47 U.S.C. § 543 — Regulation of rates

Page 287 TITLE 47—TELECOMMUNICATIONS § 543 erator, or regulate the use of funds derived from such fees, except as provided in this section. (June 19, 1934, ch. 652, title VI, § 622, as added Pub. L. 98–549, § 2, Oct. 30, 1984, 98 Stat. 2787; amended Pub. L. 102–385, § 14, Oct. 5, 1992, 106 Stat. 1489; Pub. L. 104–104, title III, § 303(b), Feb. 8, 1996, 110 Stat. 125.) Editorial Notes REFERENCES IN TEXT This chapter, referred to in subsec. (h)(1), was in the original ‘‘this Act’’, meaning act June 19, 1934, ch. 652, 48 Stat. 1064, known as the Communications Act of 1934, which is classified principally to this chapter. For com- plete classification of this Act to the Code, see section 609 of this title and Tables. AMENDMENTS 1996—Subsec. (b). Pub. L. 104–104 inserted ‘‘to provide cable services’’ before period at end of first sentence. 1992—Subsec. (c). Pub. L. 102–385 amended subsec. (c) generally. Prior to amendment, subsec. (c) read as fol- lows: ‘‘A cable operator may pass through to sub- scribers the amount of any increase in a franchise fee, unless the franchising authority demonstrates that the rate structure specified in the franchise reflects all costs of franchise fees and so notifies the cable operator in writing.’’ Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries EFFECTIVE DATE OF 1992 AMENDMENT Amendment by Pub. L. 102–385 effective 60 days after Oct. 5, 1992, see section 28 of Pub. L. 102–385, set out as a note under section 325 of this title. EFFECTIVE DATE Section effective 60 days after Oct. 30, 1984, except where otherwise expressly provided, see section 9(a) of Pub. L. 98–549, set out as a note under section 521 of this title. § 543. Regulation of rates (a) Competition preference; local and Federal regulation (1) In general No Federal agency or State may regulate the rates for the provision of cable service ex- cept to the extent provided under this section and section 532 of this title. Any franchising authority may regulate the rates for the pro- vision of cable service, or any other commu- nications service provided over a cable system to cable subscribers, but only to the extent provided under this section. No Federal agen- cy, State, or franchising authority may regu- late the rates for cable service of a cable sys- tem that is owned or operated by a local gov- ernment or franchising authority within whose jurisdiction that cable system is lo- cated and that is the only cable system lo- cated within such jurisdiction. (2) Preference for competition If the Commission finds that a cable system is subject to effective competition, the rates for the provision of cable service by such sys- tem shall not be subject to regulation by the Commission or by a State or franchising au- thority under this section. If the Commission finds that a cable system is not subject to ef- fective competition— (A) the rates for the provision of basic cable service shall be subject to regulation by a franchising authority, or by the Com- mission if the Commission exercises juris- diction pursuant to paragraph (6), in accord- ance with the regulations prescribed by the Commission under subsection (b); and (B) the rates for cable programming serv- ices shall be subject to regulation by the Commission under subsection (c). (3) Qualification of franchising authority A franchising authority that seeks to exer- cise the regulatory jurisdiction permitted under paragraph (2)(A) shall file with the Com- mission a written certification that— (A) the franchising authority will adopt and administer regulations with respect to the rates subject to regulation under this section that are consistent with the regula- tions prescribed by the Commission under subsection (b); (B) the franchising authority has the legal authority to adopt, and the personnel to ad- minister, such regulations; and (C) procedural laws and regulations appli- cable to rate regulation proceedings by such authority provide a reasonable opportunity for consideration of the views of interested parties. (4) Approval by Commission A certification filed by a franchising author- ity under paragraph (3) shall be effective 30 days after the date on which it is filed unless the Commission finds, after notice to the au- thority and a reasonable opportunity for the authority to comment, that— (A) the franchising authority has adopted or is administering regulations with respect to the rates subject to regulation under this section that are not consistent with the reg- ulations prescribed by the Commission under subsection (b); (B) the franchising authority does not have the legal authority to adopt, or the per- sonnel to administer, such regulations; or (C) procedural laws and regulations appli- cable to rate regulation proceedings by such authority do not provide a reasonable oppor- tunity for consideration of the views of in- terested