SYSTEM OPERATIONS (4-280-200 et seq.)

Municipal Code of Chicago tit. 4, ch. 4-280, art. VI

in effect

Municipal Code of Chicago § 4-280-200 Franchise areas.

4-280-200 Franchise areas. A. The areas of the city for which applications for franchise will be accepted shall be specified by the council. (Prior code § 113.1-23; Amend Coun. J. 12-9-92, p. 25465; Amend Coun. J. 4-24-12, p. 23998, § 1) Editor's note – Coun. J. 4-24-12, p. 23998, § 1, renumbered former § 4-280-200 as § 4-280-170, and renumbered this section, which was formerly § 4-280-230, as § 4-280-200.

Municipal Code of Chicago § 4-280-210 Primary service area.

4-280-210 Primary service area. A. A grantee shall furnish to the city a map of suitable scale showing all roads and public buildings, which indicates the primary service area (PSA) to be served. B. The primary service area shall be subject to approval by the city and shall be incorporated into a franchise granted pursuant to this chapter. If no PSA is specifically delineated in a franchise, the PSA shall be considered to be coterminous with the franchise area. (Prior code § 113.1-24; Amend Coun. J. 12-9-92, p. 25465; Amend Coun. J. 4-24-12, p. 23998, § 1) Editor's note – Coun. J. 4-24-12, p. 23998, § 1, renumbered former § 4-280-210 as § 4-280-180, and renumbered this section, which was formerly § 4-280-240, as § 4-280-210.

Municipal Code of Chicago § 4-280-220 Extension of service.

4-280-220 Extension of service. A. Each grantee shall extend its cable system and make service available beyond the primary service area in accordance with a line extension policy as shall be specified in a franchise granted hereunder. (Prior code § 113.1-25; Amend Coun. J. 12-9-92, p. 25465; Amend Coun. J. 4-24-12, p. 23998, § 1) Editor's note – Coun. J. 4-24-12, p. 23998, § 1, renumbered former § 4-280-220 as § 4-280-190, and renumbered this section, which was formerly § 4-280-250, as § 4-280-220.

Municipal Code of Chicago § 4-280-230 System description and service.

4-280-230 System description and service. A. The cable television system to be installed by grantee shall comply in all respects with the technical performance requirements set forth by the FCC's Rules, including applicable amendments thereto; provided, however, that nothing contained herein shall be construed to prohibit a grantee from proposing to comply with more rigid technical performance requirements, in which case the grantee's application shall be incorporated by reference in the franchise and shall be binding on the grantee. If the FCC should delete said requirements, the city hereby reserves the right to amend this chapter to incorporate similar standards and every franchise granted pursuant to this chapter shall be subject to such reserved power whether or not expressly so conditioned. B. Applications for franchise shall include proposals for the provision of public, education/cultural, local government and leased access channels. Such proposals by grantee shall be incorporated into the franchise granted and shall be subject to the following minimum requirements or to such greater requirements as shall be specified in the franchise: 1. All proposals for public and education access channels shall be subject to the control of the Chicago Access Corporation consistent with Section 4-280-320. 2. A minimum of two local government access channels shall be made available for the use of local government authorities free of charge. 3. A minimum of two leased access channels shall be made available to leased access users. C. Grantee shall provide complimentary service for eligible buildings as required by 220 ILCS 5/22-501(f). In the event the state should eliminate said requirements, the grantee shall provide, without charge within the primary service area, one service outlet activated for basic service to all current and future schools and public buildings within grantee's franchise area, including, but not limited to, all city buildings, public libraries, whether owned or leased by the city and such other used for governmental purposes as may be designated by the city. Furthermore, grantee shall be permitted to recover, from any public building owner entitled to free service, the direct cost of installing, when requested to do so, more than one outlet, or concealed inside wiring; provided, however, that the grantee shall not charge for the provision of basic service to the additional service outlets once installed. Such service shall be used in a manner consistent with the purpose for the eligible building and shall not be resold. This obligation only applies to grantees whose cable service passes eligible buildings and cable service is generally available to residential subscribers in the city. The burden of providing such cable service at each eligible building shall be shared by all grantees whose systems pass the eligible buildings in an equitable and competitively neutral manner, and nothing herein shall require duplicative installations by more than one grantee at each eligible building. Grantees operating in the city shall meet as necessary and determine who will provide cable service to eligible buildings. If the grantees are unable to reach agreement, the city shall meet with the grantees and shall determine which grantee will serve which eligible building. The city or eligible buildings shall bear the costs of any inside wiring or video equipment costs not ordinarily provided as part of the grantee's basic service offering. D. Any programming offered or transmitted over any cable system that has been determined by a court of competent jurisdiction to be obscene or otherwise unprotected by the Constitution of the United States is prohibited. Violation of this subsection by a grantee shall be deemed a material breach of any agreement awarding a franchise in accordance herewith and shall subject the grantee to all penalties and remedies provided therein as well as all other remedies, both legal and equitable, available to the city. E. The grantee shall make available parental control devices to all subscribers. These devices shall enable the subscriber to block the video and audio portion of any channel or channels. (Prior code § 113.1-26; Amend Coun. J. 12-9-92, p. 25465; Amend Coun. J. 4-24-12, p. 23998, § 1) Editor's note – Coun. J. 4-24-12, p. 23998, § 1, renumbered former § 4-280-230 as § 4-280-200, and renumbered this section, which was formerly § 4-280-260, as § 4-280-230.

