AB207-SA1-AA2,5,323 (b) All service representatives or any other person who contacts customers or
24potential customers on behalf of a video programming provider shall have a visible
25identification card with their name and photograph and shall orally identify

1themselves upon first contact with a customer. Customer service representatives
2shall orally identify themselves to callers immediately following the greeting during
3each telephone contact with the public.
AB207-SA1-AA2,5,44 (c) A video programming provider shall do one of the following:
AB207-SA1-AA2,5,105 1. Maintain a customer service facility that is located within a municipality in
6which the video programming provider provides video service and that is staffed by
7customer service representatives that have the capacity to accept payment; adjust
8bills; respond to repair, installation, reconnection, disconnection, or other service
9calls; and distribute or receive converter boxes, remote control units, digital stereo
10units, or other equipment related to the provision of video service.
AB207-SA1-AA2,5,1211 2. Provide customers with bill payment facilities through retail, financial, or
12other commercial institutions located within the boundaries of a municipality.
AB207-SA1-AA2,5,1613 3. Provide an address, toll-free telephone number, or electronic address to
14accept bill payments and correspondence, and provide secure collection boxes that
15receive bill payments and returned equipment and that provide a printed receipt
16when items are deposited.
AB207-SA1-AA2,5,1917 4. Provide an address, toll-free telephone number, or electronic address to
18accept bill payments and correspondence, and provide a method for customers to
19return equipment to the video programming provider at no cost to the customer.
AB207-SA1-AA2,6,5 20(5) Customer contacts. In each contact with a customer, the service
21representatives of a video programming provider, or any other person who contacts
22customers or potential customers on behalf of the video programming provider, shall
23state the estimated cost of the service, repair, or installation orally prior to delivery
24of the service or before any work is performed, and shall provide the customer with
25an oral statement of the total charges before terminating the telephone call or other

1contact in which a service is ordered, whether in person or over the Internet, and
2shall provide a written statement of the total charges before leaving the location at
3which the work was performed. If the cost of service is a promotional price or is for
4a limited period of time, the cost of service at the end of the promotion or limited
5period of time shall be disclosed.
AB207-SA1-AA2,6,13 6(6) Notices. A video programming provider shall provide customers a
7minimum of 30 days' written notice before increasing rates or eliminating
8transmission of programming and shall submit the notice to the municipality in
9advance of distribution to customers, except that if the elimination of transmission
10of programming is outside the control of the video programming provider, the video
11programming provider shall use reasonable efforts to provide as much notice as
12possible and any rate decrease related to the elimination of transmission of
13programming shall be applied as of the date of the elimination.
AB207-SA1-AA2,6,18 14(7) Reception. A video programming provider shall provide clear visual and
15audio reception that meets or exceeds applicable federal communications
16commission technical standards. If a customer experiences poor video or audio
17reception due to the equipment of the video programming provider, the video
18programming provider shall promptly repair the problem at its own expense.
AB207-SA1-AA2,6,20 19(8) Bills, payment and termination. (a) A video programming provider shall
20render monthly bills that are clear, accurate, and understandable.
AB207-SA1-AA2,6,2221 (b) Every residential customer who pays bills directly to a video programming
22provider shall have at least 28 days from the date of the bill to pay the listed charges.
AB207-SA1-AA2,6,2523 (c) A video programming provider shall promptly post customer payments. If
24payment is sent by United States mail, payment is considered paid on the date it is
25postmarked.
AB207-SA1-AA2,7,10
1(d) A video programming provider may not terminate residential service for
2nonpayment of a bill unless the video programming provider furnishes notice of the
3delinquency and impending termination at least 21 days prior to the proposed
4termination. Notice of proposed termination shall be mailed to the customer to whom
5service is billed. Notice of proposed termination shall not be mailed until the 29th
6day after the date of the bill for services. Notice of delinquency and impending
7termination may be part of a billing statement only if the notice is presented in a
8different color than the bill and is designed to be conspicuous. A video programming
9provider may not assess a late fee prior to the 29th day after the date of the bill for
10service.