parties. If the Commission disapproves a franchising authority’s certification, the Commission shall notify the franchising authority of any revisions or modifications necessary to obtain approval. (5) Revocation of jurisdiction Upon petition by a cable operator or other interested party, the Commission shall review the regulation of cable system rates by a fran- chising authority under this subsection. A copy of the petition shall be provided to the franchising authority by the person filing the petition. If the Commission finds that the franchising authority has acted inconsistently with the requirements of this subsection, the Commission shall grant appropriate relief. If the Commission, after the franchising author- ity has had a reasonable opportunity to com- ment, determines that the State and local Page 288 TITLE 47—TELECOMMUNICATIONS § 543 laws and regulations are not in conformance with the regulations prescribed by the Com- mission under subsection (b), the Commission shall revoke the jurisdiction of such author- ity. (6) Exercise of jurisdiction by Commission If the Commission disapproves a franchising authority’s certification under paragraph (4), or revokes such authority’s jurisdiction under paragraph (5), the Commission shall exercise the franchising authority’s regulatory juris- diction under paragraph (2)(A) until the fran- chising authority has qualified to exercise that jurisdiction by filing a new certification that meets the requirements of paragraph (3). Such new certification shall be effective upon approval by the Commission. The Commission shall act to approve or disapprove any such new certification within 90 days after the date it is filed. (7) Aggregation of equipment costs (A) In general The Commission shall allow cable opera- tors, pursuant to any rules promulgated under subsection (b)(3), to aggregate, on a franchise, system, regional, or company level, their equipment costs into broad cat- egories, such as converter boxes, regardless of the varying levels of functionality of the equipment within each such broad category. Such aggregation shall not be permitted with respect to equipment used by sub- scribers who receive only a rate regulated basic service tier. (B) Revision to Commission rules; forms Within 120 days of February 8, 1996, the Commission shall issue revisions to the ap- propriate rules and forms necessary to im- plement subparagraph (A). (b) Establishment of basic service tier rate regu- lations (1) Commission obligation to subscribers The Commission shall, by regulation, ensure that the rates for the basic service tier are reasonable. Such regulations shall be designed to achieve the goal of protecting subscribers of any cable system that is not subject to effec- tive competition from rates for the basic serv- ice tier that exceed the rates that would be charged for the basic service tier if such cable system were subject to effective competition. (2) Commission regulations Within 180 days after October 5, 1992, the Commission shall prescribe, and periodically thereafter revise, regulations to carry out its obligations under paragraph (1). In prescribing such regulations, the Commission— (A) shall seek to reduce the administrative burdens on subscribers, cable operators, franchising authorities, and the Commis- sion; (B) may adopt formulas or other mecha- nisms and procedures in complying with the requirements of subparagraph (A); and (C) shall take into account the following factors: (i) the rates for cable systems, if any, that are subject to effective competition; (ii) the direct costs (if any) of obtaining, transmitting, and otherwise providing sig- nals carried on the basic service tier, in- cluding signals and services carried on the basic service tier pursuant to paragraph (7)(B), and changes in such costs; (iii) only such portion of the joint and common costs (if any) of obtaining, trans- mitting, and otherwise providing such sig- nals as is determined, in accordance with regulations prescribed by the Commission, to be reasonably and properly allocable to the basic service tier, and changes in such costs; (iv) the revenues (if any) received by a cable operator from advertising from pro- gramming that is carried as part of the basic service tier or from other consider- ation obtained in connection with the basic service tier; (v) the reasonably and properly allocable portion of any amount assessed as a fran- chise fee, tax, or charge of any kind im- posed by any State or local authority on the transactions between cable operators and cable subscribers or any other fee, tax, or assessment of general applicability im- posed by a governmental entity applied against cable operators or cable sub- scribers; (vi) any amount required, in accordance with paragraph (4), to satisfy franchise re- quirements to support public, educational, or governmental channels or the use of such channels or