Municipal Code of Chicago § 4-280-240 Operational requirements and records.

4-280-240 Operational requirements and records. A. A grantee shall construct, operate and maintain the cable system in full compliance with the rules and regulations, including applicable amendments, of the FCC and all other applicable federal, state, or local laws and regulations, including the latest editions of the National Electrical Safety Code. The cable system and all its parts and the installation thereof, shall be subject to inspection by the city and the city hereby reserves the right to review a grantee's construction plans prior to the commencement of construction. A grantee shall perform all tests necessary to demonstrate compliance with the requirements of this chapter and its franchise and other lawful technical standards. Unless a franchise or applicable law provides otherwise, all tests shall be conducted in accordance with federal rules and in accordance with the most recent edition of the Society of Cable Telecommunications Engineers (SCTE) Recommended Practices, specifically, its Recommended Practices for Fiber Optic Cable Construction and Testing and its Recommended Practices for Coaxial Cable Construction and Testing, or such other manual as may be directed under FCC regulations. A written report of any test results shall be filed with the city within seven days of a request by the city. If a location fails to meet technical or performance specifications, the grantee, without requirement of additional notice or request from city, shall promptly take corrective action, and retest the locations. B. A grantee shall provide an emergency alert system ("EAS") and comply with all applicable federal, state, city and regional emergency alert and notification statutes, regulations, and plans, and any other requirements that may be contained within a franchise. The City may use the EAS, under procedures established between the city and the grantee, which are consistent with city, state and federal EAS requirements, to transmit an emergency alert signal, including the ability to override the audio and video on all channels throughout the city from the city's Office of Emergency Management and Communication's 9-1-1 Center or other location as may be designated by the city. A grantee shall test the EAS, as required by the FCC. The city shall be permitted to participate in and/or witness the EAS testing, up to twice a year. If the test indicates that the EAS is not performing properly, a grantee shall make any necessary adjustment to the EAS, and the EAS shall be retested. The city shall permit only appropriately trained and authorized persons to operate the EAS equipment provided pursuant to this chapter. C. A grantee shall maintain an office within the city which shall be open and accessible to the public with adequate telephone service during normal business hours. Grantee shall employ an operator or maintain a telephone answering service, 24 hours per day, each day of the year, to receive subscriber complaints. D. A grantee shall exercise its best effort to design, construct, operate and maintain the cable system at all times so that signals carried are delivered to subscribers without material degradation in quality (within the limitations imposed by the technical state-of- the-art). E. Upon request by the Cable Administrator, copies of all correspondence, petitions, reports, applications and other documents sent or received by grantee from federal or state agencies having appropriate jurisdiction in matters affecting the cable system or cable service operations shall be furnished by a grantee to the cable administrator. F. The cable administrator shall have the authority to specify the manner in which all reports, records, and related information required under this chapter shall be delivered to the City by a grantee. The delivery methods may include hard copy, digital, access via a secure web site, or other reasonable and cost- effective alternative. G. In the case of any emergency or disaster, the grantee shall, upon request of the city, make available its facilities to the city, without costs, for emergency use during the emergency or disaster period. (Prior code § 113.1-27; Amend Coun. J. 12-9-92, p. 25465; Amend Coun. J. 4-24-12, p. 23998, § 1) Editor's note – Coun. J. 4-24-12, p. 23998, § 1, renumbered former § 4-280-240 as § 4-280-210, and renumbered this section, which was formerly § 4-280-270, as § 4-280-240.

