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Before the
Federal Communications Commission
Washington, D.C. 20554
In the Matter of )
)
Cable & Communications Corporation d/b/a ) File No. EB-02-
TS-049
Mid-Rivers Cable Television )
)
Operator of Cable Systems in: )
)
Glendive, Montana )
Sidney, Montana )
Roundup, Montana )
Wibaux, Montana )
Circle, Montana )
Jordan, Montana )
Ekalaka, Montana )
Richey, Montana )
)
Request for Waiver of Section 11.11(a) of the )
Commission's Rules )
ORDER
Adopted: July 25, 2002 Released: July 30, 2002
By the Chief, Technical and Public Safety Division, Enforcement
Bureau:
1. In this Order, we grant Cable & Communications
Corporation d.b.a. Mid-Rivers Cable Television (``Mid-
Rivers'') temporary waivers of Section 11.11(a) of the
Commission's Rules (``Rules'') for the each of the eight
above-captioned cable television systems. Specifically, we
grant a temporary, 12-month waiver of Section 11.11(a) for the
Glendive, Montana system, a temporary, 24-month waiver of
Section 11.11(a) for the Sidney, Montana system and a
temporary, 36-month waiver of Section 11.11(a) for the
Roundup, Montana; Wibaux, Montana; Circle, Montana; Jordan,
Montana; Ekalaka, Montana; and Richey, Montana systems.
Section 11.11(a) requires cable systems serving fewer than
5,000 subscribers from a headend to either provide national
level EAS messages on all programmed channels or install
Emergency Alert System (``EAS'') equipment and provide a video
interrupt and audio alert on all programmed channels and EAS
audio and video messages on at least one programmed channel by
October 1, 2002.1
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 In 1997, the Commission
amended the EAS rules to provide financial relief for small
cable systems.4 The Commission declined to exempt small cable
systems from the EAS requirements, concluding that such an
exemption would be inconsistent with the statutory mandate of
Section 624(g).5 However, the Commission extended the
deadline for cable systems serving fewer than 10,000
subscribers to begin complying with the EAS rules to October
1, 2002, and provided cable systems serving fewer than 5,000
subscribers the option of either providing national level EAS
messages on all programmed channels or installing EAS
equipment and providing a video interrupt and audio alert on
all programmed channels and EAS audio and video messages on at
least one programmed channel.6 In addition, the Commission
stated that it would grant waivers of the EAS rules to small
cable systems on a case-by-case basis upon a showing of
financial hardship.7 The Commission indicated that waiver
requests must contain at least the following information: (1)
justification for the waiver, with reference to the particular
rule sections for which a waiver is sought; (2) information
about the financial status of the requesting entity, such as a
balance sheet and income statement for the two previous years
(audited, if possible); (3) the number of other entities that
serve the requesting entity's coverage area and that have or
are expected to install EAS equipment; and (4) the likelihood
(such as proximity or frequency) of hazardous risks to the
requesting entity's audience.8
3. Mid-Rivers filed a request for temporary waiver of
Section 11.11(a) for each of the eight captioned cable systems
on January 30, 2001. Mid-Rivers seeks a 12-month waiver for
the Glendive, Montana system, a 24-month waiver for the
Sidney, Montana system and a 36-month waiver for the Roundup,
Montana; Wibaux, Montana; Circle, Montana; Jordan, Montana;
Ekalaka, Montana; and Richey, Montana systems. In support of
its waiver request, Mid-Rivers states that each of the eight
systems serves small, rural communities and each system serves
between 68 and 1,445 subscribers. Based on price quotes
provided by EAS equipment manufacturers, Mid-Rivers estimates
that it would cost approximately $9,000 to install EAS
equipment at each of these systems for a total cost of
$72,000. Mid-Rivers asserts that the cost of installing EAS
equipment at the eight systems will impose a substantial
financial hardship on it and provides financial statements for
2000 and 2001 in support of this assertion. In addition, Mid-
Rivers submits that its subscribers will continue to have
ready access to national EAS information on at least one-third
of all programmed channels carried on its systems. Mid-Rivers
also asserts that its subscribers will have access to EAS
information through over-the-air reception of broadcast
television and radio stations and other sources. Finally,
Mid-Rivers believes that it can fund EAS equipment for the
eight systems by phasing them into compliance over the next
three years.
