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Before the
Federal Communications Commission
Washington, D.C. 20554
In the Matter of )
)
Satellite Cable Services, Inc. ) File No. EB-02-TS-167
)
Operator of Cable Systems in the States of: )
)
Nebraska and South Dakota )
)
)
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 Satellite Cable Services, Inc.
(``Satellite Cable'') temporary, 36-month waivers of
Section 11.11(a) of the Commission's Rules (``Rules'') for the
40 cable televisions systems listed in Attachment A for the
two above-captioned states. 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 May 2, 2002, Satellite Cable filed a request for a
permanent waiver or a temporary, 36 month waiver of Section
11.11(a) for 40 small, rural cable television systems listed
in Attachment A for the two captioned states. In support of
its waiver request, Satellite Cable states that the 40 systems
each serve between 19 and 839 subscribers. Based on price
quotes provided by EAS equipment manufacturers, Satellite
Cable estimates that it would cost between $7,500 and $10,000
to install EAS equipment at each of these cable television
systems for a total cost of $410,000. Satellite Cable asserts
that the cost of installing EAS equipment at these systems
will impose a substantial financial hardship on it and
provides financial statements for 2001 in support of this
assertion. In addition, Satellite Cable submits that its
subscribers will continue to have ready access to national EAS
information from other sources, including its cable systems.
Satellite Cable 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 Satellite Cable, we decline to issue
a permanent waiver of Section 11.11(a) for the 40 cable
systems listed in Attachment A. However, we conclude that
temporary, 36-month waivers of Section 11.11(a) for these 40
systems are warranted.9 In particular, we find that the
estimated $410,000 cost of EAS equipment for these small cable
systems could impose financial hardship on Satellite 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 Satellite Cable
Services, Inc. IS GRANTED waivers of Section 11.11(a) of the
Rules until October 1, 2005 for each of the 40 cable
television systems listed in Attachment A.
7. IT IS FURTHER ORDERED that Satellite Cable Services,
Inc. place a copy of these waivers 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 Satellite Cable Services, Inc., Trent A. Swanson, Esq.,
Cutler & Donahoe, LLP, 100 North Phillips Avenue, 9th Floor,
Sioux Falls, South Dakota 57104-6725.
FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION
Joseph P. Casey
Chief, Technical and Public Safety
Division
Enforcement Bureau
Attachment A
Satellite Cable Services, Inc.
Cable Systems: Temporary Waiver Granted
Until:
Nebraska
Atkinson, Nebraska October 1, 2005
South Dakota
Armour, South Dakota October 1, 2005
Astoria, South Dakota October 1, 2005
Avon, South Dakota October 1, 2005
Britton, South Dakota October 1, 2005
Burke/Gregory, South Dakota October 1, 2005
Bryant, South Dakota October 1, 2005
Carthage, South Dakota October 1, 2005
Chester, South Dakota October 1, 2005
Clark, South Dakota October 1, 2005
Clear Lake, South Dakota October 1, 2005
Conde, South Dakota October 1, 2005
Cresbard, South Dakota October 1, 2005
Eden, South Dakota October 1, 2005
Edgemont, South Dakota October 1, 2005
Faulkton, South Dakota October 1, 2005
Florence, South Dakota October 1, 2005
Frankfort, South Dakota October 1, 2005
Gary, South Dakota October 1, 2005
Henry, South Dakota October 1, 2005
Lake Andes, South Dakota October 1, 2005
Mellette, South Dakota October 1, 2005
New Effington, South Dakota October 1, 2005
Oldham, South Dakota October 1, 2005
Pierpont, South Dakota October 1, 2005
Platte, South Dakota October 1, 2005
Ramona, South Dakota October 1, 2005
Raymond, South Dakota October 1, 2005
Revillo, South Dakota October 1, 2005
South Shore, South Dakota October 1, 2005
Summit, South Dakota October 1, 2005
Tabor, South Dakota October 1, 2005
Toronto, South Dakota October 1, 2005
Trent, South Dakota October 1, 2005
Satellite Cable Services, Inc.
Cable Systems: Temporary Waiver Granted
Until:
Tripp, South Dakota October 1, 2005
Tyndall, South Dakota October 1, 2005
Wagner, South Dakota October 1, 2005
Wentworth, South Dakota October 1, 2002
West Whitlock, South Dakota October 1, 2005
Willow Lake, South Dakota 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 waivers 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.