Municipal Code of Chicago § 4-280-250 Tests and performance monitoring.

4-280-250 Tests and performance monitoring. A. Not later than 90 days after any new or substantially rebuilt portion of the system is made available for service to subscribers, technical performance tests shall be conducted by a grantee to demonstrate full compliance with the Technical Standards of the Federal Communications Commission and Section 4-280-240 of this chapter. Such tests shall be performed by, or under the supervision of, a qualified registered professional engineer or an engineer with proper training and experience. A copy of the report shall be submitted to the cable administrator, describing test results, instrumentation, calibration and test procedures and the qualifications of the engineer responsible for the tests. B. System monitor test points shall be established at or near the output of the last amplifier in the longest feeder line, at or near trunk line extremities, or at the locations to be specified by the cable administrator. Such periodic tests shall be made at the test points as shall be described by the cable administrator. C. At any time after commencement of service to subscribers, the cable administrator may require additional reasonable tests, including full or partial repeat tests, different test procedures, or tests involving a specific subscriber's terminal, at a grantee's expense to the extent such tests may be performed by a grantee's employees utilizing its existing facilities and equipment; provided, however, that the city reserves the right to conduct its own tests upon reasonable notice to a grantee and if noncompliance is found, the expense thereof shall be borne by a grantee. The city will endeavor to arrange its request for such special tests so as to minimize hardship or inconvenience to grantee or to the subscriber. D. A copy of the annual performance tests report required by the Federal Communications Commission shall be submitted to the city within 30 days of its completion. E. The city shall have the right to employ qualified consultants if necessary or desirable to assist in the administration of this, or any other, section of this chapter. (Prior code § 113.1-28; Amend Coun. J. 12-9-92, p. 25465; Amend Coun. J. 4-24-12, p. 23998, § 1) Editor's note – Coun. J. 4-24-12, p. 23998, § 1, renumbered former § 4-280-250 as § 4-280-220, and renumbered this section, which was formerly § 4-280-280, as § 4-280-250.

Municipal Code of Chicago § 4-280-260 Service disruption.

4-280-260 Service disruption. A. Except for circumstances beyond a grantee's control such as strikes, acts of God, weather, wars, riots and civil disturbances, a grantee shall establish a maintenance service capable of locating and correcting major system malfunctions promptly. Said maintenance service shall be available at all hours, to correct such major system malfunctions affecting a number of subscribers. B. A grantee shall interrupt system service after 7:00 a.m. and before 1:00 a.m. only with good cause and for the shortest time possible and, except in emergency situations, only after cablecasting notice of service interruption at least 24 hours in advance of the service interruption. Service may be interrupted between 1:00 a.m. and 7:00 a.m. for routine testing, maintenance and repair, with notification, any day except Saturday or Sunday, or a holiday. (Prior code § 113.1-29; Amend Coun. J. 12-9-92, p. 25465; Amend Coun. J. 4-24-12, p. 23998, § 1) Editor's note – Coun. J. 4-24-12, p. 23998, § 1, renumbered former § 4-280-260 as § 4-280-230, and renumbered this section, which was formerly § 4-280-290, as § 4-280-260.

Municipal Code of Chicago § 4-280-270 Poles, conduits and other transmission facilities.

