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Before the
Federal Communications Commission
Washington, D.C. 20554
In the Matter of )
)
High Plains Cablevision I, Ltd. ) File No. EB-02-TS-192
)
Operator of Cable Systems in the States of: )
)
Idaho, Oklahoma, Texas and Washington)
)
)
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 High Plains Cablevision I, Ltd.
(``High Plains'') temporary, 36-month waivers of Section
11.11(a) of the Commission's Rules (``Rules'') for 23 cable
televisions systems listed in Attachment A for the four 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 10, 2002, High Plains filed a request for
temporary, 36-month waivers of Section 11.11(a) for 23 small
rural cable television systems listed in Attachment A for the
four captioned states. In support of its waiver request, High
Plains states that the 23 systems each serve between 29 and
279 subscribers. Based on price quotes provided by EAS
equipment manufacturers, High Plains estimates that it would
cost approximately $193,200 or $246,100, respectively, to
install decoder-only or encoder/decoder EAS equipment at the
23 cable television systems. High Plains asserts that the
cost of installing EAS equipment at these systems will impose
a substantial financial hardship on it and provides financial
statements for 1999, 2000 and 2001 in support of this
assertion. In addition, High Plains submits that its
subscribers will continue to have ready access to national EAS
information from other sources, including its cable systems.
High Plains 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 High Plains, we conclude that
temporary, 36-month waivers of Section 11.11(a) for the 23
systems listed in Attachment A are warranted.9 In particular,
we find that the $193,200 and $246,100 estimated costs of EAS
equipment for these small cable systems could impose financial
hardship on High Plains.
5. Accordingly, IT IS ORDERED that, pursuant to Sections
0.111, 0.204(b) and 0.311 of the Rules,10 High Plains
Cablevision I, Ltd. IS GRANTED waivers of Section 11.11(a) of
the Rules until October 1, 2005 for the 23 cable television
systems listed in Attachment A.
6. IT IS FURTHER ORDERED that High Plains Cablevision I,
Ltd. place a copy of these waivers in its system files.
7. IT IS FURTHER ORDERED that a copy of this Order shall
be sent by Certified Mail Return Receipt Requested to counsel
for High Plains Cablevision I, Ltd., Mark J. Palchick, Esq.,
Holland & Knight LLP, 2099 Pennsylvania Avenue, N.W., Suite
100, Washington, D.C. 20006-6801.
FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION
Joseph P. Casey
Chief, Technical and Public Safety
Division
Enforcement Bureau
Attachment A
High Plains Cablevision I, Ltd.
Cable Systems: Temporary Waiver Granted
Until:
Idaho
Plummer, Idaho October 1, 2005
Worley, Idaho October 1, 2005
Okahoma
Texhoma, Oklahoma October 1, 2005
Texas
Adrian, Texas October 1, 2005
Cactus, Texas October 1, 2005
Channing, Texas October 1, 2005
Etter, Texas October 1, 2005
Hartley, Texas October 1, 2005
Miami, Texas October 1, 2005
Nazareth, Texas October 1, 2005
San Jon, Texas October 1, 2005
Texhoma, Texas October 1, 2005
Turkey, Texas October 1, 2005
Washington
Fairfield, Washington October 1, 2005
Garfield, Washington October 1, 2005
Harrington, Washington October 1, 2005
Oakesdale, Washington October 1, 2005
Reardon, Washington October 1, 2005
Rockford, Washington October 1, 2005
Rosalia, Washington October 1, 2005
Spangle, Washington October 1, 2005
Sprague, Washington October 1, 2005
Springdale, Washington 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 47 C.F.R. §§ 0.111, 0.204(b) and 0.311.