§ 76.1603 - Customer service - rate and service changes.

§ 76.1603 Customer service - rate and service changes.

(a) A cable franchise authority may enforce the customer service standards set forth in paragraph (b) of this section against cable operators. The franchise authority must provide affected cable operators 90 days written notice of its intent to enforce standards.

(b) Customers will be notified Cable operators shall provide written notice to subscribers of any changes in rates , programming services or channel positions as soon as possible in writingor services. Notice must shall be given provided to subscribers a minimum of thirty (30) at least 30 days in advance of such changes if the change is within the control , unless the change results from circumstances outside of the cable operator. In addition, the cable operator shall notify subscribers 30 days in advance of any significant changes in the other information required by § 76.1602.

(c) In addition to the requirement of paragraph (b) of this section regarding advance notification to customers of any changes in rates, programming services or channel positions, cable systems shall give 30 days written notice to both subscribers and local franchising authorities before implementing any rate or service change. Such notice shall state the precise amount of any rate change and briefly explain in readily understandable fashion the cause of the rate change (e.g., inflation, change in external costs or the addition/deletion of channels). When the change involves the addition or deletion of channels, each channel added or deleted must be separately identified. For purposes of the carriage of digital broadcast signals, the operator need only identify for subscribers, the television signal added and not whether that signal may be multiplexed during certain dayparts.

(d) A cable operator shall provide written notice to a subscriber of any increase

's control (including failed retransmission consent or program carriage negotiations during the last 30 days of a contract), in which case notice shall be provided as soon as possible using any reasonable written means at the operator's sole discretion, including Channel Slates. Notice of rate changes shall include the precise amount of the rate change and explain the reason for the change in readily understandable terms. Notice of changes involving the addition or deletion of channels shall individually identify each channel affected.

(c) A cable operator not subject to effective competition shall provide 30 days' advance notice to its local franchising authority of any increase proposed in the price to be charged for the basic service tier

or associated equipment at least 30 days before any proposed increase is effective

.

If the equipment is provided to the consumer without charge pursuant to § 76.630, the cable operator shall provide written notice to the subscriber no more than 60 days before the increase is effective. The notice should include the price to be charged, and the date that the new charge will be effective, and the name and address of the local franchising authority.

(e) To the extent the operator is required to provide notice of service and rate changes to subscribers, the operator may provide such notice using any reasonable written means at its sole discretion.

(f)

(d) Notwithstanding any other provision of part 76 of this chapter, a cable operator shall not be required to provide prior notice of any rate change that is the result of a regulatory fee, franchise fee, or any other fee, tax, assessment, or charge of any kind imposed by any Federal agency, State, or franchising authority on the transaction between the operator and the subscriber.

Note 1 to § 76.1603:

Section 624(h) of the Communications Act, 47 U.S.C. 544(h), contains additional notification requirements which a franchising authority may enforce.

Note 2 to § 76.1603:

Section 624(d)(3) of the Communications Act, 47 U.S.C. 544(d)(3), contains additional notification provisions pertaining to cable operators who offer a premium channel without charge to cable subscribers who do not subscribe to such premium channel.

Note 3 to § 76.1603:

Section 631 of the Communications Act, 47 U.S.C. 551, contains additional notification requirements pertaining to the protection of subscriber privacy.

[65 FR 53617, Sept. 5, 2000, as amended at 66 FR 16554, Mar. 26, 2001; 77 FR 67302, Dec. 10, 2012; 85 FR 71854, Nov. 12, 2020]