AB207-SA1-AA2,7,1811 (e) A video programming provider shall include with every notice of impending
12termination the name and address of the customer; the amount of delinquency; the
13date on which payment is required to avoid termination; and the telephone number
14of the video programming provider's service representative to make payment
15arrangements and to provide additional information about any charges for failure
16to return equipment and for reconnection. No customer may be charged a fee for
17termination or disconnection of service, regardless of whether the customer or the
18video programming provider initiated termination or disconnection.
AB207-SA1-AA2,7,2119 (f) A video programming provider may terminate service only on those days
20when the customer is able to reach, in person or by telephone, a service
21representative of the video programming provider.
AB207-SA1-AA2,8,222 (g) Any service terminated by a video programming provider without good
23cause shall be restored without any reconnection fee, charge, or penalty. Good cause
24for termination includes failure to pay a bill by the date specified in the notice of

1impending termination, payment by check for which there are insufficient funds,
2theft of service, abuse of equipment or personnel, or other similar customer actions.
AB207-SA1-AA2,8,113 (h) A video programming provider shall cease charging a customer for any or
4all services within one business day after it receives a request to immediately
5terminate service or on the day requested by the customer if such a date is at least
65 days from the date requested by the customer. Nothing in this paragraph shall
7prohibit a video programming provider from billing for charges that the customer
8incurs prior to the date of termination. A video programming provider shall issue
9a credit, a refund, or return a deposit within 10 business days after the close of the
10customer's billing cycle following the request for termination or the return of
11equipment, if any, whichever is later.
AB207-SA1-AA2,8,1912 (i) A video programming provider shall allow its customers to disconnect their
13service at any time within the first 60 days after subscribing to or upgrading the
14service. Within such 60-day period, a video programming provider shall not charge
15or impose any fees or penalties on the customer for disconnecting service, including
16any installation charge or early termination charge, except that a video
17programming provider may impose a charge or fee to offset any rebates or credits
18received by the customer, and may impose monthly service or maintenance charges,
19including pay-per-view and premium services charges, during such 60-day period.
AB207-SA1-AA2,8,2520 (j) A video programming provider shall guarantee customer satisfaction for
21new or upgraded service and the customer shall receive a pro rata credit in an
22amount equal to the pro rata charge for the remaining days of service being
23disconnected or replaced upon the customers request if the customer is dissatisfied
24with the service and requests to discontinue the service within the first 60 days after
25subscribing to the upgraded service.
AB207-SA1-AA2,9,15
1(9) Response to customer inquiries. (a) A video programming provider shall
2maintain a toll-free telephone access line that is available to customers 24 hours a
3day, 7 days a week, to accept calls regarding installation, termination, service, and
4complaints. Trained, knowledgeable, and qualified service representatives of a video
5programming provider shall be available to respond to customer telephone inquiries
6during normal business hours. Customer service representatives shall be able to
7provide credits, waive fees, schedule appointments, and change billing cycles. Any
8difficulties that cannot be resolved by the customer service representatives shall be
9referred to a supervisor who shall make best efforts to resolve the issue immediately.
10If the supervisor does not resolve the issue to the customer's satisfaction, the
11customer shall be informed of the video programming provider's complaint
12procedures and procedures for billing dispute resolutions and given a description of
13the rights and remedies available to customers to enforce the terms of this section,
14including the customer's rights to have the complaint reviewed by the municipality
15to request mediation, and to review in a court.
AB207-SA1-AA2,9,2116 (b) After normal business hours, the toll-free telephone access line specified
17in par. (a) may be answered by a service or an automated response system, including
18an answering machine. Inquiries received by telephone or electronic mail after
19normal business hours shall be responded to by a trained service representative on
20the next business day. A video programming provider shall respond to a written
21billing inquiry within 10 days of receipt of the inquiry.
AB207-SA1-AA2,9,2522 (c) A video programming provider shall provide customers seeking
23nonstandard installations with a total installation cost estimate and an estimated
24date of completion. The actual charge to the customer may not exceed 110 percent
25of the estimated cost without the written consent of the customer.
AB207-SA1-AA2,10,7
1(d) If a video programming provider receives notice that an unsafe condition
2exists with respect to its equipment, the video programming provider shall
3investigate such condition immediately, and shall take such measures as are
4necessary to remove or eliminate the unsafe condition. The video programming
5provider shall promptly inform the municipality in which the unsafe condition
6exists, but no later than 2 hours after it receives notification of an unsafe condition
7that it has not remedied.
