Section 16-133-16 - Approval or denial(a) After holding a public hearing, the director shall approve the application in whole or in part, with or without conditions or modifications, or shall deny the application, with reasons for denial sent in writing to the applicant. The director has the discretion to require the cable operator to attend a show cause hearing after the public hearing but prior to making the decision on the application. Any application not approved within one hundred and twenty days after the issuance of a notice of acceptance for filing shall be deemed denied unless the time limit for final action has been extended pursuant to HRS section 440G-7(4).(b) In determining whether a cable franchise shall be issued or transferred, the director shall take into consideration, among other things, the contents of the application, the public need for the proposed service, the ability of the applicant to offer safe, adequate, undisrupted, and reliable service at a reasonable cost to the subscribers, the ability to provide similar or better quality service in comparison to any existing cable franchise in the same area, the citizenship and character of the applicant, the financial responsibility of the applicant, the technical and operational ability of the applicant to perform efficiently the service for which authority is requested, long and short term plans and resource allocations, any objections arising from the public hearing or elsewhere, and any other matters as the director deems appropriate in the circumstances.(c) In determining the area which is to be serviced by the applicant, the director shall take into account the geography and topography of the proposed service area, and the present, planned, and potential expansion in facilities or cable services of the applicant's proposed cable system and existing cable systems.[Eff 7/28/88; comp 4/22/94] (Auth: HRS §§ 26-9, 91-2, 440G-12) (Imp: HRS §§ 26-9, 91-2, 440G-12)