4-280-270 Poles, conduits and other transmission facilities. A. A grantee shall utilize existing poles, conduits and other facilities whenever possible and shall not construct or install any new, different or additional poles, conduits or other facilities whether on the public way or on privately owned property until the written approval of the appropriate governmental authority, and, if necessary, of the property owner is obtained and which approval shall not be unreasonably withheld by the municipality. However, no location of any pole or wireholding structure of a grantee shall be a vested interest and such poles or structures shall be removed or modified by a grantee at its own expense whenever the city or other governmental authority determines that the public convenience would be enhanced thereby. B. Where the city or a public utility serving the city desires to make use of the poles or other wire holding structures of a grantee but agreement therefore with the grantee cannot be reached, the city may require the grantee to permit such use for such consideration and upon such terms as the city shall determine to be just and reasonable, if the city determines that the use would enhance the public convenience and would not unduly interfere with the grantee's operations. C. All transmission lines, equipment and structures shall be so installed and located as to cause minimum interference with the rights and appearance and reasonable convenience of property owners who adjoin on any public way and at all times shall be kept and maintained in a safe, adequate and substantial condition and in good order and repair. A grantee shall at all times employ reasonable care and shall install and maintain in use commonly accepted methods and devices for preventing failures and accidents which are likely to cause damage, injuries or nuisances to the public. Suitable barricades, flags, lights or other devices shall be used at such times and places as are reasonably required for the safety of all members of the public. Any poles or other fixtures placed in any public way by a grantee shall be placed in such a manner as not to interfere with the usual travel on such public way. D. Grantee shall remove, replace or modify at its own expense, the installation of any of its facilities as may be deemed necessary by the city or other appropriate governmental authority to meet its proper responsibilities. E. All installations shall be underground in those areas of the city where public utilities providing both telephone and electric service are underground at the time of installation. In areas where either telephone or electric utility facilities are aboveground, at the time of installation, a grantee may install its service aboveground; provided that at such time as those facilities are required to be placed underground by the city or are placed underground, a grantee shall likewise place its services underground without additional cost to the city or to the individual subscriber so served within the city. If the facilities of either the electric or the telephone utility are aerial, the cable television facilities may be located underground at the request of a property owner; provided that the excess cost over aerial location shall be borne by the property owner making the request. F. In the event of disturbance of any public way or private property by a grantee, it shall, at its own expense and in a manner approved by the city or other appropriate governmental authority and the owner, replace and restore such public way or private property in at least as good a condition as before the work causing such disturbance was done, and grantee shall comply with the City code and regulations related to restoration of the public way. In the event a grantee fails to perform such replacement or restoration, the city or the owner shall have the right to do so at the sole expense of the grantee. Demand for payment to the city or owner for such replacement or restoring such roads or private property as may have been disturbed must be in writing to the grantee. G. Whenever, in case of fire or other disaster, it becomes necessary in the judgment of the city to remove or damage any of a grantee's facilities, no charge shall be made by the grantee against the city for restoration and repair. H. At the request of any person holding a valid building moving permit issued by the city or other appropriate governmental authority and upon at least 48 hours notice, a grantee shall temporarily raise, lower or cut its wires as may be necessary to facilitate such move. The direct expense of such temporary changes, including standby time, shall be paid by the permit holder and grantee shall have the authority to require payment in advance. I. Grantee shall have the authority to trim trees on public property at its own expense as may be necessary to protect its wires and facilities, subject to the supervision and direction of the city or other appropriate governmental authority. (Prior code § 113.1-30; Amend Coun. J. 12-9-92, p. 25465; Amend Coun. J. 4-24-12, p. 23998, § 1) Editor's note – Coun. J. 4-24-12, p. 23998, § 1, renumbered former § 4-280-270 as § 4-280-240, and renumbered this section, which was formerly § 4-280-300, as § 4-280-270.

Municipal Code of Chicago § 4-280-280 Construction schedule and reports.

