“Access,” “PEG access,” or “PEG use” refers to the availability, for noncommercial purposes, of a channel, or channels, on the cable system for public, education, or government programming by various agencies, institutions, organizations, groups, and individuals, including the city.

“Access channel” means any channel or portion of a PEG channel utilized for video services, whether by grantee or in cooperation with, by or through the city, where any resident of the city or noncommercial organization whose members reside in the city may be a programmer, either without charge or in a nonprofit manner, on a nondiscriminatory basis.

“Access facilities” means facilities designated for PEG use, and equipment, including, but not limited to, modulators, demodulators, and transmitters, as well as production facilities and equipment for PEG use of PEG channels,

“Access provider” means an entity designated by the city to provide PEG programming and the provision of any facilities, equipment, or other services, for the purpose of facilitating such programming.

“Ad hoc citizens cable TV committee” also referred to as “citizens committee” or “ad hoc committee” means a citizen committee appointed by the city council or the finance committee of the city council or jointly with another governmental body to assist the council finance committee and the city council in its determination of matters relating to the regulation of cable TV.

“Basic” or “basic service” means a service tier that includes, at a minimum, all signals of domestic television broadcast stations provide to any subscriber (except a signal secondarily transmitted by satellite carrier beyond the local service area of such station, regardless of how such signal is ultimately received by the cable system), any public, educational, and governmental programming required by a franchise to be carried on a basic tier, and any additional video programming signals or service added to the basic tier by a franchise grantee.

“BTV10” means the city’s PEG channel in existence on January 1, 2012, and identified as a government and education access channel.

“Cable Act” means the Cable Communications Policy Act of 1984, 47 USC 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 service” means (A) the one-way transmission to subscribers of (1) video programming or (2) other programming services; and (B) subscriber interaction, if any, that is required for the selection or use of such video programming or other programming services.

“Cable system” means a facility, consisting of closed transmission paths and associated signal generation, reception, and control equipment that is designated to provide cable service which includes video programming and which is provided to multiple subscribers within the city, but such term does not include (A) a facility that serves only to retransmit the television signals of one or more television broadcast stations; (B) a facility that serves subscribers without using any public right-of-way; (C) a facility of a common carrier which is subject, in whole or in part, to the provisions of subchapter II of the Cable Act, except that such facility shall be considered a cable system (other than for purposes of Section 541(c) of the Cable Act) 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 service; (D) an open video system that complies with Section 573 of the Cable Act; or (E) any facilities of an electric utility used solely for operating its electric system. For the purposes of this franchise, cable system means grantee’s system serving the city.

“Channel” means a portion of the electromagnetic frequency spectrum which is used in a cable system and which is capable of delivering a television channel (as television channel is defined by the commission by regulation).

“City” means the city of Bellingham, of the state of Washington and all the territory within its present and future boundaries.

“Company” means any cable television company that may be granted a franchise to operate in the city, or its successor, transferee or assignee duly authorized to provide cable television service in the city.

“Converter” means an electronic device which converts signals to a frequency not susceptible to interference within the television receiver of a subscriber, and by an appropriate channel selector also permits a subscriber to view all signals delivered at designated converter dial locations.

“Council” means the Bellingham city council.

“Council committee” means the finance committee of the city council.

“County” means the county of Whatcom, Washington.

“Day,” unless otherwise specified, shall mean a calendar day.

“Digital services” means services offered over the cable system including the transmission of audio and video by discrete (digital) signals including standard definition and high definition signals consistent with the standards developed by the advanced television systems committee for digital television transmission over terrestrial, cable, and satellite networks.

“Expanded basic service” means the next tier of service above the basic service tier excluding premium or pay-per-view services.

“FCC” means the Federal Communications Commission and any legally appointed, designated or elected agent or successor thereof.

“Gross revenues” means all revenue derived by company, or any affiliate of company or any other person who would constitute a cable operator of the cable system under the Cable Act, from the operation of the cable system to provide cable service in the city. Gross revenues include, by way of illustration and not limitation, monthly fees charged subscribers for any tier of cable services including basic service, optional premium service or digital services; pay-per-view services; installation, disconnection, reconnection and change-in-service fees, leased access channel fees, all cable service lease payments from the cable system to provide cable services in the city, late fees and administrative fees, payments or other consideration received by company from programmers for carriage of programming on the cable system and accounted for as revenue under GAAP; revenues from rentals or sales of converters or other cable system equipment; advertising sales revenues booked in accordance with applicable law and GAAP; revenues from program guides and electronic guides, additional outlet fees, franchise fees required by this franchise, revenues from home shopping and other revenue-sharing arrangements.

Gross revenues shall not include any taxes on services furnished by company, which taxes are imposed directly on a subscriber or user by a city, county, state or other governmental unit, and collected by company for such entity. The franchise fee is not such a tax. Gross revenues shall not include amounts which cannot be collected by company and are identified as bad debt; provided that if amounts previously representing bad debt are collected, then those amounts shall be included in gross revenues for the period in which they are collected. Gross revenues shall not include payments received by the company from the city in payment for construction of fiber for city PEG use.

Gross revenues shall include revenue received by any entity other than company where necessary to prevent evasion or avoidance of the obligation under this franchise to pay the franchise fees; however, amounts included in gross revenues shall not be counted more than once; therefore, amounts included once in company’s gross revenues shall not be added to gross revenues again if they are received by an affiliate of company in payment for programming or other goods or services supplied to company.

“Headend” means the control center of the cable system where incoming signals are amplified, converted, processed, and combined for transmission to the subscriber.

“Installation” means the connection of the system from feeder cable to subscribers’ terminals.

“PEG” means public, educational, and governmental.

“PEG fees” means a per-subscriber fee collected by the company during the term of the franchise for, or in support of the use of, public, educational, or government access facilities. The PEG fee shall be collected by the company and paid to the city for purposes consistent with 47 USC 542.

“Premium service” means a cable service (such as movie channels or pay-per-view programs) offered to subscribers on a per-channel, per-program, or per-event basis.

“Street” means the surface of and the space above and below any public street, road, highway, freeway, lane, path, public way or place, sidewalk, alley, court, boulevard, parkway, drive or easement now or hereafter held by the city of Bellingham, Whatcom County, or the state of Washington for the purpose of public travel, and shall include other easements or rights-of-way as shall be now held or hereafter held by any of the entities cited above.

“Subscriber” means any person who legally receives cable services over the cable system.

“Video services” means programming provided by, or generally considered comparable to programming provided by a cable operator as the term “cable operator” is defined in the Cable Act. [Ord. 2012-05-030; Ord. 1998-09-075; Ord. 9121 § l, 1982; Ord. 8999 § 2, 1981].