AB207-SSA1,35,1714
(c)
Notice. A video programming provider shall provide notice concerning its
15general customer service standards to all customers. The notice shall be offered
16when service is first activated and annually thereafter. The information in the notice
17shall include all of the standards established under par. (a) and all of the following:
AB207-SSA1,35,1918
1. A listing of services offered by the video programming provider, which clearly
19describes programming for all services and all levels of service.
AB207-SSA1,35,2020
2. The rates for all services and levels of service.
AB207-SSA1,35,2221
3. Telephone numbers through which customers may subscribe to, change, or
22terminate service, request customer service, or seek general or billing information.
AB207-SSA1,35,2323
4. Instructions on the use of the video services.
AB207-SSA1,36,3
15. A description of rights and remedies that the video programming provider
2shall make available to their customers if the video programming provider does not
3materially meet the general customer service standards described in this paragraph.
AB207-SSA1,36,7
4(4) General customer service obligations. (a) A video programming provider
5shall render reasonably efficient service, promptly make repairs, and interrupt
6service only as necessary and for good cause, during periods of minimum use of the
7system and for no more than 24 hours.
AB207-SSA1,36,138
(b) All service representatives or any other person who contacts customers or
9potential customers on behalf of a video programming provider shall have a visible
10identification card with their name and photograph and shall orally identify
11themselves upon first contact with a customer. Customer service representatives
12shall orally identify themselves to callers immediately following the greeting during
13each telephone contact with the public.
AB207-SSA1,36,1414
(c) A video programming provider shall do one of the following:
AB207-SSA1,36,2015
1. Maintain a customer service facility that is located within a municipality in
16which the video programming provider provides video service and that is staffed by
17customer service representatives that have the capacity to accept payment; adjust
18bills; respond to repair, installation, reconnection, disconnection, or other service
19calls; and distribute or receive converter boxes, remote control units, digital stereo
20units, or other equipment related to the provision of video service.
AB207-SSA1,36,2221
2. Provide customers with bill payment facilities through retail, financial, or
22other commercial institutions located within the boundaries of a municipality.
AB207-SSA1,37,223
3. Provide an address, toll-free telephone number, or electronic address to
24accept bill payments and correspondence, and provide secure collection boxes that
1receive bill payments and returned equipment and that provide a printed receipt
2when items are deposited.
AB207-SSA1,37,53
4. Provide an address, toll-free telephone number, or electronic address to
4accept bill payments and correspondence, and provide a method for customers to
5return equipment to the video programming provider at no cost to the customer.
AB207-SSA1,37,16
6(5) Customer contacts. In each contact with a customer, the service
7representatives of a video programming provider, or any other person who contacts
8customers or potential customers on behalf of the video programming provider, shall
9state the estimated cost of the service, repair, or installation orally prior to delivery
10of the service or before any work is performed, and shall provide the customer with
11an oral statement of the total charges before terminating the telephone call or other
12contact in which a service is ordered, whether in person or over the Internet, and
13shall provide a written statement of the total charges before leaving the location at
14which the work was performed. If the cost of service is a promotional price or is for
15a limited period of time, the cost of service at the end of the promotion or limited
16period of time shall be disclosed.
AB207-SSA1,37,24
17(6) Notices. A video programming provider shall provide customers a
18minimum of 30 days' written notice before increasing rates or eliminating
19transmission of programming and shall submit the notice to the municipality in
20advance of distribution to customers, except that if the elimination of transmission
21of programming is outside the control of the video programming provider, the video
22programming provider shall use reasonable efforts to provide as much notice as
23possible and any rate decrease related to the elimination of transmission of
24programming shall be applied as of the date of the elimination.
AB207-SSA1,38,5
1(7) Reception. A video programming provider shall provide clear visual and
2audio reception that meets or exceeds applicable federal communications
3commission technical standards. If a customer experiences poor video or audio
4reception due to the equipment of the video programming provider, the video
5programming provider shall promptly repair the problem at its own expense.
AB207-SSA1,38,7
6(8) Bills, payment and termination. (a) A video programming provider shall
7render monthly bills that are clear, accurate, and understandable.
