§  76.1700   Records to be maintained by cable system operators.

   (a) Public inspection file. The following records must be placed in the
   online public file hosted by the Commission, except as indicated in
   paragraph (d) of this section.

   (1) Political file. All requests for cablecast time made by or on
   behalf of a candidate for public office and all other information
   required to be maintained pursuant to § 76.1701;

   (2) Equal employment opportunity. All EEO materials described in
   § 76.1702 except for any EEO program annual reports, which the
   Commission will link to the electronic version of all systems' public
   inspection files;

   (3) Commercial records on children's programs. Sufficient records to
   verify compliance with § 76.225 in accordance with § 76.1703;

   (4) [Reserved]

   (5) Leased access. If a cable operator adopts and enforces written
   policy regarding indecent leased access programming, such a policy
   shall be published in accordance with § 76.1707;

   (6) Availability of signals. The operator of every cable television
   system shall maintain a list of all broadcast television stations
   carried by its system in fulfillment of the must-carry requirements in
   accordance with § 76.1709;

   (7) [Reserved]

   (8) Sponsorship identification. Whenever sponsorship announcements are
   omitted pursuant to § 76.1615(f) of Subpart T, the cable television
   system operator shall maintain a list in accordance with § 76.1715;

   (9) Compatibility with consumer electronics equipment. Cable system
   operators generally may not scramble or otherwise encrypt signals
   carried on the basic service tier. Copies of requests for waivers of
   this prohibition must be available in the public inspection file in
   accordance with § 76.630.

   (b) Information available to the franchisor. These records must be made
   available by cable system operators to local franchising authorities on
   reasonable notice and during regular business hours, except as
   indicated in paragraph (d) of this section.

   (1) Proof-of-performance test data. The proof of performance tests
   shall be made available upon request in accordance with § 76.1704;

   (2) Complaint resolution. Cable system operators shall establish a
   process for resolving complaints from subscribers about the quality of
   the television signal delivered. Aggregate data based upon these
   complaints shall be made available for inspection in accordance with
   § 76.1713.

   (c) Information available to the Commission. These records must be made
   available by cable system operators to the Commission on reasonable
   notice and during regular business hours, except as indicated in
   paragraph (d) of this section.

   (1) Proof-of-performance test data. The proof of performance tests
   shall be made available upon request in accordance with § 76.1704;

   (2) Signal leakage logs and repair records. Cable operators shall
   maintain a log showing the date and location of each leakage source in
   accordance with § 76.1706;

   (3) Emergency alert system and activations. Every cable system shall
   keep a record of each test and activation of the Emergency Alert System
   (EAS). The test is performed pursuant to the procedures and
   requirements of part 11 of this chapter and the EAS Operating Handbook.
   The records are kept in accordance with part 11 of this chapter and
   § 76.1711;

   (4) Complaint resolution. Cable system operators shall establish a
   process for resolving complaints from subscribers about the quality of
   the television signal delivered. Aggregate data based upon these
   complaints shall be made available for inspection in accordance with
   § 76.1713;

   (5) Subscriber records and public inspection file. The operator of a
   cable television system shall make the system, its public inspection
   file, and its records of subscribers available for inspection upon
   request in accordance with § 76.1716.

   (d) Exceptions to the public inspection file requirements. The operator
   of every cable television system having fewer than 1,000 subscribers is
   exempt from the online public file and from the public record
   requirements contained in § 76.1701 (political file); § 76.1702 (EEO
   records available for public inspection); § 76.1703 (commercial records
   for children's programming); § 76.1704 (proof-of-performance test data);
   § 76.1706 (signal leakage logs and repair records); § 76.1714
   (Familiarity with FCC rules); and § 76.1715 (sponsorship
   identification).

   (e) Location of records. For cable television systems exempt from the
   online public file requirement pursuant to paragraph (d) of this
   section, public file material that continues to be retained at the
   system shall be retained in a public inspection file maintained at the
   office in the community served by the system that the system operator
   maintains for the ordinary collection of subscriber charges, resolution
   of subscriber complaints, and other business and, if the system
   operator does not maintain such an office in the community, at any
   accessible place in the communities served by the system (such as a
   public registry for documents or an attorney's office). Public file
   locations will be open at least during normal business hours and will
   be conveniently located. The public inspection file shall be available
   for public inspection at any time during regular business hours for the
   facility where they are kept. All or part of the public inspection file
   may be maintained in a computer database, as long as a computer
   terminal capable of accessing the database is made available, at the
   location of the file, to members of the public who wish to review the
   file.

   (f) Links and contact and geographic information. A system must provide
   a link to the public inspection file hosted on the Commission's website
   from the home page of its own website, if the system has a website, and
   provide contact information on its website for a system representative
   who can assist any person with disabilities with issues related to the
   content of the public files. A system also is required to include in
   the online public file the address of the system's local public file,
   if the system is exempt from the online public file requirement
   pursuant to paragraph (d) of this section but opts to use it in part
   while retaining certain documents in the local file that are not
   available in the Commission's online file, and the name, phone number,
   and email address of the system's designated contact for questions
   about the public file. In addition, a system must provide on the online
   public file a list of the five digit ZIP codes served by the system. To
   the extent this section refers to the local public inspection file, it
   refers to the public file of a physical system, which is either
   maintained at the location described in paragraph (e) of this section
   or on the Commission's website, depending upon where the documents are
   required to be maintained under the Commission's rules.

   (g) Reproduction of records. Copies of any material in the public
   inspection file that is not also available in the Commission's online
   file shall be available for machine reproduction upon request made in
   person, provided the requesting party shall pay the reasonable cost of
   reproduction. Requests for machine copies shall be fulfilled at a
   location specified by the system operator, within a reasonable period
   of time, which in no event shall be longer than seven days. The system
   operator is not required to honor requests made by mail but may do so
   if it chooses.

   [ 81 FR 10125 , Feb. 29, 2016, as amended at  82 FR 11412 , Feb. 23, 2017;
    83 FR 13683 , Mar. 30, 2018;  84 FR 18409 , May 1, 2019;  85 FR 21078 , Apr.
   16, 2020;  85 FR 73429 , Nov. 18, 2020]