(a) The proposed franchise agreement shall contain the following provisions:

(1) The applicant shall construct, operate, and maintain a state-of-the-art cable system.

(2) The capacity of the cable system shall be at least 750 MHz, with both downstream and upstream capacity.

(3) The cable system shall be capable of providing Internet access services.

(4) The applicant shall pay a franchise fee of at least 5% of gross revenues.

(5) The applicant shall contribute at least 1% of gross revenues to the operations of the Public Access Corporation;

(6) The applicant shall provide at least 8 PEG channels on the analog portion of the cable system and at least 10 PEG channels on the digital portion of the cable system.

(7) The applicant shall provide at least 1% of gross revenues each year as continuing capital support for the public, educational, and government access channels.

(8) The applicant shall enter into an agreement regarding contracting with, and procuring from, local, small, and disadvantaged business enterprises.

(9) The applicant shall enter into a First Source agreement.

(10) The applicant shall provide significant financial resources or capacity or equipment to an institutional network.

(11) The construction schedule required by § 34-1257.03.

(b) The term of a franchise agreement shall not exceed 15 years in the case of an initial franchise and shall not exceed 10 years in the case of a renewed franchise.

(c) The proposed franchise agreement shall include procedures for amending the franchise agreement, including the District’s right to amend the franchise agreement in order to take advantage of advancements in technology.

(d) The proposed franchise agreement shall also cover matters regarding system construction, operation, and maintenance; indemnity, insurance and bonding requirements; reports and records; default and remedies; notices; and all terms and conditions related to the provision of cable service the Office deems necessary or appropriate.

(Aug. 21, 1982, D.C. Law 4-142, § 405; as added Oct. 9, 2002, D.C. Law 14-193, § 2(b), 49 DCR 7334.)

This section is referenced in § 34-1251.04, § 34-1254.06, § 34-1254.07, and § 34-1254.08.