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

In the Matter of                )
                                )
Hart Cable, Inc.                )    File No. EB-02-TS-212
                                )
Operator of Cable Systems in:   )
                                )    
New Hope, Georgia               )
West Franklin, Georgia          )
                                )
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 Hart  Cable,  Inc.,  (``Hart 
        Cable'') temporary, 36-month waivers of Section  11.11(a) 
        of the Commission's Rules (``Rules'') for the two  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.  Hart Cable  filed  a request  for  temporary,  36-month 
        waivers of  Section 11.11(a) for the two captioned  cable 
        systems  on  May 24,  2002.   In support  of  its  waiver 
        request,  Hart  Cable states  that  the two  systems  are 
        small,   rural   cable  systems   serving  a   total   of 
        approximately 804 subscribers.  Specifically, Hart  Cable 
        indicates that  New Hope, Georgia serves 710  subscribers 
        and  West Franklin  serves 94  subscribers.  Based  on  a 
        price  quote provided by  an EAS equipment  manufacturer, 
        Hart  Cable estimates  that it  would cost  approximately 
        $10,000 per  headend, for a total of $20,000 for the  two 
        headends.  Hart Cable 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, Hart  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, Hart  Cable  notes 
        that  its subscribers currently  have access to  national 
        EAS  messages on  21 of  all programmed  channels.   Hart 
        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 Hart Cable, we conclude that  a 
        temporary,  36 month waiver of  Section 11.11(a) for  the 
        two cable  systems is warranted 9 In particular, we  find 
        that the estimated $20,000 cost to install EAS  equipment 
        for  these very  small systems could  impose a  financial 
        hardship on Hart 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 Hart  Cable, 
        Inc.  IS GRANTED  a  waiver of  Section 11.11(a)  of  the 
        Rules until  October 1, 2005 for the two captioned  cable 
        television systems.

      7.  IT IS FURTHER  ORDERED that  Hart Cable,  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 Hart Cable,  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  36 months  from October  1,  2002, 
until October 1,  2005.  Hart Cable  also specifically  requested 
waiver of  the testing  and monitoring  requirements of  the  EAS 
rules.   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.