Sec. 16-331h. Certified competitive video service community access programming.

(a) Not later than one hundred twenty days after the certified competitive video service provider begins offering service in a designated area pursuant to its certificate of video franchise authority, such provider shall provide capacity over its video service to allow community access programming, in its basic service package, in accordance with the following: (1) The certified competitive video service provider shall provide capacity equal to the number of community access channels currently offered by the incumbent community antenna television company in the given area; (2) the certified competitive video service provider shall provide funds for community access operations, as provided in subsection (k) of section 16-331a; (3) the certified competitive video service provider shall provide the transmission of community access programming with connectivity up to the first two hundred feet from the competitive video service provider's activated wireline video programming distribution facility located in the provider's designated service area and shall not provide additional requirements for the creation of any content; and (4) the community access programming shall be submitted to the certified competitive video service provider in a manner or form that is compatible with the technology or protocol utilized by said competitive video service provider to deliver video services over its particular network, and is capable of being accepted and transmitted by the provider, without requirement for additional alteration or change in the content by the provider.

(b) A certified competitive video service provider and a community antenna television company or nonprofit organization providing community access operations shall engage in good faith negotiation regarding interconnection of community access operations where such interconnection is technically feasible or necessary. Interconnection may be accomplished by direct cable, microwave link, satellite or other reasonable method of connection. At the request of a competitive video service provider, community antenna television company or provider of community access operations, the Public Utilities Regulatory Authority may facilitate the negotiation for such interconnection.

(P.A. 07-253, S. 5; Sept. Sp. Sess. P.A. 09-7, S. 184; P.A. 11-80, S. 1.)

History: Sept. Sp. Sess. P.A. 09-7 deleted former Subsec. (c) requiring certified competitive video service providers to provide transmission of the Connecticut Television Network, effective October 5, 2009; pursuant to P.A. 11-80, “Department of Public Utility Control” was changed editorially by the Revisors to “Public Utilities Regulatory Authority” in Subsec. (b), effective July 1, 2011.