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Before the
Federal Communications Commission
Washington, D.C. 20554
In the Matter of )
)
Ind. Co. Cable TV, Inc. )
) File No. EB-02-TS-208
Operator of Cable Systems in the State of: )
)
Arkansas )
)
Request for Waiver of Section 11.11(a) of the )
Commission's Rules )
ORDER
Adopted: October 1, 2002 Released: October 7,
2002
By the Chief, Technical and Public Safety Division, Enforcement
Bureau:
1. In this Order, we grant Ind.Co. Cable TV, Inc.
(``Ind.Co. Cable'') temporary waivers of Section 11.11(a) of
the Commission's Rules (``Rules'') for 22 cable television
systems in the above-captioned state. Specifically, we grant
24-month waivers of Section 11.11(a) for two cable systems
listed in Attachment A and 36-month waivers of Section
11.11(a) for 20 cable systems listed in Attachment A. 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 23, 2002, Ind.Co. Cable filed a request for
temporary, 24-month and 36-month waivers of Section 11.11(a)
for 22 cable systems in the State of Arkansas. In support of
its waiver request, Ind.Co Cable states that these are small,
rural cable systems with the largest two systems, Pangburn and
Forrest City, serving 824 and 883 subscribers, respectively,
and the 20 smaller systems each serving between 29 and 755
subscribers. Based on price quotes provided by an EAS
equipment manufacturer, Ind.Co. Cable estimates that it would
cost between $7,290 and $7,790 to install EAS equipment at
each of these systems. Ind.Co. Cable asserts that this cost
will impose a substantial financial hardship on it and
provides its 2001 financial statement in support of this
assertion. In addition, Ind.Co 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, Ind.Co Cable notes that its subscribers
currently have access to national EAS messages on at least 38%
of their programmed channels. Ind.Co. 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 Ind.Co. Cable, we conclude that
temporary, 24-month waivers of Section 11.11(a) are warranted
for the largest two cable systems in Attachment A and
temporary, 36-month waivers of Section 11.11(a) are warranted
for the smaller 20 cable systems in Attachment A.9 In
particular, we find that the estimated $7,290 or more cost of
EAS equipment for each of these small cable systems could
impose a financial hardship on Ind.Co. 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 Ind.Co. Cable TV,
Inc. IS GRANTED a waiver of Section 11.11(a) of the Rules
until October 1, 2004 for two cable television systems in
Attachment A and IS GRANTED a waiver of Section 11.11(a) of
the Rules until October 1, 2005 for 20 cable televisions in
Attachment A.
7. IT IS FURTHER ORDERED that Ind.Co. Cable TV, 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 counsel for
Ind.Co. Cable TV, 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
Attachment A
Cable Systems: Temporary Waiver Granted
Until:
Forrest City, Arkansas October 1, 2004
Pangburn, Arkansas October 1, 2004
Black Rock, Arkansas October 1, 2005
Bradford, Arkansas October 1, 2005
Calico Rock, Arkansas October 1, 2005
Cushman, Arkansas October 1, 2005
Diamond City, Arkansas October 1, 2005
Evening Shade, Arkansas October 1, 2005
Guion, Arkansas October 1, 2005
Gum Springs, Arkansas October 1, 2005
Melbourne, Arkansas October 1, 2005
Moro, Arkansas October 1, 2005
Mt. Pleasant, Arkansas ` October 1, 2005
Newark, Arkansas October 1, 2005
Oil Trough, Arkansas October 1, 2005
Plainview, Arkansas October 1, 2005
Pleasant Plains, Arkansas October 1, 2005
Russell, Arkansas October 1, 2005
Sidney, Arkansas October 1, 2005
Tumbling Shoals, Arkansas October 1, 2005
Tupelo, Arkansas October 1, 2005
Yellville, Arkansas 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 24-month waivers will extend from October 1, 2002, until
October 1, 2004, and the 36-month waivers will extend from
October 1, 2002, until October 1, 2005. Additionally, 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.