person.

"Basic service" means any service tier regularly provided to all subscribers which includes the retransmission of local television broadcast signals.

"Cable Act" means the Cable Communications Policy Act of 1984, 47 U.S.C. Sections 521 et seq., as amended by the Cable Television Consumer Protection and Competition Act of 1992, as further amended by the Telecommunications Act of 1996, as further amended from time to time.

"Cable communications system" refers to open video systems (OVS) and cable systems.

"Cable service" means:
(1)

The one-way transmission to subscribers of (i) video programming, or (ii) other programming service; and

(2)

Subscriber interaction, if any, which is required for the selection or use of such video programming or other programming service.

"Cable system" means a facility, consisting of a set of closed transmission paths and associated signal generation, reception and control equipment that is designed to provide cable service which includes video programming and which is provided to multiple subscribers within a community, but such term does not include: (1) a facility that serves only to retransmit the television signals of one or more television broadcast stations; (2) a facility that serves subscribers without using, or connecting to a facility that uses, any public right-of-way within the county; (3) a facility of a common carrier which is subject, in whole or in part, to the provisions of Title II (Common Carriers) of the Communications Act of 1934, as amended, except that such facility shall be considered a cable system to the extent such facility is used in the transmission of video programming directly to subscribers, unless the extent of such use is solely to provide interactive on-demand services; (4) any facilities of any electric utility used solely for operating its electric utility systems; or (5) an OVS that is certified by the FCC. Any reference to a cable system includes the cable system as a whole, or any part thereof, including all pedestals, equipment cabinets, electronic equipment and devices appurtenant to the system.

"Channel" means a portion of the electromagnetic frequency spectrum which is used in a cable system or OVS and which is capable of delivering a television signal whether in an analog or digital format. The definition does not restrict the use of any channel to the transmission of analog television signals.

"Construction, operation or repair" and similar formulations of that term means the named actions interpreted broadly, encompassing, among other things, installation, extension, maintenance, replacement of components, relocation, undergrounding, grading, site preparation, adjusting, testing, make-ready and excavation.

"County" means the County of Santa Barbara and all departments, divisions, and agencies thereof.

"County administrator" means the county administrator or the county administrator designee.

"Downstream channel" means a channel designed and activated to carry a transmission from the headend to other points on a cable communications system, including interconnections.

"FCC" means the Federal Communications Commission.

"Franchise" refers to an authorization granted by the county to the operator of a cable communications system giving the operator the nonexclusive right to occupy the space, or use facilities upon, across, beneath or over public rights-of-way in the county, to provide specified services within a franchise area.

"Franchise area" means the area of the county that a franchisee is authorized to serve by the terms of its franchise or by operation of law.

"Franchisee" refers to a person holding a cable communications system franchise granted by the county.

"Gross revenues" means any and all revenue, of any kind, nature or form derived from the operation of the system to provide cable service. Gross revenues include, by way of example and not limitation, revenues from equipment sales and rentals, services (including cable modem services), installation, late fees and other subscriber charges, fees for carriage of programming, advertising and shopping services. "Gross revenues" shall be construed broadly to include revenues of affiliates (other than those revenues that are already treated as the revenues of the franchisee), to prevent avoidance of fees owed on gross revenues.

"Institutional network" or "I-Net" means a communication network which is constructed or operated by the cable operator and which is generally available only to subscribers who are not residential subscribers.

"Operator" when used with reference to a system, refers to a person: (1) who directly or through one or more affiliates provides service over a cable communications system and directly or through one or more affiliates owns a significant interest in such facility; or (2) who otherwise controls or is responsible for, through any arrangement, the management and operation of such a facility.

"OVS" or "open video system" means a system for dissemination of video signals as defined by the Telecommunications Act of 1996. A reference to an OVS includes pedestals, equipment enclosures (such as equipment cabinets), amplifiers, power guards, nodes, cables, fiber optics and other equipment necessary to operate the OVS, or installed in conjunction with the OVS.

"Person" includes any individual, corporation, partnership, association, joint stock company, trust, or any other legal entity, but not the county.

"Public property" means any property that is owned or under the control of the county that is not a public right-of-way, including, for purposes of this chapter, but not limited to, buildings, parks, poles, structures in the public rights-of-way such as utility poles and light poles, or similar facilities or property owned by or leased to the county.

"Public rights-of-way" means the surface of and the space above and below any street, road, highway, freeway, bridge, lane, path, alley, court, sidewalk, parkway, drive or right-of-way or easement, now or hereafter existing within the county which may be properly used for the purpose of installing, maintaining and operating a cable communications system; and any other property that a franchisee is entitled by state or federal law to use by virtue of the grant of a franchise.

"School" means any accredited primary school, secondary school, college and university.

"Subscriber" means the county or any person who is lawfully receiving, for any purpose or reason, any cable service via a cable communications system, whether or not a fee is paid for such service.

"Upstream channel" means a channel designed and activated to carry transmissions from a point on the cable system, other than the headend, to the headend or another point on the cable system.

"User" means a person or the county utilizing a channel, capacity or equipment and facilities for purposes of producing or transmitting material, as contrasted with the receipt thereof in the capacity of a subscriber.

(Ord. No. 4371, § 2)

                    
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