AB207-SA1-AA2,10,128 (e) 1. Except as provided in subd. 2., under normal operating conditions,
9telephone answer time by a video programming provider's customer representative,
10including wait time, may not exceed 30 seconds when the connection is made. Except
11as provided in subd. 2., if the call needs to be transferred, transfer time shall not
12exceed 30 seconds.
AB207-SA1-AA2,10,1413 2. The standards under subd. 1. shall be met no less than 90 percent of the time
14under normal operating conditions, measured on a quarterly basis.
AB207-SA1-AA2,10,1615 (f) Under normal operating conditions, a video programming provider's
16customers may not receive a busy signal more than 3 percent of the time.
AB207-SA1-AA2,10,19 17(10) Installations, outages, and service calls. Under normal operating
18conditions, a video programming provider shall meet each of the following standards
19no less than 95 percent of the time measured on a quarterly basis:
AB207-SA1-AA2,10,2320 (a) Standard installations shall be performed within 7 business days after an
21order has been placed. For purposes of this paragraph, "standard installations"
22means those installations that are located no more than 125 feet away from the video
23programming provider's existing distribution system.
AB207-SA1-AA2,10,2524 (b) Excluding conditions beyond the control of the video programming provider,
25the video programming provider shall do all of the following:
AB207-SA1-AA2,11,3
11. Begin working on service interruptions promptly and in no event later than
224 hours after the service interruption is reported by the customer or otherwise
3becomes known to the video programming provider.
AB207-SA1-AA2,11,54 2. Begin actions to correct other service problems the next business day after
5notification of the service problem.
AB207-SA1-AA2,11,76 3. Correct service interruptions and other service problems within 48 hours
7after service interruptions and other service problems are reported by customers.
AB207-SA1-AA2,11,128 (c) A video programming provider shall schedule appointments with customers
9for installations, service calls, and other installation activities for a specific time, or
10within a time block that does not exceed 4 hours, except that a video programming
11provider may otherwise schedule such appointments as specified by the customer for
12the customer's convenience.
AB207-SA1-AA2,11,1913 (d) A video programming provider may not cancel an appointment with a
14customer after 5:00 p.m. on the business day prior to the scheduled appointment.
15If a video programming provider's representative is running late for an appointment
16with a customer and is not be able to keep the appointment as scheduled, the video
17programming provider shall contact the customer and, as necessary, reschedule the
18appointment at a time that is convenient for the customer, even if the rescheduled
19appointment is not within normal business hours.
AB207-SA1-AA2,11,22 20(11) Public benefit obligation. (a) In this subsection, "eligible building"
21means a building used by a municipality for governmental purposes; a public library;
22or a public primary or secondary school, including a charter school.
AB207-SA1-AA2,11,2523 (b) 1. Except as otherwise provided in this subsection, a video programming
24provider shall provide a free service line drop and free basic video service to all
25current and future eligible buildings within one of the following:
AB207-SA1-AA2,12,2
1a. If the cable or video provider is an interim cable operator, the municipality
2that grants a cable franchise to the cable or video provider.
AB207-SA1-AA2,12,43 b. If the cable or video provider is a video service provider, the video franchise
4area of the cable or video provider.
AB207-SA1-AA2,12,65 2. Service provided under subd. 1. shall be used in a manner consistent with
6the governmental purpose of the eligible building and shall not be resold.
AB207-SA1-AA2,12,107 (c) Paragraph (b) only applies to those cable or video providers whose video
8service networks are located in a manner that is capable of providing video service
9to eligible buildings and whose video service is generally available to residential
10customers in the municipality in which the eligible building is located.
AB207-SA1-AA2,12,2111 (d) The burden of providing service required under par. (b) at an eligible
12building shall be shared by all cable and video providers whose video service
13networks are located in a manner that is capable of providing video service to the
14eligible buildings and shall be shared in an equitable and competitively neutral
15manner. The cable or video providers operating in a municipality shall determine
16amongst themselves who will provide the service to an eligible building required
17under par. (b). If the cable or video providers are unable to reach agreement on the
18determination, the municipality in which the eligible building is located shall
19determine which cable or video providers must serve the eligible building. A
20municipality may not require duplicative installations by more than one cable or
21video provider at an eligible building.
