(a) No community antenna television company shall refuse to construct that plant necessary to serve any portion of its franchise area on the sole basis that such portion can only be served by underground facilities.

(b) No community antenna television company shall extend its service to any new franchise area unless such company has provided full service to the primary franchise area of the original franchise area specified in its certificate of public convenience and necessity. For purposes of this subsection, “primary franchise area” means any contiguous areas within the franchised territory, the outer limits of which shall be as near as possible to eighty residential dwelling units per mile of street or highway, and which has been so designated by the franchise holder.

(c) The Public Utilities Regulatory Authority shall permit a community antenna television company to extend service to any portion of its franchise area with a low population density and to charge prospective subscribers in that portion of its area differential rates to recover the construction and operating costs over a period not to exceed five years. Nothing in this subsection shall be construed as affecting any application for a certificate of public convenience and necessity filed in accordance with section 16-331 and pending before the authority on April 6, 1981.

(d) A community antenna television company shall install underground service lines at the same time as, and in the same place that, electric and telephone utilities install underground facilities within the franchise territory. The authority shall establish regulations in accordance with chapter 54 which may allow for the waiver of this requirement in low density areas and for a company to charge the owner of the property in which the service lines are installed for the cost of the installation.

(P.A. 75-301, S. 2, 3; P.A. 79-533, S. 1; P.A. 81-37, S. 1, 2; 81-393, S. 2; P.A. 11-80, S. 1.)

History: P.A. 79-533 added Subsec. (b) re extension of service to new franchise area; P.A. 81-37 added Subsec. (c) requiring department to permit companies to charge prospective subscribers in low density areas differential rates; P.A. 81-393 added Subsec. (d) requiring installation of underground service lines simultaneously with electric and telephone facilities and requiring department regulations re waiver of requirement in low density areas and company's power to charge property owner for such installation; pursuant to P.A. 11-80, “Department of Public Utility Control” and “department” were changed editorially by the Revisors to “Public Utilities Regulatory Authority” and “authority”, respectively, effective July 1, 2011.