Cable Franchise Approval

(a) The director is empowered to issue a cable franchise to construct or operate facilities for a cable system upon the terms and conditions provided in this chapter. (b) The director, after a public hearing as provided in this chapter, shall issue a cable franchise to the applicant when the director is convinced that it is in the public interest to do so. In determining whether a cable franchise shall be issued, the director shall take into consideration, among other things, the content of the application or proposal, the public need for the proposed service, the ability of the applicant to offer safe, adequate, and reliable service at a reasonable cost to the subscribers, the suitability of the applicant, the financial responsibility of the applicant, the technical and operational ability of the applicant to perform efficiently the service for which authority is requested, any objections arising from the public hearing, the cable advisory committee established by this chapter, or elsewhere, and any other matters as the director deems appropriate in the circumstances. (c) In determining the area which is to be serviced by the applicant, the director shall take into account the geography and topography of the proposed service area, and the present, planned, and potential expansion in facilities or cable services of the applicant's proposed cable system and existing cable systems. (d) In issuing a cable franchise under this chapter, the director is not restricted to approving or disapproving the application or proposal but may issue it for only partial exercise of the privilege sought or may attach to the exercise of the right granted by the cable franchise terms, limitations, and conditions which the director deems the public interest may require. The cable franchise shall be nonexclusive, shall include a description of the service area in which the cable system is to be constructed, extended, or operated and the approximate date on which the service is to commence and shall authorize the cable operator to provide service for a term of fifteen years.