477A.2  Certificate of franchise authority requirement.
  1.  After July 1, 2007, a person providing cable service or video service in this state shall not provide such service without a franchise. The franchise may be issued by either the board pursuant to section 477A.3 or by a municipality pursuant to section 364.2.
  2.  a.  A person providing cable service or video service under a franchise agreement with a municipality prior to July 1, 2007, is not subject to this section with respect to such municipality until the franchise agreement expires or is converted pursuant to subsection 6.
  b.  Upon expiration of a franchise, a person may choose to renegotiate a franchise agreement with a municipality or may choose to obtain a certificate of franchise authority under this chapter. An application for a certificate of franchise authority pursuant to this subsection may be filed within sixty days prior to the expiration of a municipal franchise agreement. A certificate of franchise authority obtained pursuant to an application filed prior to the expiration of a municipal franchise agreement shall take effect upon the expiration date of the municipal franchise agreement.
  c.  A municipal utility that provides cable service or video service in this state is not subject to this section and shall not be required to obtain a certificate of franchise authority pursuant to this chapter in the municipality in which the provision of cable service or video service by that municipality was originally approved.
  3.  For purposes of this section, a person providing cable service or video service is deemed to have executed a franchise agreement to provide cable service or video service with a specific municipality if an affiliate or predecessor of the person providing cable service or video service has or had executed an unexpired franchise agreement with that municipality as of May 29, 2007.
  4.  A competitive cable service provider or competitive video service provider shall provide at least thirty days’ notice to each municipality with authority to grant a franchise in the service area, and to the incumbent cable provider, in which the competitive cable service provider or competitive video service provider is granted authority to provide service under a certificate of franchise authority that the competitive cable service provider or competitive video service provider will offer cable services or video services within the jurisdiction of the municipality, and shall not provide service without having provided such thirty days’ notice. A copy of the notice shall be filed with the board on the date that the notice is provided. All notices required by this subsection shall be sent by certified mail.
  5.  As used in this section, “affiliate” includes but is not limited to a person that directly, or indirectly through one or more intermediaries, controls, is controlled by, or is under common control with a person receiving, obtaining, or operating under a franchise agreement with a municipality to provide cable service or video service through merger, sale, assignment, restructuring, or any other type of transaction.
  6.  If a competitive cable service provider or a competitive video service provider applies for a certificate of franchise authority to operate within a municipality, the incumbent cable provider may, at its discretion, apply for a certificate of franchise authority for that same municipality. Such application shall be automatically granted on the same day as a competitive cable service provider or competitive video service provider files a thirty days’ notice of offering service as required pursuant to subsection 4. The franchise agreement with the municipality is terminated on the date the board issues the certificate of franchise authority to an incumbent cable provider. The terms and conditions of the certificate of franchise authority shall be the same as the terms and conditions of a competitive cable service provider or a competitive video service provider pursuant to this chapter and shall replace the terms and conditions of the franchise agreement previously granted by the municipality.
2007 Acts, ch 201, §3, 15; 2008 Acts, ch 1062, §2; 2010 Acts, ch 1126, §1, 3
Referred to in §477A.3, 477A.7, 714H.4