FRANCHISING AND REGULATION OF CABLE TELEVISION SYSTEMS BY CITIES AND TOWNS

RSA tit. III, ch. 53-C

in effect

RSA 53-C:1 Definitions.

53-C:1. Definitions. In this chapter: I. "Cable television system" means facilities by which television signals are received at a central location and for consideration are transmitted to customers or subscribers by means of cables or wires. II. "Company" means any person, partnership, association, or corporation, including a municipality, owning or operating a cable television system, except for any nonprofit system serving fewer than 100 subscribers. III. "Franchise" means an initial or renewed authorization issued by a franchising authority to construct or operate a cable system. IV. "Franchising authority" means any governmental entity empowered by federal, state, or local law to grant a franchise. V. "Master antenna television system" means a cable television system which serves only the residents of one or more apartment dwellings under common ownership, control or management, and any commercial establishment located on the premises of such apartment house and which transmits only signals broadcast over the air by stations which may be viewed normally or heard locally without objectionable interference, and which does not provide any additional service over its facilities. VI. "Municipality" means a city or town. VII. "Privately owned utility pole" means a utility pole which is owned by a person or entity other than a public utility or municipal corporation providing electric or telecommunications services. Source. 1974, 23:1. 1989, 338:1. 2007, 197:1, eff. July 1, 2007.

RSA 53-C:2 Franchise Required.

53-C:2. Franchise Required. I. No company shall construct, commence construction, or operate a cable television system in any municipality without first obtaining a written franchise from the franchising authority of each municipality in which such system is installed or to be installed. II. Nothing in this chapter shall prevent municipalities from cooperating to jointly exercise franchising authority in accordance with RSA 53-A. Source. 1974, 23:1. 1989, 338:2. 1996, 72:1, eff. July 12, 1996.

RSA 53-C:3 Authority to Grant Franchises.

53-C:3. Authority to Grant Franchises. Municipalities are hereby authorized to grant, renew, amend or rescind for cause franchises for the installation and operation of cable television systems in accordance with the provisions of this chapter within the geographical limits of its respective town or city. Source. 1974, 23:1. 1996, 72:2, eff. July 12, 1996.

RSA 53-C:3-a Franchise Applicant Considerations.

53-C:3-a. Franchise Applicant Considerations. No municipality shall grant a franchise for cable service to a cable system within its jurisdiction without first, at a duly noticed public hearing, having considered: I. The financial ability of the franchise applicant to perform. II. The ability of the applicant to provide adequate and technically sound facilities, equipment and signal quality. III. Adequate channel capacity and appropriate facilities for public, educational, or governmental use, taking into account available technology, subscriber interest, and cost. IV. The prohibition of discrimination among customers of basic service. V. Reasonable service quality in terms of available technology, subscriber interest, and cost. VI. Construction and installation which conforms to all applicable state and federal laws and regulations and the National Electric Safety Code. VII. A competent staff able to provide prompt, adequate service and to respond comprehensively to customer complaints or problems. VIII. Reasonable rules and policies for line extensions and disconnects, customer deposits, and billing practices. Source. 1989, 338:3, eff. Aug. 1, 1989.

RSA 53-C:3-b Franchises; Administration by Municipality.

53-C:3-b. Franchises; Administration by Municipality. I. All franchises shall be nonexclusive. No municipality shall grant any additional franchises to cable service within its jurisdiction on terms or conditions more favorable or less burdensome than those in any existing franchise within such municipality. II. Nothing in this section shall be construed to prevent any municipality considering the approval of an additional cable service franchise in all or any part of the area of such municipality from imposing additional terms and conditions upon the granting of such franchises as such municipality shall in its sole discretion deem necessary or appropriate. III. All cable service franchises in existence as of May 1, 1989, shall remain in full force and effect according to their existing terms. Source. 1989, 338:3, eff. Aug. 1, 1989.

RSA 53-C:3-c Credits and Refunds for Interruption of Service.

53-C:3-c. Credits and Refunds for Interruption of Service. Every franchisee shall agree to the following: I. In the event its service to any subscriber is interrupted for 24 or more consecutive hours, it will, upon request, grant such subscriber a pro rata credit or rebate. II. It will maintain an office which shall be open during usual business hours, have a listed toll-free telephone number, and be capable of receiving complaints, requests for adjustments, and service calls. Source. 1989, 338:3, eff. Aug. 1, 1989.

