(a) As used in this section:
(1) “Basic service” means all signals of domestic television broadcast stations provided 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 and any additional video programming signals or service added to the basic tier by the cable operator;
(2) “Cable programming service” means any video programming provided over a cable system, regardless of service tier, including installation or rental of equipment used for the receipt of such video programming, other than (A) video programming carried on the basic service tier as defined in this section, (B) video programming offered on a pay-per-channel or pay-per-program basis, or (C) a combination of multiple channels of pay-per-channel or pay-per-program video programming offered on a multiplexed or time-shifted basis as long as the combined service (i) consists of commonly-identified video programming, and (ii) is not bundled with any regulated tier of service;
(3) “Premium service” means pay-per-channel or pay-per-program services for which a subscriber pays a fee in addition to the fees for basic service and cable programming service; and
(4) “Video programming” means programming provided by, or generally considered comparable to programming provided by, a television broadcast station.
(b) If premium, cable programming or basic service to a subscriber is interrupted for more than twenty-four continuous hours, such subscriber shall receive a credit or refund from the community antenna television company in an amount that represents the proportionate share of such service not received in a billing period, provided such interruption is not caused by the subscriber.
(c) The Public Utilities Regulatory Authority shall adopt regulations, in accordance with the provisions of chapter 54, establishing a viewing time reliability standard for community antenna television companies and requiring such companies to file with the authority information on premium, cable programming and basic service interruptions not caused by subscribers. The authority shall approve a service interruption adjustment clause to be superimposed on the existing rate schedules of such companies. Such a clause shall provide for a credit or refund from a company to its subscribers if the level of service during a month falls below the company's reliability standard due to interruptions of twenty-four hours or less.
(P.A. 79-548; P.A. 80-85; 80-482, S. 4, 40, 345, 348; P.A. 84-240, S. 3, 4; P.A. 91-244, S. 4; P.A. 95-150, S. 3; P.A. 98-121, S. 8; P.A. 06-196, S. 202; P.A. 11-80, S. 1.)
History: P.A. 80-85 inserted new Subsec. (c) re annual report and relettered former Subsec. (c) as Subsec. (d); P.A. 80-482 made division of public utility control an independent department; P.A. 84-240 limited applicability of Subsec. (a)(1) to interrupted service instead of interrupted or terminated service and added Subdiv. (2) re interruptions of 24 hours or less; P.A. 91-244 deleted Subsec. (b) re monthly listing provided to subscribers and relettered the remaining Subsecs; P.A. 95-150 inserted new provisions defining applicable terms as Subsec. (a), designated prior provisions as Subsecs. (b) to (d), inclusive, and added reference to cable programming and deleted former Subsec. (c) defining “premium service”; P.A. 98-121 amended Subsec. (a)(1) by deleting “required by the franchise to be carried on the basic tier”, amended Subsec. (c) by deleting “January 1, 1985” and deleted former Subsec. (d) re annual report; P.A. 06-196 made a technical change in Subsec. (a)(2), effective June 7, 2006; pursuant to P.A. 11-80, “Department of Public Utility Control” and “department” were changed editorially by the Revisors to “Public Utilities Regulatory Authority” and “authority”, respectively, in Subsec. (c), effective July 1, 2011.