AB207-SA1-AA2,13,222 (e) A municipality shall bear the costs of any inside wiring, or video equipment
23costs, that are incurred in providing service required under par. (b) at an eligible
24building, if the cable or video provider does not ordinarily provide the wiring or

1equipment at no cost to customer's of the video programming provider's basic video
2service.
AB207-SA1-AA2,13,10 3(12) Reports. (a) A video programming provider shall make an annual report
4to the department, the municipality in which the video programming provider
5provides video service, and the public service commission regarding its compliance
6with this section. The report shall include documentation that is sufficient to
7demonstrate compliance with subs. (9) (e) and (f) and (10) (a) and (b). The report shall
8also identify the number of complaints the video programming provider received
9during the prior year in the state and specify the number of such complaints related
10to each of the following:
AB207-SA1-AA2,13,1111 1. Billing, charges, refunds, or credits.
AB207-SA1-AA2,13,1212 2. Installation or termination of service.
AB207-SA1-AA2,13,1313 3. Quality of service and repair.
AB207-SA1-AA2,13,1414 4. Programming.
AB207-SA1-AA2,13,1515 5. Other complaints not specified in subds. 1. to 4.
AB207-SA1-AA2,13,1816 (b) Information in the report under par. (a) shall be broken down for each
17municipality or telephone exchange in which the cable or video provider has
18customers.
AB207-SA1-AA2,13,2119 (c) The report under par. (a) is first due one year after a video programming
20provider begins to offer video service or on the first day of the 12th month beginning
21after the effective date of this paragraph .... [revisor inserts date], whichever is later.
AB207-SA1-AA2,13,22 22(13) Rates; charges; contracts. (a) To the extent consistent with federal law:
AB207-SA1-AA2,14,623 1. A video programming provider shall offer the lowest-cost basic video service
24as a stand-alone service to residential customers at reasonable rates. A video
25programming provider shall not require the subscription to any service other than

1the lowest-cost basic service or to any telecommunications or information service,
2as a condition of access to video service, including programming offered on a per
3channel or per program basis. A video programming provider shall not discriminate
4between customers of the lowest-cost basic service, customers of other video
5services, and other customers with regard to the rates charged for video
6programming offered on a per channel or per program basis.
AB207-SA1-AA2,14,117 2. A video programming provider shall ensure that charges for changes in a
8customer's selection of services or equipment shall be based on the cost of such
9change and shall not exceed nominal amounts if the system's configuration permits
10changes in service tier selection to be effected solely by coded entry on a computer
11terminal or by other similarly simple method.
AB207-SA1-AA2,14,1612 3. A video programming provider shall have a rate structure for the provision
13of video service that is uniform throughout the area within the boundaries of a
14municipality, except that a video programming provider may provide bulk discounts
15to multiple dwelling units or reasonable discounts to senior citizens or other
16economically disadvantaged groups.
AB207-SA1-AA2,14,2117 4. A video programming provider may not charge a customer for any service or
18equipment that the customer has not explicitly requested. For purposes of this
19subdivision, a customer's failure to refuse a video programming provider's proposal
20to provide service or equipment is not an explicit request for such service or
21equipment.
AB207-SA1-AA2,14,2522 (b) No contract or service offering video services or any bundle including such
23services may be for a term longer than one year. If a contract or service offering is
24made for a specified term at a discounted price, no termination fee may exceed the
25amount of the discount from which the customer benefited.
AB207-SA1-AA2,15,7
1(14) Impaired customers. A video programming provider may not discriminate
2in the provision of services for the hearing and visually impaired and shall comply
3with 47 USC 613. A video programming provider shall deliver and pick up, or provide
4customers with prepaid shipping and packaging for the return of, converters and
5other necessary equipment at the home of customers with disabilities. A video
6programming provider shall provide free use of a converter or remote control unit to
7mobility impaired customers.
AB207-SA1-AA2,15,21 8(15) Obscene or indecent programming. (a) To the extent consistent with
9federal law, a video programming provider shall comply with 47 USC 532 (h) and (j).
