Upcoming Filing Deadlines

Video/cable operators must submit their copyright statement of account and royalty payment for the second half of calendar year 2007 to the Library of Congress Copyright Office by February 29, 2008. Note that all cable copyright royalty fees must be made via electronic funds transfer

JSI regulatory staff has drafted some cost-saving suggestions for clients. If you would like a copy of this document, please contact the JSI regulatory staff.

If your company uses a shared headend, the copyright rules require that you file a video/cable TV copyright statement of account as one system. Thus, even if the video/cable systems are owned by different entities, two or more cable facilities will be considered as one (individual) system if they share a common headend.

FCC Form 477 - Local Competition and Broadband Reporting
Video/cable operators that provide local exchange or broadband service (cable modem or DSL) over their facilities or that have affiliated local exchange, broadband, or wireless companies must file FCC Form 477 by March 1, 2008.

Annual Filing Requirement

Signal Leakage Monitoring - FCC Form 320
Video/cable operators that use aeronautical frequencies (108-137 and 225-400 MHz ranges) must file a basic signal leakage performance report (FCC Form 320) at least once each calendar year, with no more than 12 months between successive signal leakage tests. (The first test should be made prior to carriage of signals in these bands.) Keep in mind that a report should be filed for any video/cable service, including fiber-to-the-home, for which the RF signal has an electrical exposure outside a building. Video/cable systems using IPTV need to file this report only once.

Initial and Annual Notice Requirements

At the time of service installation and then annually, video/cable operators must provide written information to subscribers regarding:

• Customer Service: Franchise authorities can require video/cable operators to provide notice to subscribers regarding customer service-related matters at the time of service installation and then annually, but must first provide operators with 90-day written notice of the intent to enforce the customer service notice requirement or make the requirement part of the franchise agreement. If operators are subject to this requirement, at a minimum they must notify subscribers of the following: (1) the products and services offered; (2) prices and options for programming; (3) installation and service maintenance policies; (4) instructions on how to use the video/cable service; (5) channel positions; and (6) billing and complaint procedures, including the address and telephone number of the local franchise authority's cable office.
• Equipment Compatibility: All video/cable operators must provide notice at the time of service installation and then annually regarding equipment compatibility matters, including:

(1) Notification that some models of TV receivers and videocassette recorders may not be able to receive all channels offered by the system when connected directly to the cable system. The notice must briefly explain the types of channel compatibility problems that could occur if subscribers connect their equipment directly to the cable system; offer suggestions for resolving those problems; and indicate that channel compatibility problems associated with the reception of programming that is not scrambled or encrypted may be resolved through the use of simple converter devices without descrambling or decryption capabilities.

(2) If service is received through a cable system terminal device, operators must indicate that subscribers may not be able to use special features and functions of their TV receivers and videocassette recorders, including features that allow the subscriber to: view a program on one channel while simultaneously recording a program on another; record two or more consecutive programs that appear on different channels; and use advanced picture generation and display features, such as "picture-in-picture," channel review and other functions that necessitate channel selection by the consumer device.

(3) If remote control capability with cable system terminal devices and other customer premises equipment is offered to subscribers, operators must advise subscribers that remote control units that are compatible with that equipment may be obtained from other sources, such as retail outlets. Operators must also provide a representative list of the models of remote control units currently available from retailers that are compatible with the customer premises equipment they employ. The list must be current as of no more than six months before the date the consumer education program is distributed to subscribers. The information should encourage subscribers to contact the operator to inquire whether a particular remote control unit would be compatible with the subscriber's customer premises equipment.

(4) Video/cable systems that use scrambling, encryption, or similar technologies in conjunction with cable system terminal devices must notify subscribers at the time of service installation and then annually, that the operator will supply special equipment that will enable the simultaneous reception of multiple signals.

• Availability of Signals: If over-the-air broadcast station signals cannot be viewed over the video/cable system without a converter box, the operator is required, at the time of service installation and then annually, to identify to subscribers the signals that are unavailable without the converter box and describe how to obtain and install the box.
• One Time Notice Regarding Signal Quality Complaint Procedures: Video/cable operators must advise subscribers of the procedures to resolve complaints about the quality of the TV signal delivered, including the address of the responsible officer at the franchising authority, although there is no requirement as to when this notice must be made.