AB207-SSA1,38,98
(b) Every residential customer who pays bills directly to a video programming
9provider shall have at least 28 days from the date of the bill to pay the listed charges.
AB207-SSA1,38,1210
(c) A video programming provider shall promptly post customer payments. If
11payment is sent by United States mail, payment is considered paid on the date it is
12postmarked.
AB207-SSA1,38,2213
(d) A video programming provider may not terminate residential service for
14nonpayment of a bill unless the video programming provider furnishes notice of the
15delinquency and impending termination at least 21 days prior to the proposed
16termination. Notice of proposed termination shall be mailed to the customer to whom
17service is billed. Notice of proposed termination shall not be mailed until the 29th
18day after the date of the bill for services. Notice of delinquency and impending
19termination may be part of a billing statement only if the notice is presented in a
20different color than the bill and is designed to be conspicuous. A video programming
21provider may not assess a late fee prior to the 29th day after the date of the bill for
22service.
AB207-SSA1,39,523
(e) A video programming provider shall include with every notice of impending
24termination the name and address of the customer; the amount of delinquency; the
25date on which payment is required to avoid termination; and the telephone number
1of the video programming provider's service representative to make payment
2arrangements and to provide additional information about any charges for failure
3to return equipment and for reconnection. No customer may be charged a fee for
4termination or disconnection of service, regardless of whether the customer or the
5video programming provider initiated termination or disconnection.
AB207-SSA1,39,86
(f) A video programming provider may terminate service only on those days
7when the customer is able to reach, in person or by telephone, a service
8representative of the video programming provider.
AB207-SSA1,39,139
(g) Any service terminated by a video programming provider without good
10cause shall be restored without any reconnection fee, charge, or penalty. Good cause
11for termination includes failure to pay a bill by the date specified in the notice of
12impending termination, payment by check for which there are insufficient funds,
13theft of service, abuse of equipment or personnel, or other similar customer actions.
AB207-SSA1,39,2214
(h) A video programming provider shall cease charging a customer for any or
15all services within one business day after it receives a request to immediately
16terminate service or on the day requested by the customer if such a date is at least
175 days from the date requested by the customer. Nothing in this paragraph shall
18prohibit a video programming provider from billing for charges that the customer
19incurs prior to the date of termination. A video programming provider shall issue
20a credit, a refund, or return a deposit within 10 business days after the close of the
21customer's billing cycle following the request for termination or the return of
22equipment, if any, whichever is later.
AB207-SSA1,40,523
(i) A video programming provider shall allow its customers to disconnect their
24service at any time within the first 60 days after subscribing to or upgrading the
25service. Within such 60-day period, a video programming provider shall not charge
1or impose any fees or penalties on the customer for disconnecting service, including
2any installation charge or early termination charge, except that a video
3programming provider may impose a charge or fee to offset any rebates or credits
4received by the customer, and may impose monthly service or maintenance charges,
5including pay-per-view and premium services charges, during such 60-day period.
AB207-SSA1,40,116
(j) A video programming provider shall guarantee customer satisfaction for
7new or upgraded service and the customer shall receive a pro rata credit in an
8amount equal to the pro rata charge for the remaining days of service being
9disconnected or replaced upon the customers request if the customer is dissatisfied
10with the service and requests to discontinue the service within the first 60 days after
11subscribing to the upgraded service.
AB207-SSA1,41,2
12(9) Response to customer inquiries. (a) A video programming provider shall
13maintain a toll-free telephone access line that is available to customers 24 hours a
14day, 7 days a week, to accept calls regarding installation, termination, service, and
15complaints. Trained, knowledgeable, and qualified service representatives of a video
16programming provider shall be available to respond to customer telephone inquiries
17during normal business hours. Customer service representatives shall be able to
18provide credits, waive fees, schedule appointments, and change billing cycles. Any
19difficulties that cannot be resolved by the customer service representatives shall be
20referred to a supervisor who shall make best efforts to resolve the issue immediately.
21If the supervisor does not resolve the issue to the customer's satisfaction, the
22customer shall be informed of the video programming provider's complaint
23procedures and procedures for billing dispute resolutions and given a description of
24the rights and remedies available to customers to enforce the terms of this section,
1including the customer's rights to have the complaint reviewed by the municipality
2to request mediation, and to review in a court.