10A video programming provider may not exercise any editorial control over any
11programming or in any other way consider the content of programming in
12determining whether to transmit programming, except that a video programming
13provider may refuse to transmit any leased access program or portion of a leased
14access program which contains obscenity, indecency, or nudity and may consider
15such content to the minimum extent necessary to establish a reasonable price for the
16commercial use of designated channel capacity by a person that is not an affiliate of
17the video programming provider. A video programming provider may enforce
18prospectively a written and published policy of prohibiting programming that the
19video programming provider reasonably believes describes or depicts sexual or
20excretory activities or organs in a patently offensive manner as measured by
21contemporary community standards.
AB207-SA1-AA2,15,2422 (b) A video programming provider shall, without charge, fully scramble or
23otherwise fully block the audio and video programming of any channel requested by
24the customer.
AB207-SA1-AA2,16,6
1(c) In providing sexually explicit adult programming or other programming
2that is indecent on any channel of a video programming provider's service that is
3primarily dedicated to sexually oriented programming, the video programming
4provider shall fully scramble or otherwise fully block the video and audio portion of
5such channel so that a nonsubscriber to such channel or programming does not
6receive it.
AB207-SA1-AA2,16,97 (d) For purposes of pars. (b) and (c), "scramble" means to rearrange the content
8of the signal of programming so that the programming cannot be viewed or heard in
9an understandable manner.
AB207-SA1-AA2,16,14 10(16) Service availability listing. A video programming provider shall
11maintain a listing, specific to the level of street address, of the areas where its video
12services are available. A video programming provider shall inform customers who
13inquire about purchasing video service about whether the service is currently
14available to them at their specific location.
AB207-SA1-AA2,17,2 15(17) Privacy protections. A video programming provider may not disclose the
16name, address, telephone number, or other personally identifying information of a
17video service customer to be used in mailing lists or to be used for other commercial
18purposes not reasonably related to the conduct of its business, unless the video
19programming provider has provided to the customer a notice, separately or included
20in any other customer service notice, that clearly and conspicuously describes the
21customer's ability to prohibit the disclosure. A video programming provider shall
22provide an address and telephone number for a customer to use without toll charge
23to prevent disclosure of the customer's name and address in mailing lists or for other
24commercial purposes not reasonably related to the conduct of its business to other
25businesses or affiliates of the video programming provider. A video programming

1provider shall comply with all other privacy laws, including 47 USC 551, that are in
2effect on the effective date of this subsection .... [revisor inserts date].
AB207-SA1-AA2,17,12 3(18) Consumer complaints; mediation. A video programming provider shall
4implement an informal process for handling inquiries from municipalities and
5customers concerning billing issues, service issues, privacy concerns, and other
6consumer complaints. If an issue is not resolved through such informal process, a
7municipality or customer may request nonbinding mediation with the video
8programming provider, with each party bearing its own costs of such mediation.
9Selection of a mediator shall be by mutual agreement and preference shall be given
10to mediation services that do not charge a consumer for their services. If the informal
11process does not produce a satisfactory result to the customer or municipality,
12enforcement may be pursued as provided in sub. (19) (f).
AB207-SA1-AA2,17,13 13(19) Enforcement. (a) The department may do any of the following:
AB207-SA1-AA2,17,1514 1. Exercise its authority under ss. 93.14, 93.15, and 93.16 to investigate
15violations of this section.
AB207-SA1-AA2,17,1916 2. Commence an action in the name of the state to restrain by temporary
17injunction a violation of this section. Before entry of a final judgment, the court may
18make any necessary orders to restore to a person any pecuniary loss suffered by the
19person because of the violation.
AB207-SA1-AA2,17,2220 3. Except as provided in subd. 4., commence an action in the name of the state
21to recover a forfeiture to the state of not less than $100 nor more than $10,000 for
22each violation of this section.
AB207-SA1-AA2,17,2523 4. Commence an action in the name of the state to recover a forfeiture to the
24state of not more than $50,000 for a person's first violation of sub. (17) and of not more
25than $100,000 for each 2nd or subsequent violation of sub. (17) by a person.
AB207-SA1-AA2,18,4
15. After public hearing, issue a special order under s. 93.18 against a video
2programming provider enjoining the provider from employing practices that violate
3this section and requiring the provider to employ practices or take actions that are
4determined by the department to be in compliance with this section.
