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Before the
Federal Communications Commission
Washington, D.C. 20554
In the Matter of )
)
Grove Communications Inc. d/b/a ) File No. EB-02-TS-138
Grove Cable Co. )
)
Operator of Cable Systems in: )
)
Grand Marais, Michigan )
Republic, Michigan )
Seney, Michigan )
Shingleton, Michigan )
)
Request for Waiver of Section 11.11(a) of the )
Commission's Rules )
ORDER
Adopted: September 27, 2002 Released: October 4,
2002
By the Chief, Technical and Public Safety Division, Enforcement
Bureau:
1. In this Order, we grant Grove Communications Inc. d/b/a
Grove Cable Co. (``Grove Cable'') temporary, 36-month waivers
of Section 11.11(a) of the Commission's Rules (``Rules'') for
the four 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. Grove Cable filed a request for a waiver of Section
11.11(a) for the four captioned cable systems on March 1,
2002. In support of its waiver request, Grove Cable states
that each of the four systems serves small, rural communities
and has few subscribers. Specifically, Grove Cable indicates
that the Seney system serves 42 subscribers, the Shingleton
system serves 152 subscribers, the Grand Marais system serves
237 subscribers, and the Republic system serves 267
subscribers. Based on a price quote provided by an EAS
equipment manufacturer, Grove Cable estimates that it would
cost approximately $6,250 to install EAS equipment at each of
these systems for a total cost of $25,000. Grove Cable
asserts that this cost will impose a substantial financial
hardship on it and provides its financial statements for 2000
and 2001 in support of this assertion. In addition, Grove
Cable submits that its subscribers will continue to have ready
access to national EAS information from other sources,
including its cable systems. In this regard, Grove Cable
notes that its subscribers currently have access to national
EAS messages on approximately 25 percent of all programmed
channels. Grove Cable also asserts that its subscribers will
have access to EAS information through over-the-air reception
of broadcast television and radio stations.
4. Based upon our review of the financial data and other
information submitted by Grove Cable, we conclude that
temporary, 36-month waivers of Section 11.11(a) for the four
captioned systems are warranted.9 In particular, we find that
the estimated $25,000 cost for EAS equipment for these small
cable systems could impose a financial hardship on Grove
Cable.
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 Grove Communications
Inc. d/b/a Grove Cable Co. IS GRANTED waivers of Section
11.11(a) of the Rules until October 1, 2005 for the four
captioned cable television systems.
7. IT IS FURTHER ORDERED that Grove Communications Inc.
d/b/a Grove Cable Co. 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 Robert
Grove, President, Grove Communications Inc. d/b/a Grove Cable
Co., 115 Glenwood Road, Marquette, Michigan 49855.
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 for the four systems will extend 36 months from
October 1, 2002, until October 1, 2005. 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.