RSA 53-C:3-d Notice to Subscribers Regarding Quality of Service.

53-C:3-d. Notice to Subscribers Regarding Quality of Service. I. Annually, every cable television system operator shall mail to each of its subscribers a notice which: (a) Informs subscribers how to communicate their views to the cable company and to the office of the attorney general, consumer protection and antitrust bureau; (b) States the responsibility of the office of the attorney general, consumer protection and antitrust bureau to receive and act on consumer complaints. II. Such notice shall be in nontechnical language, understandable by the general public, and in a convenient format. On or before January 30 of each year, the operator shall certify to the franchising authority and to the office of the attorney general, consumer protection and antitrust bureau that it has distributed the notice as provided in this section during the previous calendar year as required by this section. Source. 1989, 338:3, eff. Aug. 1, 1989.

RSA 53-C:3-e Recording of Subscriber Complaints.

53-C:3-e. Recording of Subscriber Complaints. I. Every cable television system operator shall keep a record or log of all written complaints received regarding quality of service, equipment malfunctions, billing procedure, employee relations with customers and similar matters. Such records shall be maintained for a period of 2 years. II. Such record shall contain the following information for each complaint received: (a) Date, time, nature of complaint; (b) Name, address, telephone number of complainant; (c) Investigation of complaint; (d) Manner and time of resolution of complaint; and (e) If the complaint regards equipment malfunction or the quality of reception, a report indicating corrective steps taken, with the nature of the problem stated. Every cable television system operator shall make the logs or records, or both, of such complaints available to any authorized agent of the franchising authority upon request during normal business hours for on-sight review. Source. 1989, 338:3, eff. Aug. 1, 1989.

RSA 53-C:3-f Franchise Document Clearing House.

53-C:3-f. Franchise Document Clearing House. Within 60 days of the granting of an initial franchise and any renewal of such franchise, the franchisee shall file a copy of the franchise and any Federal Communications Commission rulings or other rulings affecting such franchisee with the secretary of state. Within 60 days of June 2, 1989 cable system operators shall file a copy of their existing franchise with the secretary of state. The secretary of state shall maintain a file of all franchise documents so recorded and make copies available upon request for the cost of reproduction and mailing, plus a reasonable administrative fee. The filing fee for initial and renewal franchise documents shall be $50 per franchise or renewal of such franchise. In years in which the filing of initial or renewal franchise documents is not required, the franchisee shall pay to the secretary of state a fee of $50 for each locality served by the franchise. Source. 1989, 338:3, eff. Aug. 1, 1989.

RSA 53-C:3-g Rights of Individuals.

53-C:3-g. Rights of Individuals. No cable television system operator shall deny service, deny access, or otherwise discriminate against subscribers, channel users, or any other citizens on the basis of age, race, religion, sex, gender identity, sexual orientation, physical disability, or country of natural origin. Source. 1989, 338:3. 1990, 140:2, XI, eff. June 18, 1990. 2019, 332:10, eff. Oct. 15, 2019.

RSA 53-C:4 Authority to Establish Fees and Impose Conditions.

53-C:4. Authority to Establish Fees and Impose Conditions. In conjunction with the rights granted in said franchises, any franchising authority may require reasonable fees payable to the municipality and may impose conditions not inconsistent with applicable Rules and Regulations of the Federal Communications Commission, as amended from time to time. Source. 1974, 23:1, eff. April 2, 1974.

RSA 53-C:5 Existing Operations.

53-C:5. Existing Operations. Any existing contract, license, permit, resolution or other accepted authorization for a cable television system which is in operation as of April 2, 1974, or for a cable television system which has substantially completed the installation of equipment and facilities as of such date, shall be deemed to be a franchise under the provisions of this chapter until the earlier of the expiration of its stated term, if any, or the date of any renewal or amendment required under applicable Rules and Regulations of the Federal Communications Commission, as amended from time to time. Source. 1974, 23:1, eff. April 2, 1974.

RSA 53-C:6 Installation of Cable Television in Manufactured Housing Parks.

