§ 76.910   Franchising authority certification.

   (a) A franchising authority must be certified by the Commission in order to
   regulate the basic service tier and associated equipment of a cable system
   within its jurisdiction.

   (b) To be certified, the franchising authority must file with the Commission
   a written certification that:

   (1) The franchising authority will adopt and administer regulations with
   respect to the rates for the basic service tier that are consistent with the
   regulations prescribed by the Commission for regulation of the basic service
   tier;

   (2) The franchising authority has the legal authority to adopt, and the
   personnel to administer, such regulations;

   (3)  Procedural  laws  and  regulations  applicable to rate regulation
   proceedings  by  such  authority  provide a reasonable opportunity for
   consideration of the views of interested parties; and

   (4) The cable system in question is not subject to effective competition.
   The franchising authority must submit specific evidence demonstrating its
   rebuttal of the presumption in § 76.906 that the cable operator is subject to
   effective competition pursuant to section 76.905(b)(2). Unless a franchising
   authority has actual knowledge to the contrary, the franchising authority
   may  rely on the presumption in § 76.906 that the cable operator is not
   subject to effective competition pursuant to section 76.905(b)(1), (3), or
   (4). The franchising authority bears the burden of submitting evidence
   rebutting the presumption that competing provider effective competition, as
   defined in § 76.905(b)(2), exists in the franchise area. If the evidence
   establishing the lack of effective competition is not otherwise available,
   franchising authorities may request from a multichannel video programming
   distributor  information  regarding the multichannel video programming
   distributor's  reach  and  number of subscribers. A multichannel video
   programming distributor must respond to such request within 15 days. Such
   responses may be limited to numerical totals.

   (c) The written certification described in paragraph (b) of this section
   shall be made by filing the FCC form designated for that purpose. The form
   must be filed by

   (1) Registered mail, return receipt requested, or

   (2) Hand-delivery to the Commission and a date-stamped copy obtained. The
   date on the return receipt or on the date-stamped copy is the date filed.

   (d) A copy of the certification form described in paragraph (c) of this
   section must be served on the cable operator before or on the same day it is
   filed with the Commission.

   (e) Unless the Commission notifies the franchising authority otherwise, the
   certification will become effective 30 days after the date filed, provided,
   however, That the franchising authority may not regulate the rates of a
   cable system unless it:

   (1) Adopts regulations:

   (i) Consistent with the Commission's regulations governing the basic tier;
   and

   (ii) Providing a reasonable opportunity for consideration of the views of
   interested parties, within 120 days of the effective date of certification;
   and

   (2) Notifies the cable operator that the authority has been certified and
   has adopted the regulations required by paragraph (e)(1) of this section.

   (f) If the Commission denies a franchising authority's certification, the
   Commission  will  notify the franchising authority of any revisions or
   modifications necessary to obtain approval.

   [ 58 FR 29753 , May 21, 1993, as amended at  80 FR 38013 , July 2, 2015]

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