(a) Basic channel shall mean any channel which is provided as part of the service tier.

(b) Billing dispute shall mean a disagreement between a subscriber and cable television company concerning:

(c) Home wiring shall mean the internal wiring contained within premises of a subscriber which does not include any active elements such as amplifiers, converters or decoder boxes or remote control units.

(d) Collection charge shall mean a fee or charge imposed upon a subscriber by a cable television company for its efforts at collecting or attempting to collect a past due account by personal visit at a subscriber's home or place of business.

(e) Commission shall mean the New York State Public Service Commission.

(f) Downgrade charge shall mean a charge imposed upon a subscriber for implementing a request by the subscriber for a change in service to a less expensive tier than the tier currently subscribed to.

(g) Late charge shall mean a charge which is added to a cable television subscriber's account or bill for nonpayment of a previously due account.

(h) Local office shall mean the business office of the cable television company serving the municipality in which a billing dispute arises.

(i) Normal business hours shall mean those hours during which most similar businesses in the community are open to serve customers. In all cases, normal business hours must include some evening hours at least one night per week and/or some weekend hours.

(j) Normal operating conditions shall mean those service conditions which are within the control of a cable television company. Those conditions which are not within the control of a cable company include, but are not limited to, natural disasters, civil disturbances, power outages, telephone network outages, and severe or unusual weather conditions. Those conditions which are ordinarily within the control of a cable television company include, but are not limited to special promotions, pay-per-view events, rate increases, regular peak or seasonal demand periods, channel and/or service alterations, and maintenance or upgrade of the cable system.

(k) Service call shall mean any work at a subscriber's premises which requires the presence of a cable television company representative and the subscriber, including but not limited to, installations and reconnections.

(l) Service interruption shall mean the loss of picture or sound of one or more cable channels.

(m) Service outage shall mean a loss of picture or sound on all basic channels or on all channels provided on any other service tier or on one or more premium channels occurring during normal operating conditions which is not caused by the subscriber's television receiver or the subscriber.

(n) Small cable television system shall mean any cable television system with fewer than 1,000 subscribers.