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Before the
Federal Communications Commission
Washington, D.C. 20554
In the Matter of )
)
Qwest Broadband Services, Inc. ) File No. EB-02-TS-215
)
Operator of Cable System in: )
)
Phoenix, AZ )
)
Request for Waiver of Section 11.61(a)2)(i)(B) )
)
of the Commission's Rules )
ORDER
Adopted: June 28, 2002 Released: July 17, 2002
By the Chief, Technical and Public Safety Division, Enforcement
Bureau:
1. In this Order, we grant Qwest Broadband Services, Inc.
(``Qwest Broadband'') a temporary, 12-month waiver of Section
11.61(a)(2)(i)(B) of the Commission's Rules (``Rules'') for
the VDSL cable television system. Section 11.61(a)(2)(i)(B)
requires cable systems serving greater than 10,000
subscribers to broadcast the Emergency Alert System (``EAS'')
Weekly Required Test (``RWT'') messages, at random days and
times, on all programmed channels.1
2. The Cable Act of 1992 added new Section 624(g) to the
Communications Act of 1934 (``Act''), which requires that
cable systems be capable of providing EAS alerts to their
subscribers.2 In 1994, the Commission adopted rules requiring
cable systems to participate in EAS.3 Cable systems serving
greater than 10,000 subscribers are required to provide
national level EAS messages on all programmed channels.4
3. Qwest Broadband filed a request for a temporary, 12-
month waiver of Section 11.61(a)(2)(i)(B) on May 23, 2002.
This waiver is requested for its Phoenix, Arizona VDSL cable
system, as well as its Boulder, Colorado and Douglas County,
Colorado systems if these systems reach 10,000 subscribers
before June 30, 2003. In support of its waiver request, Qwest
Broadband states that this is a VDSL cable system, the
technology of which prevents the broadcast of EAS messages on
all programmed channels simultaneously. Based on the
switching system of the VDSL system, subscribers only receive
a single channel at a time, and Qwest Broadband has not yet
developed the technology to broadcast on all programmed
channels simultaneously. In addition, Qwest Broadband submits
that its subscribers will continue to have ready access to EAS
information by a pop-up window that will direct them to the
channel on which the EAS information is broadcast. In this
regard, Qwest Broadband asserts that its subscribers currently
have access to national EAS messages at the time of the
broadcast. In addition, Qwest broadband indicates that it
intends to pursue a permanent waiver to address this issue.
4. Based upon our review of the technical data and other
information submitted by Qwest Broadband, we conclude that a
temporary, 12-month waiver of Section 11.61(a)(2)(i)(B) for
the VDSL system is warranted. We do not intend to grant
further temporary waivers, extending beyond the current June
30, 2003 expiration date, unless it is related to an on-going
proceeding in this matter. If Qwest Broadband intends to
pursue a permanent waiver of Section 11.61(a)(2)(i)(B), it
should do so expeditiously.
5. Accordingly, IT IS ORDERED that, pursuant to Sections
0.111, 0.204(b) and 0.311 of the Rules,5 Qwest Broadband
Services, Inc. IS GRANTED a waiver of Section
11.61(a)(2)(i)(B) of the Rules until June 30, 2003 for the
VDSL cable television system.
6. IT IS FURTHER ORDERED that Qwest Broadband Services,
Inc. place a copy of this waiver in its system file and post a
copy of this waiver at the Qwest Broadband Services, Inc.
Phoenix, as well as the Boulder/Douglas County systems in the
case of these systems serving greater than 10,000 subscribers
before June 30, 2003.
7. IT IS FURTHER ORDERED that a copy of this Order shall
be sent by Certified Mail Return Receipt Requested to counsel
for Qwest Broadband Services, Inc., J. Brian DeBoice, Esq.,
Cohn and Marks LLP, 1920 N Street NW, Suite 300, Washington,
DC 20036-1622.
FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION
Joseph P. Casey
Chief, Technical and Public Safety
Division
Enforcement Bureau
_________________________
1 47 C.F.R. § 11.61(a)(2)(i)(B).
2 Cable Television Consumer Protection and Competition Act of
1992, Pub. L. No. 102-385, § 16(b), 106 Stat. 1460, 1490 (1992).
Section 624(g) provides that ``each cable operator shall comply
with such standards as the Commission shall prescribe to ensure
that viewers of video programming on cable systems are afforded
the same emergency information as is afforded by the emergency
broadcasting system pursuant to Commission regulations ....'' 47
U.S.C. § 544(g).
3 Amendment of Part 73, Subpart G, of the Commission's Rules
Regarding the Emergency Broadcast System, Report and Order and
Further Notice of Proposed Rule Making, FO Docket Nos. 91-171/91-
301, 10 FCC Rcd 1786 (1994) (``First Report and Order''),
reconsideration granted in part, denied in part, 10 FCC Rcd 11494
(1995).
4 Id. at 15516-15518.
5 47 C.F.R. §§ 0.111, 0.204(b) and 0.311.