4-280-280 Construction schedule and reports. A. Upon accepting the franchise, a grantee shall, within 60 days, file the documents required to obtain all necessary federal, state and local licenses, permits and authorizations required for the conduct of its business and shall submit monthly reports to the cable administrator on progress in this respect until all such documents are in hand. Failure of a grantee to pursue all necessary steps to secure the aforementioned authorizations with due diligence shall constitute a substantial violation of this chapter. B. Franchise applications shall include a timetable showing the percentage of occupied dwelling units within the primary service area that will be capable of receiving cable television service each year of construction. Said timetable shall be incorporated into the franchise and shall be enforceable as to a grantee under the provisions of this chapter. C. Each grantee shall fill all requests for cable service, once facilities are in place consistent with the foregoing schedule for service, within 30 days after the date of each request. A record of all service requests shall be kept for at least three years and shall be available for public inspection at the local office of a grantee during regular office hours. D. Within three months after accepting the franchise, grantee shall furnish the city a complete construction schedule and map setting forth target dates by areas for commencement of service to subscribers. The schedule and map shall be updated whenever substantial changes become necessary. E. Every three months after the start of construction, grantee shall furnish the cable administrator a report on progress of construction until complete. The report shall include a map that clearly defines the areas wherein cable service is available. (Prior code § 113.1-31; Amend Coun. J. 12-9-92, p. 25465; Amend Coun. J. 4-24-12, p. 23998, § 1) Editor's note – Coun. J. 4-24-12, p. 23998, § 1, renumbered former § 4-280-280 as § 4-280-250, and renumbered this section, which was formerly § 4-280-310, as § 4-280-280.

Municipal Code of Chicago § 4-280-290 Protection of privacy.

4-280-290 Protection of privacy. A. Grantee shall comply with all applicable laws pertaining to the protection of privacy, as they may be amended from time to time, including but not limited to the Federal Electronic Surveillance Statute (18 U.S.C. 2510 et seq.), 47 U.S.C. § 551, the Illinois Eavesdropping Statute (Illinois Revised Statutes, Chapter 38.14-1, et seq.), the Illinois Communications Consumer Privacy Act (Illinois Revised Statutes, Chapter 38.87-1, et seq.), the Cable and Video Customer Protection Law (220 ILCS 5/22-501 et seq.), the Fourth Amendment to the United States Constitution, and Article 1.6 of the Constitution of the State of Illinois. (Prior code § 113.1-322; Amend Coun. J. 12-9-92, p. 25465; Amend Coun. J. 4-24-12, p. 23998, § 1) Editor's note – Coun. J. 4-24-12, p. 23998, § 1, renumbered former § 4-280-290 as § 4-280-260, and renumbered this section, which was formerly § 4-280-320, as § 4-280-290.

Municipal Code of Chicago § 4-280-300 Areawide interconnection of cable systems.

4-280-300 Areawide interconnection of cable systems. A. All grantees shall interconnect access channels and/or local origination channels of their cable system with any or all other cable systems providing service within the city. Nothing herein shall prohibit the cable administrator or franchise agreement from requiring additional interconnections. B. All grantees shall obtain agreements for the sharing of interconnection costs among all interconnecting companies. The cable administrator may extend the time to interconnect. C. A grantee shall cooperate with any entity established for the purpose of regulating, financing or otherwise providing for the interconnection of cable systems. D. The city may require a grantee to provide local origination equipment that is compatible with that used by other cable systems within the city and in adjacent areas. E. A grantee shall make every reasonable effort to cooperate with cable television franchise holders in contiguous communities in order to provide cable service in areas outside the grantee's franchise area. F. The city shall make every reasonable effort to cooperate with the franchising authorities in contiguous communities and with a grantee, in order to provide cable service in areas outside the city. (Prior code § 113.1-34; Amend Coun. J. 12-9-92, p. 25465; Amend Coun. J. 4-24-12, p. 23998, § 1) Editor's note – Coun. J. 4-24-12, p. 23998, § 1, renumbered this section, which was formerly § 4-280-340, as § 4-280-300.

Source: City of Chicago, Municipal Code of Chicago (American Legal Publishing, codelibrary.amlegal.com)URL: https://codelibrary.amlegal.com/codes/chicago/latest/chicago_il/0-0-0-2637079Fetched: 10/24/2026