AB207-SSA1,41,83
(b) After normal business hours, the toll-free telephone access line specified
4in par. (a) may be answered by a service or an automated response system, including
5an answering machine. Inquiries received by telephone or electronic mail after
6normal business hours shall be responded to by a trained service representative on
7the next business day. A video programming provider shall respond to a written
8billing inquiry within 10 days of receipt of the inquiry.
AB207-SSA1,41,129
(c) A video programming provider shall provide customers seeking
10nonstandard installations with a total installation cost estimate and an estimated
11date of completion. The actual charge to the customer may not exceed 110 percent
12of the estimated cost without the written consent of the customer.
AB207-SSA1,41,1913
(d) If a video programming provider receives notice that an unsafe condition
14exists with respect to its equipment, the video programming provider shall
15investigate such condition immediately, and shall take such measures as are
16necessary to remove or eliminate the unsafe condition. The video programming
17provider shall promptly inform the municipality in which the unsafe condition
18exists, but no later than 2 hours after it receives notification of an unsafe condition
19that it has not remedied.
AB207-SSA1,41,2420
(e) 1. Except as provided in subd. 2., under normal operating conditions,
21telephone answer time by a video programming provider's customer representative,
22including wait time, may not exceed 30 seconds when the connection is made. Except
23as provided in subd. 2., if the call needs to be transferred, transfer time shall not
24exceed 30 seconds.
AB207-SSA1,42,2
12. The standards under subd. 1. shall be met no less than 90 percent of the time
2under normal operating conditions, measured on a quarterly basis.
AB207-SSA1,42,43
(f) Under normal operating conditions, a video programming provider's
4customers may not receive a busy signal more than 3 percent of the time.
AB207-SSA1,42,7
5(10) Installations, outages, and service calls. Under normal operating
6conditions, a video programming provider shall meet each of the following standards
7no less than 95 percent of the time measured on a quarterly basis:
AB207-SSA1,42,118
(a) Standard installations shall be performed within 7 business days after an
9order has been placed. For purposes of this paragraph, "standard installations"
10means those installations that are located no more than 125 feet away from the video
11programming provider's existing distribution system.
AB207-SSA1,42,1312
(b) Excluding conditions beyond the control of the video programming provider,
13the video programming provider shall do all of the following:
AB207-SSA1,42,1614
1. Begin working on service interruptions promptly and in no event later than
1524 hours after the service interruption is reported by the customer or otherwise
16becomes known to the video programming provider.
AB207-SSA1,42,1817
2. Begin actions to correct other service problems the next business day after
18notification of the service problem.
AB207-SSA1,42,2019
3. Correct service interruptions and other service problems within 48 hours
20after service interruptions and other service problems are reported by customers.
AB207-SSA1,42,2521
(c) A video programming provider shall schedule appointments with customers
22for installations, service calls, and other installation activities for a specific time, or
23within a time block that does not exceed 4 hours, except that a video programming
24provider may otherwise schedule such appointments as specified by the customer for
25the customer's convenience.
AB207-SSA1,43,7
1(d) A video programming provider may not cancel an appointment with a
2customer after 5:00 p.m. on the business day prior to the scheduled appointment.
3If a video programming provider's representative is running late for an appointment
4with a customer and is not be able to keep the appointment as scheduled, the video
5programming provider shall contact the customer and, as necessary, reschedule the
6appointment at a time that is convenient for the customer, even if the rescheduled
7appointment is not within normal business hours.
AB207-SSA1,43,10
8(11) Public benefit obligation. (a) In this subsection, "eligible building"
9means a building used by a municipality for governmental purposes; a public library;
10or a public primary or secondary school, including a charter school.
AB207-SSA1,43,1311
(b) 1. Except as otherwise provided in this subsection, a video programming
12provider shall provide a free service line drop and free basic video service to all
13current and future eligible buildings within one of the following:
AB207-SSA1,43,1514
a. If the cable or video provider is a municipally regulated cable operator, the
15municipality that grants a cable franchise to the cable or video provider.