any other services re- quired under the franchise; and (vii) a reasonable profit, as defined by the Commission consistent with the Com- mission’s obligations to subscribers under paragraph (1). (3) Equipment The regulations prescribed by the Commis- sion under this subsection shall include stand- ards to establish, on the basis of actual cost, the price or rate for— (A) installation and lease of the equipment used by subscribers to receive the basic serv- ice tier, including a converter box and a re- mote control unit and, if requested by the subscriber, such addressable converter box or other equipment as is required to access programming described in paragraph (8); and (B) installation and monthly use of con- nections for additional television receivers. (4) Costs of franchise requirements The regulations prescribed by the Commis- sion under this subsection shall include stand- ards to identify costs attributable to satis- fying franchise requirements to support pub- lic, educational, and governmental channels or the use of such channels or any other services required under the franchise. (5) Implementation and enforcement The regulations prescribed by the Commis- sion under this subsection shall include addi- tional standards, guidelines, and procedures concerning the implementation and enforce- ment of such regulations, which shall in- clude— Page 289 TITLE 47—TELECOMMUNICATIONS § 543 (A) procedures by which cable operators may implement and franchising authorities may enforce the regulations prescribed by the Commission under this subsection; (B) procedures for the expeditious resolu- tion of disputes between cable operators and franchising authorities concerning the ad- ministration of such regulations; (C) standards and procedures to prevent unreasonable charges for changes in the sub- scriber’s selection of services or equipment subject to regulation under this section, which standards shall require that charges for changing the service tier selected shall be based on the cost of such change and shall not exceed nominal amounts when the sys- tem’s configuration permits changes in serv- ice tier selection to be effected solely by coded entry on a computer terminal or by other similarly simple method; and (D) standards and procedures to assure that subscribers receive notice of the avail- ability of the basic service tier required under this section. (6) Notice The procedures prescribed by the Commis- sion pursuant to paragraph (5)(A) shall require a cable operator to provide 30 days’ advance notice to a franchising authority of any in- crease proposed in the price to be charged for the basic service tier. (7) Components of basic tier subject to rate regulation (A) Minimum contents Each cable operator of a cable system shall provide its subscribers a separately available basic service tier to which sub- scription is required for access to any other tier of service. Such basic service tier shall, at a minimum, consist of the following: (i) All signals carried in fulfillment of the requirements of sections 534 and 535 of this title. (ii) Any public, educational, and govern- mental access programming required by the franchise of the cable system to be provided to subscribers. (iii) Any signal of any television broad- cast station that is provided by the cable operator to any subscriber, except a signal which is secondarily transmitted by a sat- ellite carrier beyond the local service area of such station. (B) Permitted additions to basic tier A cable operator may add additional video programming signals or services to the basic service tier. Any such additional signals or services provided on the basic service tier shall be provided to subscribers at rates de- termined under the regulations prescribed by the Commission under this subsection. (8) Buy-through of other tiers prohibited (A) Prohibition A cable operator may not require the sub- scription to any tier other than the basic service tier required by paragraph (7) as a condition of access to video programming of- fered on a per channel or per program basis. A cable operator may not discriminate be- tween subscribers to the basic service tier and other subscribers with regard to the rates charged for video programming offered on a per channel or per program basis. (B) Exception; limitation The prohibition in subparagraph (A) shall not apply to a cable system that, by reason of the lack of addressable converter boxes or other technological limitations, does not permit the operator to offer programming on a per channel or per program basis in the same manner required by subparagraph (A). This subparagraph shall not be available to any cable operator after— (i) the technology utilized by the cable system is modified or improved in a way that eliminates such technological limita- tion; or (ii) 10 years after October 5, 1992, subject to subparagraph (C). (C) Waiver If, in any