AB207-SA1-AA2,18,85 (b) A municipality may enforce this section with respect to complaints received
6from residents within the municipality, but the municipality may not impose or
7require compliance with any additional or different customer service or performance
8standards than those specified in this section.
AB207-SA1-AA2,18,119 (c) A municipality may enact an ordinance that provides a schedule of
10forfeitures for any material violation of this section by video programming providers
11that are in addition to the penalties provided under this chapter, except as follows:
AB207-SA1-AA2,18,1312 1. No forfeitures may be assessed for a material violation if it is out of the
13reasonable control of a video programming provider or its affiliate.
AB207-SA1-AA2,18,1514 2. The forfeitures shall apply on a competitively neutral basis to all providers
15of video service within the municipality.
AB207-SA1-AA2,18,1716 3. The forfeitures may not exceed $750 for each day of the material violation,
17and may not exceed $25,000 for each occurrence of a material violation per customer.
AB207-SA1-AA2,18,2118 (d) The department or a municipality shall give a video programming provider
19written notice of any alleged material violations of this section and allow such
20provider at least 30 days from receipt of the notice to remedy the specified material
21violation.
AB207-SA1-AA2,19,222 (e) For purposes of this subsection, "material violation" means any substantial
23failure of a video programming provider to comply with this section and, for purposes
24of assessing forfeitures, a material violation is considered to have occurred for each

1day that a material violation has not been remedied by a video programming
2provider after the expiration of the period specified in par. (d).
AB207-SA1-AA2,19,133 (f) The department and, subject to sub. (18), a municipality or customer may
4bring an action against a video programming provider for violation of this section,
5except that a municipality may bring an action only if a customer residing in the
6municipality is adversely affected by the violation and a customer may bring an
7action only if the customer is adversely affected by the violation. A video
8programming provider may bring an action to review a municipality's assessment of
9forfeitures against the video programming provider. A municipality is immune from
10civil liability for its acts or omissions related to the enforcement or review of any
11terms, conditions, or rights under this section, except that a court may require the
12return of any forfeiture that the municipality incorrectly assessed against a video
13programming provider.
AB207-SA1-AA2,20,2 14(20) Credits. (a) A video programming provider shall credit customers for
15violations of this section in the amounts specified in par. (b). The credits shall be
16applied on the statement issued to the customer for the next monthly billing cycle
17following the violation or following the discovery of the violation. A video
18programming provider is responsible for providing the credits and a customer is not
19required to request the credit. If a customer is no longer taking service from a video
20programming provider, the video programming provider shall refund the credit
21amount to the customer by check within 30 days of the termination of service. A
22municipality may enact an ordinance that requires a video programming provider
23to give credits directly to customers for violating this section, if the ordnance applies
24on a competitively neutral basis to all video programming providers in the

1municipality, and except that the credits may not exceed the credits specified in par.
2(b).
AB207-SA1-AA2,20,43 (b) A video programming provider shall give customers the following credits for
4the following violations of this section:
AB207-SA1-AA2,20,65 1. Failure to provide notice of customer service standards upon initiation of
6service, $25.
AB207-SA1-AA2,20,97 2. Failure to install service within 7 days, waiver of 50 percent of the
8installation fee or the monthly fee for the lowest-cost basic service, whichever is
9greater.
AB207-SA1-AA2,20,1210 3. Failure to install service within 14 days, waiver of 100 percent of the
11installation fee or the monthly fee for the lowest-cost basic service, whichever is
12greater.
AB207-SA1-AA2,20,1513 4. Failure to remedy service interruptions or poor video or audio service quality
14within 48 hours, a pro rata credit of total regular monthly charges equal to the
15number of days of the service interruption.
AB207-SA1-AA2,20,1716 5. Failure to keep an appointment or to notify the customer prior to the close
17of business on the business day prior to the scheduled appointment, $25.
AB207-SA1-AA2,20,1818 6. Violation of privacy protections, $150.
AB207-SA1-AA2,20,1919 7. Failure to comply with scrambling requirements, $50 per month.
AB207-SA1-AA2,20,2120 8. Violation of customer service and billing standards in sub. (8) or (9), $25 per
21violation.
AB207-SA1-AA2,20,2422 9. Violation of the prohibition under sub. (13) (a) 1. against requiring
23subscription to other services as a condition of access to video service, $25 per
24month.".".
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