53-C:6. Installation of Cable Television in Manufactured Housing Parks. I. A cable television operator who affixes or causes to be affixed cable television facilities to the dwelling of a tenant in a manufactured housing park shall: (a) Do so at no cost to the landlord of such manufactured housing park. (b) Indemnify the landlord for damages, if any, arising from the installation or the continued operation thereof or both. (c) Not interfere with the safety, functioning, appearance, or use of the manufactured housing park, nor with the rules and regulations of the owner dealing with the day-to-day operations of the property, including the owner's reasonable access rules for soliciting business. II. Nothing in this section shall prohibit a landlord from contracting with the cable television operator for work in addition to standard installation. III. No cable television operator shall enter into any agreement with persons owning, leasing, controlling, or managing a manufactured housing park served by a cable television system or perform any act which would directly or indirectly diminish or interfere with the rights of any tenant to use a master or individual antenna system. IV. A cable television operator shall obtain the landlord's consent to affix cable television system facilities to a privately owned utility pole within the manufactured housing park by delivery to the owner, in person or by certified mail, return receipt requested, of a copy of this section and a signed statement that the cable television operator will be bound by the terms of this section to the owner or lawful agent of the property upon which the cable television system facilities are to be affixed. V. The cable television operator shall present and review with the owner prior to any installation, plans and specifications for the installation, and shall abide by reasonable installation requests by the owner. The cable television operator shall inspect the premises with the owner after installation to insure conformance with the plans and specifications. The owner may waive in writing the prior presentation of the plans and specifications. The cable television operator shall be responsible for the maintenance of any equipment installed on the owner's premises and shall be entitled to reasonable access for maintenance. The cable television operator shall also, prior to any installation, provide, upon the request of the owner, a certificate of insurance covering all the employees or agents of the installer or cable television operator as well as all equipment of the operator. VI. If the owner of any privately owned utility pole intends to require the payment of any sum in excess of a nominal amount, defined as the amount paid by the cable television operator to utility companies for installation of similar facilities on their poles, in exchange for permitting the installation of cable television system facilities to the privately owned utility pole, the owner shall notify the cable television operator by certified mail, return receipt requested, within 20 days of the date on which the owner is notified that the cable television operator intends to install cable television system facilities on the privately owned utility pole within the manufactured housing park. Absent such notice, it shall be conclusively presumed that the owner shall not require payment in excess of the nominal amount specified in this section for the connection. VII. If the owner gives notice, the owner shall, within 30 days after giving notice, advise the cable television operator in writing of the amount the owner claims as compensation for affixing cable television system facilities to his or her privately owned utility pole. If within 30 days after receipt of the owner's claim for compensation, the cable television operator has not agreed to accept the owner's demand, the owner may bring an action in the superior court for the county in which the real estate is located to enforce the owner's claim for compensation. The action shall be brought within 6 months of the date on which the owner first made a demand upon the cable television operator for compensation. VIII. It shall be presumed that reasonable compensation shall be the nominal amount, but the presumption may be rebutted and overcome by evidence that the owner has a specific alternative use for the space occupied by cable television system facilities or equipment, the loss of which shall result in a monetary loss to the owner, or that installation of cable television system facilities or equipment upon the privately owned utility pole will otherwise substantially interfere with the use and occupancy of the pole to an extent which causes a decrease in the resale or rental value of the real estate. In determining the damages to any real estate injured when no part of it is being taken, consideration is to be given only to such injury as is special and peculiar to the real estate, and there shall be deducted therefrom the amount of any benefit to the real estate by reason of the installation of cable television system facilities. IX. The foregoing steps to claim or enforce a demand for compensation in excess of the nominal amount shall not impair or delay the right of the cable television operator to install, maintain, or remove cable television system facilities to a tenant's dwelling on the real estate. The superior court shall have original jurisdiction to enforce the provisions of this section. X. In addition to other remedies allowed by law, a manufactured housing park owner may be assessed by a district court a civil penalty of $500 and other reasonable damages for discriminating in rental charges or other charges to tenants based on the tenants' subscription to a cable television service or for demanding or accepting payment, except as provided in this section, for the affixing of cable television facilities to a privately owned utility pole within the manufactured housing park. Source. 2007, 197:2, eff. July 1, 2007.

Source: New Hampshire General Court (gc.nh.gov)URL: https://gc.nh.gov/rsa/html/NHTOC/NHTOC-III-53-C.htmFetched: 10/20/2026