AB207-SSA1,43,1716
b. If the cable or video provider is a video service franchisee, the video service
17area of the cable or video provider.
AB207-SSA1,43,1918
2. Service provided under subd. 1. shall be used in a manner consistent with
19the governmental purpose of the eligible building and shall not be resold.
AB207-SSA1,43,2320
(c) Paragraph (b) only applies to those cable or video providers whose video
21service networks are located in a manner that is capable of providing video service
22to eligible buildings and whose video service is generally available to residential
23customers in the municipality in which the eligible building is located.
AB207-SSA1,44,924
(d) The burden of providing service required under par. (b) at an eligible
25building shall be shared by all cable and video providers whose video service
1networks are located in a manner that is capable of providing video service to the
2eligible buildings and shall be shared in an equitable and competitively neutral
3manner. The cable or video providers operating in a municipality shall determine
4amongst themselves who will provide the service to an eligible building required
5under par. (b). If the cable or video providers are unable to reach agreement on the
6determination, the municipality in which the eligible building is located shall
7determine which cable or video providers must serve the eligible building. A
8municipality may not require duplicative installations by more than one cable or
9video provider at an eligible building.
AB207-SSA1,44,1410
(e) A municipality shall bear the costs of any inside wiring, or video equipment
11costs, that are incurred in providing service required under par. (b) at an eligible
12building, if the cable or video provider does not ordinarily provide the wiring or
13equipment at no cost to customer's of the video programming provider's basic video
14service.
AB207-SSA1,44,22
15(12) Reports. (a) A video programming provider shall make an annual report
16to the department, the municipality in which the video programming provider
17provides video service, and the public service commission regarding its compliance
18with this section. The report shall include documentation that is sufficient to
19demonstrate compliance with subs. (9) (e) and (f) and (10) (a) and (b). The report shall
20also identify the number of complaints the video programming provider received
21during the prior year in the state and specify the number of such complaints related
22to each of the following:
AB207-SSA1,44,2323
1. Billing, charges, refunds, or credits.
AB207-SSA1,44,2424
2. Installation or termination of service.
AB207-SSA1,44,2525
3. Quality of service and repair.
AB207-SSA1,45,1
14. Programming.
AB207-SSA1,45,22
5. Other complaints not specified in subds. 1. to 4.
AB207-SSA1,45,53
(b) Information in the report under par. (a) shall be broken down for each
4municipality or telephone exchange in which the cable or video provider has
5customers.
AB207-SSA1,45,86
(c) The report under par. (a) is first due one year after a video programming
7provider begins to offer video service or on the first day of the 12th month beginning
8after the effective date of this paragraph .... [revisor inserts date], whichever is later.
AB207-SSA1,45,9
9(13) Rates; charges; contracts. (a) To the extent consistent with federal law:
AB207-SSA1,45,1810
1. A video programming provider shall offer the lowest-cost basic video service
11as a stand-alone service to residential customers at reasonable rates. A video
12programming provider shall not require the subscription to any service other than
13the lowest-cost basic service or to any telecommunications or information service,
14as a condition of access to video service, including programming offered on a per
15channel or per program basis. A video programming provider shall not discriminate
16between customers of the lowest-cost basic service, customers of other video
17services, and other customers with regard to the rates charged for video
18programming offered on a per channel or per program basis.
AB207-SSA1,45,2319
2. A video programming provider shall ensure that charges for changes in a
20customer's selection of services or equipment shall be based on the cost of such
21change and shall not exceed nominal amounts if the system's configuration permits
22changes in service tier selection to be effected solely by coded entry on a computer
23terminal or by other similarly simple method.
AB207-SSA1,46,324
3. A video programming provider shall have a rate structure for the provision
25of video service that is uniform throughout the area within the boundaries of a
1municipality, except that a video programming provider may provide bulk discounts
2to multiple dwelling units or reasonable discounts to senior citizens or other
3economically disadvantaged groups.
AB207-SSA1,46,84
4. A video programming provider may not charge a customer for any service or
5equipment that the customer has not explicitly requested. For purposes of this
6subdivision, a customer's failure to refuse a video programming provider's proposal
7to provide service or equipment is not an explicit request for such service or
8equipment.
