North Carolina § 66-356 - Service standards and requirements.

§ 66-356. Service standards and requirements.

Discrimination Prohibited. - A person who provides cable service over a cable system may not deny access to the service to any group of potential residential subscribers within the filed service area because of the race or income of the residents. A violation of this subsection is an unfair or deceptive act or practice under G.S. 75-1.1. The length of time since the provider filed the notice of service for the area. If less than a year has elapsed since the notice of service was filed, it is conclusively presumed that a violation has not occurred. The cost of providing service to the affected group due to distance from facilities, density, or other factors. Technological impediments to providing service to the affected group. Inability to obtain access to property required to provide service to the affected group. Competitive pressure to respond to service offered by another cable service provider or other provider of video programming. FCC Standards. - A person who provides cable service over a cable system must comply with the customer service requirements in 47 C.F.R. Part 76 and emergency alert requirements established by the Federal Communications Commission. Complaints. - The Consumer Protection Division of the Attorney General's Office is designated as the State agency to receive and respond to customer complaints concerning cable services. Persistent or repeated violations of the federal customer service requirements or the terms and conditions of the cable service provider's agreement with customers are unfair or deceptive acts or practices under G.S. 75-1.1. No Build-Out. - No build-out requirements apply to a person who provides cable service under a State-issued franchise. [Report to Revenue Laws Study Committee. - ]. The Consumer Protection Division of the Attorney General's Office must report to the Revenue Laws Study Committee on or before April 1 of each year, beginning April 1, 2008, on the following information concerning cable service complaints the Division has received from cable customers under this section: The number of customer complaints. The types of customer complaints. The different means of resolving customer complaints. In determining whether a cable service provider has violated this subsection with respect to a group of potential residential subscribers in a service area, the following factors must be considered: To facilitate the resolution of customer complaints, the cable service provider must include the following statement on the customer's bill: "If you have a complaint about your cable service, you should first contact customer service at the following telephone number: (insert the cable service provider's customer service telephone number). If the cable service provider does not satisfactorily resolve your complaint, contact the Consumer Protection Division of the Attorney General's Office of the State of North Carolina (insert information on how to contact the Consumer Protection Division of the Attorney General's Office). History (2006-151, ss. 1, 18.) Editor's Note. - Session Laws 2006-151, s. 17, provides that: "A primary purpose of this act is to promote consumer choice in video service providers. A premise of this goal is that increased competition will lead to improved service. Under competition, a customer who is dissatisfied with service by one cable service provider will have the option of choosing a different service provider. "G.S. 66-356, as enacted by this act, designates the Consumer Protection Division of the Attorney General's Office as the agency to receive and respond to unresolved customer complaints about cable service provided by the holder of a State-issued franchise. The transition from local franchise agreements to State-issued franchises will occur gradually. "Due to the expected improvement in customer service and the gradual change to State-issued franchises, the impact of the requirement in new G.S. 66-356 on the staffing needs of the Consumer Protection Division is not clear. The Office of the Attorney General is therefore requested to monitor the number and type of cable service complaints it receives from customers in areas served under a local franchise agreement and from areas served under a State-issued franchise to determine whether the Consumer Protection Division needs additional staff to fulfill the duty imposed by new G.S. 66-356 and to make a report concerning staffing to the Fiscal Research Division of the North Carolina General Assembly by April 1, 2007." Session Laws 2006-151, s. 18, was codified as G.S. 66-356(e), at the direction of the Revisor of Statutes.