4. Based upon our review of the financial data and other
information submitted by Mid-Rivers, we conclude that a 12-
month waiver of Section 11.11(a) for the Glendive, Montana
system, a 24-month waiver of Section 11.11(a) for the Sidney,
Montana system and a 36-month waiver of Section 11.11(a) for
Roundup, Montana; Wibaux, Montana; Circle, Montana; Jordan,
Montana; Ekalaka, Montana; and Richey, Montana systems are
warranted.9 In particular, we find that the estimated $72,000
cost of EAS equipment for these small cable systems, which are
slated for elimination, could impose a financial hardship on
Mid-Rivers.
5. We note that the Commission recently amended the EAS
rules to permit cable systems serving fewer than 5,000
subscribers to install FCC-certified decoder-only units,
rather than both encoders and decoders, if such a device
becomes available.10 Based on comments from equipment
manufacturers, we anticipate that such a decoder-only system
could result in significant cost savings to small cable
systems.11
6. Accordingly, IT IS ORDERED that, pursuant to Sections
0.111, 0.204(b) and 0.311 of the Rules,12 Cable &
Communications Corporation d.b.a. Mid-Rivers Cable Television
IS GRANTED a waiver of Section 11.11(a) of the Rules until
October 1, 2003 for its Glendive, Montana cable system, IS
GRANTED a waiver of Section 11.11(a) of the Rules until
October 1, 2004 for its Sidney, Montana cable system and IS
GRANTED a waiver of Section 11.11(a) of the Rules until
October 1, 2005 for its Roundup, Montana; Wibaux, Montana;
Circle, Montana; Jordan, Montana; Ekalaka, Montana; and
Richey, Montana cable systems.
7. IT IS FURTHER ORDERED that Cable & Communications
Corporation d.b.a. Mid-Rivers Cable Television place a copy of
this waiver in its system files.
8. IT IS FURTHER ORDERED that a copy of this Order shall
be sent by Certified Mail Return Receipt Requested to counsel
for Cable & Communications Corporation d.b.a. Mid-Rivers Cable
Television, Christopher C. Cinnamon, Esq., Cinnamon Mueller,
307 North Michigan Avenue, Suite 1020, Chicago, Illinois
60601.
FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION
Joseph P. Casey
Chief, Technical and Public Safety
Division
Enforcement Bureau
_________________________
1 47 C.F.R. § 11.11(a).
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 Amendment of Part 73, Subpart G, of the Commission's Rules
Regarding the Emergency Broadcast System, Second Report and
Order, FO Docket Nos. 91-171/91-301, 12 FCC Rcd 15503 (1997)
(``Second Report and Order'').
5 Id. at 15512-13.
6 Id. at 15516-15518.
7 Id. at 15513.
8 Id. at 15513, n. 59.
9 The waiver for the Glendive, Montana system will extend 12
months from October 1, 2002, until October 1, 2003, the waiver
for the Sidney, Montana system will extend 24 months from October
1, 2002, until October 1, 2004 and the waiver for the Roundup,
Montana; Wibaux, Montana; Circle, Montana; Jordan, Montana;
Ekalaka, Montana; and Richey, Montana systems will be extend 36
months from October 1, 2002, until October 1, 2005. Mid-Rivers
also specifically requested waiver of the testing and monitoring
requirements of the EAS rules for these eight systems. We
clarify that the waivers we are granting also encompass the EAS
testing and monitoring requirements.
10 Amendment of Part 11 of the Commission's Rules Regarding
the Emergency Alert System, EB Docket 01-66, FCC 02-64 at ¶ 71
(released February 26, 2002).
11 One manufacturer estimated that an EAS decoder-only system
can reduce the cost by 64% over what a cable operator would spend
for an encoder/decoder unit. Id. at ¶ 70.
12 47 C.F.R. §§ 0.111, 0.204(b) and 0.311.