AB207-SSA1,46,129
(b) No contract or service offering video services or any bundle including such
10services may be for a term longer than one year. If a contract or service offering is
11made for a specified term at a discounted price, no termination fee may exceed the
12amount of the discount from which the customer benefited.
AB207-SSA1,46,19
13(14) Impaired customers. A video programming provider may not discriminate
14in the provision of services for the hearing and visually impaired and shall comply
15with
47 USC 613. A video programming provider shall deliver and pick up, or provide
16customers with prepaid shipping and packaging for the return of, converters and
17other necessary equipment at the home of customers with disabilities. A video
18programming provider shall provide free use of a converter or remote control unit to
19mobility impaired customers.
AB207-SSA1,47,8
20(15) Obscene or indecent programming. (a) To the extent consistent with
21federal law, a video programming provider shall comply with
47 USC 532 (h) and (j).
22A video programming provider may not exercise any editorial control over any
23programming or in any other way consider the content of programming in
24determining whether to transmit programming, except that a video programming
25provider may refuse to transmit any leased access program or portion of a leased
1access program which contains obscenity, indecency, or nudity and may consider
2such content to the minimum extent necessary to establish a reasonable price for the
3commercial use of designated channel capacity by a person that is not an affiliate of
4the video programming provider. A video programming provider may enforce
5prospectively a written and published policy of prohibiting programming that the
6video programming provider reasonably believes describes or depicts sexual or
7excretory activities or organs in a patently offensive manner as measured by
8contemporary community standards.
AB207-SSA1,47,119
(b) A video programming provider shall, without charge, fully scramble or
10otherwise fully block the audio and video programming of any channel requested by
11the customer.
AB207-SSA1,47,1712
(c) In providing sexually explicit adult programming or other programming
13that is indecent on any channel of a video programming provider's service that is
14primarily dedicated to sexually oriented programming, the video programming
15provider shall fully scramble or otherwise fully block the video and audio portion of
16such channel so that a nonsubscriber to such channel or programming does not
17receive it.
AB207-SSA1,47,2018
(d) For purposes of pars. (b) and (c), "scramble" means to rearrange the content
19of the signal of programming so that the programming cannot be viewed or heard in
20an understandable manner.
AB207-SSA1,47,25
21(16) Service availability listing. A video programming provider shall
22maintain a listing, specific to the level of street address, of the areas where its video
23services are available. A video programming provider shall inform customers who
24inquire about purchasing video service about whether the service is currently
25available to them at their specific location.
AB207-SSA1,48,13
1(17) Privacy protections. A video programming provider may not disclose the
2name, address, telephone number, or other personally identifying information of a
3video service customer to be used in mailing lists or to be used for other commercial
4purposes not reasonably related to the conduct of its business, unless the video
5programming provider has provided to the customer a notice, separately or included
6in any other customer service notice, that clearly and conspicuously describes the
7customer's ability to prohibit the disclosure. A video programming provider shall
8provide an address and telephone number for a customer to use without toll charge
9to prevent disclosure of the customer's name and address in mailing lists or for other
10commercial purposes not reasonably related to the conduct of its business to other
11businesses or affiliates of the video programming provider. A video programming
12provider shall comply with all other privacy laws, including
47 USC 551, that are in
13effect on the effective date of this subsection .... [revisor inserts date].
AB207-SSA1,48,23
14(18) Consumer complaints; mediation. A video programming provider shall
15implement an informal process for handling inquiries from municipalities and
16customers concerning billing issues, service issues, privacy concerns, and other
17consumer complaints. If an issue is not resolved through such informal process, a
18municipality or customer may request nonbinding mediation with the video
19programming provider, with each party bearing its own costs of such mediation.
20Selection of a mediator shall be by mutual agreement and preference shall be given
21to mediation services that do not charge a consumer for their services. If the informal
22process does not produce a satisfactory result to the customer or municipality,
23enforcement may be pursued as provided in sub. (19) (f).
AB207-SSA1,48,24
24(19) Enforcement. (a) The department may do any of the following:
AB207-SSA1,49,2
11. Exercise its authority under ss. 93.14, 93.15, and 93.16 to investigate
2violations of this section.
