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ORDINANCE: 2004-46
SUBJECT: An ordinance amending Lakewood Municipal Code 5.45 relating to customer service standards for cable service providers.
RECOMMENDATION: Adoption of the ordinance.
SUMMARY AND BACKGROUND OF SUBJECT MATTER:
The City of Lakewood is a member of the Greater Metro Telecommunications Consortium (GMTC), an agency of local government representatives who work together on telecommunications issues. Currently there are 29 member cities and counties throughout the Denver metro area. Lakewood has been a member since the Consortium's origination in 1992.
The Consortium was created by intergovernmental agreement approved by member city councils and commissioner boards. The IGA authorizes the GMTC to act on behalf of its members in negotiation and enforcement of telecommunications franchise agreements.
In 1995 the GMTC adopted a set of Customer Service Standards that would apply to all cable service providers. The Standards establish uniform requirements for the quality of service cable operators are expected to offer their customers. They pertain to everything from how quickly an installation must occur to the repair of private property damaged by operators.
One of the most significant provisions of the Standards is a requirement for a cable operator to post a security fund or letter of credit in the name of the GMTC. The security fund is used when the cable company fails to respond to a citizen complaint that the franchising authority determines to be valid. It allows the member community, through the GMTC, to impose and collect fines for noncompliance. An example of the use of this fund would be a case where personal property is damaged by a cable company and not repaired in a timely manner. The fund could be accessed in order to remedy the situation.
Having consistent Customer Service Standards throughout the entire metropolitan area is a benefit to both the cable provider and customers who might move from one location to another. It provides clarity in expectations and allows providers to work under one set of rules rather than 29. A GMTC committee worked with industry representatives in the revision of the Standards.
The Customer Service Standards have not been updated since their adoption. Many changes have occurred in the telecommunications arena since that time, the most significant involving customer privacy.
Many of the changes in the new Customer Service Standards simply clean up or
clarify prior language, and make modifications to address operational issues
and do not result in a major change to the substance of the standards.
The substantive changes are summarized as follows:
1. The new standards make clear that if there is any conflict between the obligations
of the Customer Service Standards and the specifics of the Franchise Agreement,
the Franchise Agreement controls.
2. Definitions have been changed to better track with statutory definitions.
In addition, new definitions for terms like "non-cable related purpose",
"normal operating conditions", "personally identifiable information,"
and "service interruption" have been added to address some of the
new issues discussed below.
3. There has been a modification to address the issue of customers having to
navigate through a long, recorded set of instructions, before having the ability
to speak with a live customer service representative. The new language requires
that if the customer's telephone call is answered with a recorded message, the
customer must receive the option for a prompt to connect to and speak with a
customer service representative within 60 seconds of the commencement of the
recording.
4. The prior Customer Service Standards required all installations to be completed
within 7 days after the order was placed. That has been amended to require all
installations, or any modifications to service, to be completed within 7 days.
5. A new Subsection has been added to address promotional offers and specially
priced services. A number of citizen complaints have related to promotional
offers regarding when payment credits would be applied to customer accounts.
The new Subsection requires that when such promotions are made the specific
terms of the promotion, including the payment credit, will be clearly explained.
6. New language has been added to clarify what kind of notice must be provided
to a property owner or legal tenant when different kinds of work is done on
private property by the cable operator.
7. The prior Customer Service Standards required the cable operator to provide
various information to subscribers when requested, including a complete copy
of the standards. A new Subsection provides the option to make the Customer
Service Standards available by providing a URL address of a GMTC website where
the Standards will be located. It further provides a customer request for information
may be fulfilled by providing information electronically, if that is acceptable
to a customer.
8. Perhaps the most significant change to the Customer Service Standards involve
a new Section relating to customer privacy. The Section has been rewritten to
provide in substantive detail, when and how a cable operator may obtain, utilize,
and disclose a customer's personally identifiable information. It provides detail
on the type of privacy notice that must be provided to subscribers, and it requires
the cable operator to destroy a customer's personally identifiable information
within ninety (90) days after that information is no longer necessary for the
purpose for which it was collected, and if there are no pending court orders.
9. The current Standards address how complaints are made to the franchising authority, and the remedies that could be imposed upon findings in violation. The current language is, in some cases, inconsistent with a number of Franchise Agreements. It has been modified to eliminate the problem.
DATE OF FIRST READING: October 25, 2004
DATE OF SECOND READING: November 8, 2004
ORIGINATED BY: Joni Inman, Director, Mayor and City Manager's Office
STAFF PERSON RESPONSIBLE: Joni Inman, Director, Mayor and City Manager's Office, 303-987-7052
DOCUMENTS ATTACHED: Ordinance O-2004-46
SUBMITTED BY:
Joni Inman, Director of the Mayor and City Manager's Office
REVIEWED BY:
Joni Inman, Director of the Mayor and City Manager's Office
Michael J. Rock, City Manager
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