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Before the
Federal Communications Commission
Washington, D.C. 20554
In the Matter of )
)
Pine Tree Cablevision Associates) File No. EB-02-TS-120
)
Operator of Cable Systems in the States of: )
)
Maine, New Hampshire and South Carolina )
)
)
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 Pine Tree Cablevision
Associates (``Pine Tree'') temporary, waivers of Section
11.11(a) of the Commission's Rules (``Rules'') for 22 cable
televisions systems in the above-captioned states.
Specifically, we grant temporary, 24-month waivers of Section
11.11(a) for two cable television systems in Attachment A and
temporary, 36-month waivers of Section 11.11(a) for 20 cable
television systems in Attachment A. Section 11.11(a) requires
cable systems serving fewer than 5,000 subscribers from a
headend to either provide national level Emergency Alert
System (``EAS'') messages on all programmed channels or
install 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. On March 26, 2002, Pine Tree filed a request for
temporary waivers of Section 11.11(a) for 22 small rural cable
television systems operating in the captioned states. In
particular, Pine Tree requests temporary, 24-month waivers for
two of its cable systems and temporary, 36-month waivers for
20 of its cable systems in Attachment A. In support of its
waiver request, Pine Tree states that the 22 systems each
serve between 12 and 1,234 subscribers. Based on price quotes
provided by EAS equipment manufacturers, Pine Tree estimates
that it would cost between $9,500 and $10,500 to install EAS
equipment at each of these systems for a total cost of
approximately $220,000. Pine Tree asserts that the cost of
installing EAS equipment at these systems will impose a
substantial financial hardship on it and provides financial
statements for 2000 and 2001 in support of this assertion. In
addition, Pine Tree submits that its subscribers will continue
to have ready access to national EAS information from other
sources, including its cable systems. In this regard, Pine
Tree notes that its subscribers currently have access to
national EAS messages on between 39 and 57 percent of all
programmed channels. Pine Tree 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.
4. Based upon our review of the financial data and other
information submitted by Pine Tree, we conclude that
temporary, 24-month waivers and temporary, 36-month waivers of
Section 11.11(a) for the 22 systems listed in Attachment A are
warranted.9 In particular, we find that the estimated
$220,000 cost of EAS equipment for these small cable systems
could impose financial hardship on Pine Tree.
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 Pine Tree
Cablevision Associates IS GRANTED a waiver of Section 11.11(a)
of the Rules until October 1, 2004 for two of the cable
television systems listed in Attachment A and IS GRANTED a
waiver of Section 11.11(a) of the Rules until October 1, 2005
for 20 of the cable television systems listed in Attachment A.
7. IT IS FURTHER ORDERED that Pine Tree Cablevision
Associates 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 Pine Tree Cablevision Associates, 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
Attachment A
Pine Tree Cablevision Associates
Cable Systems: Temporary Waiver Granted
Until:
Maine
Jonesport, Maine October 1, 2005
Cherryfield, Maine October 1, 2005
Gouldsboro, Maine October 1, 2005
Princeton, Maine October 1, 2005
Winter Harbor Navy Base, Maine October 1, 2005
New Hampshire
Troy, New Hampshire October 1, 2004
Spofford, New Hampshire October 1, 2005
Nelson, New Hampshire October 1, 2005
Stoddard, New Hampshire October 1, 2005
South Carolina
St. Stephen, South Carolina October 1, 2004
Hopkins, South Carolina October 1, 2005
Swansea, South Carolina October 1, 2005
Lugoff, South Carolina October 1, 2005
Cottageville, South Carolina October 1, 2005
Elloree, South Carolina October 1, 2005
Cross, South Carolina October 1, 2005
Wagener, South Carolina October 1, 2005
Hilda, South Carolina October 1, 2005
North, South Carolina October 1, 2005
McBee, South Carolina October 1, 2005
Lamar, South Carolina October 1, 2005
Jefferson, South Carolina October 1, 2005
_________________________
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 24-month waivers will extend from October 1, 2002, until
October 1, 2004 and 36-month waivers will extend from October 1,
2002, until October 1, 2005. Pine Tree also specifically
requested waiver of the testing and monitoring requirements of
the EAS rules for the 22 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.