AB207-SSA1,49,63
2. Commence an action in the name of the state to restrain by temporary
4injunction a violation of this section. Before entry of a final judgment, the court may
5make any necessary orders to restore to a person any pecuniary loss suffered by the
6person because of the violation.
AB207-SSA1,49,97
3. Except as provided in subd. 4., commence an action in the name of the state
8to recover a forfeiture to the state of not less than $100 nor more than $10,000 for
9each violation of this section.
AB207-SSA1,49,1210
4. Commence an action in the name of the state to recover a forfeiture to the
11state of not more than $50,000 for a person's first violation of sub. (17) and of not more
12than $100,000 for each 2nd or subsequent violation of sub. (17) by a person.
AB207-SSA1,49,1613
5. After public hearing, issue a special order under s. 93.18 against a video
14programming provider enjoining the provider from employing practices that violate
15this section and requiring the provider to employ practices or take actions that are
16determined by the department to be in compliance with this section.
AB207-SSA1,49,2017
(b) A municipality may enforce this section with respect to complaints received
18from residents within the municipality, but the municipality may not impose or
19require compliance with any additional or different customer service or performance
20standards than those specified in this section.
AB207-SSA1,49,2321
(c) A municipality may enact an ordinance that provides a schedule of
22forfeitures for any material violation of this section
by video programming providers
23that are in addition to the penalties provided under this chapter, except as follows:
AB207-SSA1,49,2524
1. No forfeitures may be assessed for a material violation if it is out of the
25reasonable control of a video programming provider or its affiliate.
AB207-SSA1,50,2
12. The forfeitures shall apply on a competitively neutral basis to all providers
2of video service within the municipality.
AB207-SSA1,50,43
3. The forfeitures may not
exceed $750 for each day of the material violation,
4and may not exceed $25,000 for each occurrence of a material violation per customer.
AB207-SSA1,50,85
(d) The department or a municipality shall give a video programming provider
6written notice of any alleged material violations of this section and allow such
7provider at least 30 days from receipt of the notice to remedy the specified material
8violation.
AB207-SSA1,50,139
(e) For purposes of this subsection, "material violation" means any substantial
10failure of a video programming provider to comply with this section and, for purposes
11of assessing forfeitures, a material violation is considered to have occurred for each
12day that a material violation has not been remedied by a video programming
13provider after the expiration of the period specified in par. (d).
AB207-SSA1,50,2414
(f) The department and, subject to sub. (18), a municipality or customer may
15bring an action against a video programming provider for violation of this section,
16except that a municipality may bring an action only if a customer residing in the
17municipality is adversely affected by the violation and a customer may bring an
18action only if the customer is adversely affected by the violation. A video
19programming provider may bring an action to review a municipality's assessment of
20forfeitures against the video programming provider. A municipality is immune from
21civil liability for its acts or omissions related to the enforcement or review of any
22terms, conditions, or rights under this section, except that a court may require the
23return of any forfeiture that the municipality incorrectly assessed against a video
24programming provider.
AB207-SSA1,51,13
1(20) Credits. (a) A video programming provider shall credit customers for
2violations of this section in the amounts specified in par. (b). The credits shall be
3applied on the statement issued to the customer for the next monthly billing cycle
4following the violation or following the discovery of the violation. A video
5programming provider is responsible for providing the credits and a customer is not
6required to request the credit. If a customer is no longer taking service from a video
7programming provider, the video programming provider shall refund the credit
8amount to the customer by check within 30 days of the termination of service. A
9municipality may enact an ordinance that requires a video programming provider
10to give credits directly to customers for violating this section, if the ordnance applies
11on a competitively neutral basis to all video programming providers in the
12municipality, and except that the credits may not exceed the credits specified in par.
13(b).
AB207-SSA1,51,1514
(b) A video programming provider shall give customers the following credits for
15the following violations of this section:
AB207-SSA1,51,1716
1. Failure to provide notice of customer service standards upon initiation of
17service, $25.
AB207-SSA1,51,2018
2. Failure to install service within 7 days, waiver of 50 percent of the
19installation fee or the monthly fee for the lowest-cost basic service, whichever is
20greater.