proceeding initiated at the re- quest of any cable operator, the Commission determines that compliance with the re- quirements of subparagraph (A) would re- quire the cable operator to increase its rates, the Commission may, to the extent consistent with the public interest, grant such cable operator a waiver from such re- quirements for such specified period as the Commission determines reasonable and ap- propriate. (c) Regulation of unreasonable rates (1) Commission regulations Within 180 days after October 5, 1992, the Commission shall, by regulation, establish the following: (A) criteria prescribed in accordance with paragraph (2) for identifying, in individual cases, rates for cable programming services that are unreasonable; (B) fair and expeditious procedures for the receipt, consideration, and resolution of complaints from any franchising authority (in accordance with paragraph (3)) alleging that a rate for cable programming services charged by a cable operator violates the cri- teria prescribed under subparagraph (A), which procedures shall include the minimum showing that shall be required for a com- plaint to obtain Commission consideration and resolution of whether the rate in ques- tion is unreasonable; and (C) the procedures to be used to reduce rates for cable programming services that are determined by the Commission to be un- reasonable and to refund such portion of the rates or charges that were paid by sub- scribers after the filing of the first com- plaint filed with the franchising authority under paragraph (3) and that are determined to be unreasonable. (2) Factors to be considered In establishing the criteria for determining in individual cases whether rates for cable pro- gramming services are unreasonable under paragraph (1)(A), the Commission shall con- sider, among other factors— Page 290 TITLE 47—TELECOMMUNICATIONS § 543 (A) the rates for similarly situated cable systems offering comparable cable program- ming services, taking into account similar- ities in facilities, regulatory and govern- mental costs, the number of subscribers, and other relevant factors; (B) the rates for cable systems, if any, that are subject to effective competition; (C) the history of the rates for cable pro- gramming services of the system, including the relationship of such rates to changes in general consumer prices; (D) the rates, as a whole, for all the cable programming, cable equipment, and cable services provided by the system, other than programming provided on a per channel or per program basis; (E) capital and operating costs of the cable system, including the quality and costs of the customer service provided by the cable system; and (F) the revenues (if any) received by a cable operator from advertising from pro- gramming that is carried as part of the serv- ice for which a rate is being established, and changes in such revenues, or from other con- sideration obtained in connection with the cable programming services concerned. (3) Review of rate changes The Commission shall review any complaint submitted by a franchising authority after February 8, 1996, concerning an increase in rates for cable programming services and issue a final order within 90 days after it receives such a complaint, unless the parties agree to extend the period for such review. A fran- chising authority may not file a complaint under this paragraph unless, within 90 days after such increase becomes effective it re- ceives subscriber complaints. (4) Sunset of upper tier rate regulation This subsection shall not apply to cable pro- gramming services provided after March 31, 1999. (d) Uniform rate structure required A cable operator shall have a rate structure, for the provision of cable service, that is uni- form throughout the geographic area in which cable service is provided over its cable system. This subsection does not apply to (1) a cable op- erator with respect to the provision of cable service over its cable system in any geographic area in which the video programming services offered by the operator in that area are subject to effective competition, or (2) any video pro- gramming offered on a per channel or per pro- gram basis. Bulk discounts to multiple dwelling units shall not be subject to this subsection, ex- cept that a cable operator of a cable system that is not subject to effective competition may not charge predatory prices to a multiple dwelling unit. Upon a prima facie showing by a complain- ant that there are reasonable grounds to believe that the discounted price is predatory, the cable system shall have the burden of showing that its discounted price is not predatory. (e) Discrimination; services for the hearing im- paired Nothing in this subchapter shall be construed as prohibiting any Federal agency, State, or a franchising authority from— (1) prohibiting discrimination among sub- scribers and potential subscribers to