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                           Before the
                Federal Communications Commission
                     Washington, D.C. 20554

In the Matter of                )
                                )
Moosehead Enterprises, Inc.     )    File No. EB-02-TS-127
                                )
Operator of Cable Systems in:   )
                                )    
Bingham, Maine                  )
Greenville, Maine               )
Guilford, Maine                 )
Jackman, Maine                  )
Monson, Maine                   )
Rockwood, Maine                 )
                                )
Request for Waiver of Section 11.11(a) of the     )    
Commission's Rules              )    
                                        
                              ORDER 

Adopted:  September 24, 2002            Released:  September  27, 
2002

By the Chief, Technical  and Public Safety Division,  Enforcement 
Bureau:

      1.  In this  Order, we  grant Moosehead  Enterprises,  Inc. 
        (Moosehead  Enterprises) temporary,  36-month waivers  of 
        Section  11.11(a) of the  Commission's Rules  (``Rules'') 
        for  the six  above-captioned cable  television  systems.  
        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.  Moosehead Enterprises  filed a  request for  temporary, 
        36-month  waivers   of  Section  11.11(a)  for  the   six 
        captioned cable systems on April 3, 2002.  In support  of 
        its  waiver request,  Moosehead Enterprises  states  that 
        these  are small,  rural cable systems  which each  serve 
        less  than  750  subscribers.  Based  on  a  price  quote 
        provided  by  an EAS  equipment  manufacturer,  Moosehead 
        Enterprises  estimates that  it would cost  at a  minimum 
        $7,461 for  EAS equipment for each of these systems  plus 
        installation for  a total cost of approximately  $53,766.  
        Moosehead Enterprises asserts that this cost will  impose 
        a substantial  financial hardship on it and provides  its 
        financial statement for 2000 and 2001 in support of  this 
        assertion.   In addition,  Moosehead Enterprises  submits 
        that its  subscribers will continue to have ready  access 
        to   national  EAS   information  from   other   sources, 
        including its  cable systems.  In this regard,  Moosehead 
        Enterprises  notes that  its subscribers  currently  have 
        access  to national EAS messages  on at least 35  percent 
        of all programmed channels carried on the cable  systems.  
        Moosehead  Enterprises also asserts that its  subscribers 
        will have access to EAS information through  over-the-air 
        reception  of broadcast  television and  radio  stations. 
        Finally, Moosehead  Enterprises believes that it will  be 
        able  to fund EAS  equipment for the  six systems in  the 
        next three years. 

      4.  Based upon our review of  the financial data and  other 
        information   submitted  by  Moosehead  Enterprises,   we 
        conclude  that a  temporary, 36-month  waiver of  Section 
        11.11(a)  for the  six cable systems  is warranted.9   In 
        particular,  we find that the  estimated $53,766 cost  of 
        EAS equipment for these small cable systems could  impose 
        a financial hardship on Moosehead Enterprises.  

      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  Moosehead 
        Enterprises,  Inc.   IS  GRANTED  a  waiver  of   Section 
        11.11(a) of  the Rules until October 1, 2005 for each  of 
        the six captioned cable television systems.

      7.  IT IS FURTHER ORDERED that Moosehead Enterprises,  Inc. 
        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 Moosehead Enterprises, Inc., 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 waivers will  extend from October 1, 2002, until  October 
1, 2005.  Moosehead  Enterprises also requested  a waiver of  the 
testing and monitoring  requirements of the  EAS rules for  these 
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.