47 U.S.C. § 552 : US Code - Section 552: Consumer protection and customer service

Search 47 U.S.C. § 552 : US Code - Section 552: Consumer protection and customer service

(a) Franchising authority enforcement
A franchising authority may establish and enforce -
(1) customer service requirements of the cable operator; and
(2) construction schedules and other construction-related
requirements, including construction-related performance
requirements, of the cable operator.
(b) Commission standards
The Commission shall, within 180 days of October 5, 1992,
establish standards by which cable operators may fulfill their
customer service requirements. Such standards shall include, at a
minimum, requirements governing -
(1) cable system office hours and telephone availability;
(2) installations, outages, and service calls; and
(3) communications between the cable operator and the
subscriber (including standards governing bills and refunds).
(c) Subscriber notice
A cable operator may provide notice of service and rate changes
to subscribers using any reasonable written means at its sole
discretion. Notwithstanding section 543(b)(6) of this title or any
other provision of this chapter, a cable operator shall not be
required to provide prior notice of any rate change that is the
result of a regulatory fee, franchise fee, or any other fee, tax,
assessment, or charge of any kind imposed by any Federal agency,
State, or franchising authority on the transaction between the
operator and the subscriber.
(d) Consumer protection laws and customer service agreements
(1) Consumer protection laws
Nothing in this subchapter shall be construed to prohibit any
State or any franchising authority from enacting or enforcing any
consumer protection law, to the extent not specifically preempted
by this subchapter.
(2) Customer service requirement agreements
Nothing in this section shall be construed to preclude a
franchising authority and a cable operator from agreeing to
customer service requirements that exceed the standards
established by the Commission under subsection (b) of this
section. Nothing in this subchapter shall be construed to prevent
the establishment or enforcement of any municipal law or
regulation, or any State law, concerning customer service that
imposes customer service requirements that exceed the standards
set by the Commission under this section, or that addresses
matters not addressed by the standards set by the Commission
under this section.