cable service, except that no Federal agency, State, or franchising authority may prohibit a cable operator from offering reasonable discounts to senior citizens or other economically dis- advantaged group discounts; or (2) requiring and regulating the installation or rental of equipment which facilitates the reception of cable service by hearing impaired individuals. (f) Negative option billing prohibited A cable operator shall not charge a subscriber for any service or equipment that the subscriber has not affirmatively requested by name. For purposes of this subsection, a subscriber’s fail- ure to refuse a cable operator’s proposal to pro- vide such service or equipment shall not be deemed to be an affirmative request for such service or equipment. (g) Collection of information The Commission shall, by regulation, require cable operators to file with the Commission or a franchising authority, as appropriate, within one year after October 5, 1992, and annually thereafter, such financial information as may be needed for purposes of administering and enforc- ing this section. (h) Prevention of evasions Within 180 days after October 5, 1992, the Com- mission shall, by regulation, establish stand- ards, guidelines, and procedures to prevent eva- sions, including evasions that result from retiering, of the requirements of this section and shall, thereafter, periodically review and re- vise such standards, guidelines, and procedures. (i) Small system burdens In developing and prescribing regulations pur- suant to this section, the Commission shall de- sign such regulations to reduce the administra- tive burdens and cost of compliance for cable systems that have 1,000 or fewer subscribers. (j) Rate regulation agreements During the term of an agreement made before July 1, 1990, by a franchising authority and a cable operator providing for the regulation of basic cable service rates, where there was not ef- fective competition under Commission rules in effect on that date, nothing in this section (or the regulations thereunder) shall abridge the ability of such franchising authority to regulate rates in accordance with such an agreement. (k) Reports on average prices (1) In general The Commission shall publish with its re- port under section 163 of this title statistical reports on the average rates for basic cable service and other cable programming, and for converter boxes, remote control units, and other equipment of cable systems that the Commission has found are subject to effective Page 291 TITLE 47—TELECOMMUNICATIONS § 543 competition under subsection (a)(2) compared with cable systems that the Commission has found are not subject to such effective com- petition. (2) Inclusion in report (A) In general The Commission shall include in its report under paragraph (1) the aggregate average total amount paid by cable systems in com- pensation under section 325 of this title. (B) Form The Commission shall publish information under this paragraph in a manner substan- tially similar to the way other comparable information is published in such report. (l) Definitions As used in this section— (1) The term ‘‘effective competition’’ means that— (A) fewer than 30 percent of the households in the franchise area subscribe to the cable service of a cable system; (B) the franchise area is— (i) served by at least two unaffiliated multichannel video programming distribu- tors each of which offers comparable video programming to at least 50 percent of the households in the franchise area; and (ii) the number of households subscribing to programming services offered by multi- channel video programming distributors other than the largest multichannel video programming distributor exceeds 15 per- cent of the households in the franchise area; (C) a multichannel video programming dis- tributor operated by the franchising author- ity for that franchise area offers video pro- gramming to at least 50 percent of the households in that franchise area; or (D) a local exchange carrier or its affiliate (or any multichannel video programming distributor using the facilities of such car- rier or its affiliate) offers video program- ming services directly to subscribers by any means (other than direct-to-home satellite services) in the franchise area of an unaffili- ated cable operator which is providing cable service in that franchise area, but only if the video programming services so offered in that area are comparable to the video pro- gramming services provided by the unaffili- ated cable operator in that area. (2) The term ‘‘cable programming service’’ means any video programming provided over a cable system, regardless of service tier, includ- ing installation or rental of equipment used for the receipt of such video programming, other than (A) video programming carried on the basic service tier, and (B) video program- ming offered on a per channel or per program basis. (m) Special rules for small companies (1) In general Subsections (a), (b), and (c) do not apply to a small cable operator with respect to— (A) cable programming services, or (B) a basic service tier that was the only service tier subject to regulation as of De- cember 31, 1994, in any franchise area in which that operator services 50,000 or fewer subscribers. (2) ‘‘Small cable operator’’ defined For purposes of this subsection, the term ‘‘small cable operator’’ means a cable operator that, directly or through an affiliate, serves in the aggregate fewer than 1 percent of all sub- scribers in the United States and is not affili- ated with any entity or entities whose gross annual revenues in the aggregate exceed $250,000,000. (n) Treatment of prior year losses Notwithstanding any other provision of this section or of section 532 of this title, losses asso- ciated with a cable system (including losses as- sociated with the grant or award of a franchise) that were incurred prior to September 4, 1992, with respect to a cable system that is owned and operated by the original franchisee of such sys- tem shall not be disallowed, in whole or in part, in the determination of whether the rates for any tier of service or any type of equipment that is subject to regulation under this section are lawful. (o) Streamlined petition process for small cable operators (1) In general Not later than 180 days after December 4, 2014, the Commission shall complete a rule- making to establish a streamlined process for filing of an effective competition petition pur- suant to this section for small cable operators, particularly those who serve primarily rural areas. (2) Construction Nothing in this subsection shall be con- strued to have any effect on the duty of a small cable operator to prove the existence of effective competition under this section. (3) Definition of small cable operator In this subsection, the term ‘‘small cable op- erator’’ has the meaning given the term in subsection (m)(2). (June 19, 1934, ch. 652, title VI, § 623, as added Pub. L. 98–549, § 2, Oct. 30, 1984, 98 Stat. 2788; amended Pub. L. 102–385, § 3(a), Oct. 5, 1992, 106 Stat. 1464; Pub. L. 104–104, title III, § 301(b), (c), (j), (k)(1), Feb. 8, 1996, 110 Stat. 114, 116, 118; Pub. L. 113–200, title I, §§ 110, 111, Dec. 4, 2014, 128 Stat. 2065, 2066; Pub. L. 115–141, div. P, title IV, § 402(e), Mar. 23, 2018, 132 Stat. 1089.) Editorial Notes AMENDMENTS 2018—Subsec. (k)(1). Pub. L. 115–141, § 402(e)(1), sub- stituted ‘‘publish with its report under section 163 of this title’’ for ‘‘annually publish’’. Subsec. (k)(2). Pub. L. 115–141, § 402(e)(2), struck out ‘‘annual’’ before ‘‘report’’ in heading. 2014—Subsec. (k). Pub. L. 113–200, § 110, amended sub- sec. (k) generally. Prior to amendment, text read as follows: ‘‘The Commission shall annually publish sta- tistical reports on the average rates for basic cable Page 292 TITLE 47—TELECOMMUNICATIONS § 544 service and other cable programming, and for converter boxes, remote control units, and other equipment, of— ‘‘(1) cable systems that the Commission has found are subject to effective competition under subsection (a)(2) of this section, compared with ‘‘(2) cable systems that the Commission has found are not subject to such effective competition.’’ Subsec. (o). Pub. L. 113–200, § 111, added subsec. (o). 1996—Subsec. (a)(7). Pub. L. 104–104, § 301(j), added par. (7). Subsec. (c)(1)(B). Pub. L. 104–104, § 301(b)(1)(A), sub- stituted ‘‘franchising authority (in accordance with paragraph (3))’’ for ‘‘subscriber, franchising authority, or other relevant State or local government entity’’. Subsec. (c)(1)(C). Pub. L. 104–104, § 301(b)(1)(B), sub- stituted ‘‘the first complaint filed with the franchising authority under paragraph (3)’’ for ‘‘such complaint’’. Subsec. (c)(3), (4). Pub. L. 104–104, § 301(b)(1)(C), added pars. (3) and (4) and struck out heading and text of former par. (3). Text read as follows: ‘‘Except during the 180-day period following the effective date of the regulations prescribed by the Commission under para- graph (1), the procedures established under subpara- graph (B) of such paragraph shall be available only with respect to complaints filed within a reasonable pe- riod of time following a change in rates that is initi- ated after that effective date, including a change in rates that results from a change in that system’s serv- ice tiers.’’ Subsec. (d). Pub. L. 104–104, § 301(b)(2), inserted at end ‘‘This subsection does not apply to (1) a cable operator with respect to the provision of cable service over its cable system in any geographic area in which the video programming services offered by the operator in that area are subject to effective competition, or (2) any video programming offered on a per channel or per pro- gram basis. Bulk discounts to multiple dwelling units shall not be subject to this subsection, except that a cable operator of a cable system that is not subject to effective competition may not charge predatory prices to a multiple dwelling unit. Upon a prima facie showing by a complainant that there are reasonable grounds to believe that the discounted price is predatory, the cable system shall have the burden of showing that its discounted price is not predatory.’’ Subsec. (l)(1)(D). Pub. L. 104–104, § 301(b)(3), added sub- par. (D). Subsec. (m). Pub. L. 104–104, § 301(c), added subsec. (m). Subsec. (n). Pub. L. 104–104, § 301(k)(1), added subsec. (n). 1992—Pub. L. 102–385 amended section generally, sub- stituting present provisions for former provisions which related in subsec. (a) to limitation on regulatory power of Federal agencies, States, or franchising au- thorities, in subsec. (b) to promulgation, scope, con- tent, periodic review, and amendment of regulations, in subsec. (c) to regulation by franchising authority dur- ing initial 2-year period, in subsec. (d) to automatic granting of rate increase requests upon agency inaction within 180-day period, in subsec. (e) to additional in- creases in rates and to reduction by amount of increase under franchise provisions, in subsec. (f) to non- discrimination and facilitation of reception by hearing- impaired individuals, in subsec. (g) to continued effec- tiveness of limitation or the preemption of regulation under prior State law, and in subsec. (h) to reports and recommendations to Congress. Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries EFFECTIVE DATE OF 1996 AMENDMENT Pub. L. 104–104, title III, § 301(k)(2), Feb. 8, 1996, 110 Stat. 118, provided that: ‘‘The amendment made by paragraph (1) [amending this section] shall take effect on the date of enactment of this Act [Feb. 8, 1996] and shall be applicable to any rate proposal filed on or after September 4, 1993, upon which no final action has been taken by December 1, 1995.’’ EFFECTIVE DATE OF 1992 AMENDMENT Pub. L. 102–385, § 3(b), Oct. 5, 1992, 106 Stat. 1471, pro- vided that: ‘‘The amendment made by subsection (a) [amending this section] shall take effect 180 days after the date of enactment of this Act [Oct. 5, 1992], except that the authority of the Federal Communications Commission to prescribe regulations is effective on such date of enactment.’’ EFFECTIVE DATE Section effective 60 days after Oct. 30, 1984, except where otherwise expressly provided, see section 9(a) of Pub. L. 98–549, set out as a note under section 521 of this title. RESTORATION, RETIERMENT AND REPRICING OF SERVICE PREVIOUSLY ELIMINATED, RETIERED, OR REPRICED Pub. L. 98–549, § 9(b), Oct. 30, 1984, 98 Stat. 2806, pro- vided that: ‘‘Nothing in section 623 or 624 of the Com- munications Act of 1934 [sections 543 and 544 of this title], as added by this Act, shall be construed to allow a franchising authority, or a State or any political sub- division of a State, to require a cable operator to re- store, retier, or reprice any cable service which was lawfully eliminated, retiered, or repriced as of Sep- tember 26, 1984.’’ § 544. Regulation of services, facilities, and equipment (a) Regulation by franchising authority Any franchising authority may not regulate the services, facilities, and equipment provided by a cable operator except to the extent con- sistent with this subchapter. (b) Requests for proposals; establishment and en- forcement of requirements In the case of any franchise granted after the effective date of this subchapter, the franchising authority, to the extent related to the establish- ment or operation of a cable system— (1) in its request for proposals for a franchise (including requests for renewal proposals, sub- ject to section 546 of this title), may establish requirements for facilities and equipment, but may not, except as provided in subsection (h), establish requirements for video programming or other information services; and (2) subject to section 545 of this title, may enforce any requirements contained within the franchise— (A) for facilities and equipment; and (B) for broad categories of video program- ming or other services. (c) Enforcement authority respecting franchises effective under prior law In the case of any franchise in effect on the ef- fective date of this subchapter, the franchising authority may, subject to section 545 of this title, enforce requirements contained within the franchise for the provision of services, facilities, and equipment, whether or not related to the es- tablishment or operation of a cable system. (d) Cable service unprotected by Constitution; blockage of premium channel upon request (1) Nothing in this subchapter shall be con- strued as prohibiting a franchising authority and a cable operator from specifying, in a fran- chise or renewal thereof, that certain cable serv- ices shall not be provided or shall be provided subject to conditions, if such cable services are