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Before the
Federal Communications Commission
Washington, D.C. 20554
In the Matter of )
)
TelePartners, L.L.C. ) File No. EB-02-TS-265
)
Operator of Cable Systems in the States of: )
)
Iowa and Nebraska )
)
Request for Waiver of Section 11.11(a) of the )
Commission's Rules )
ORDER
Adopted: October 21, 2002 Released: October 25,
2002
By the Chief, Technical and Public Safety Division, Enforcement
Bureau:
1. In this Order, we grant TelePartners, L.L.C.
(``TelePartners'') temporary waivers of Section 11.11(a) of
the Commission's Rules (``Rules'') for 44 cable television
systems in the above-captioned states. 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 42 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 June 21, 2002, TelePartners filed a request for
temporary, 24-month and 36-month waivers of Section 11.11(a)
for 44 cable systems in the two captioned states. In support
of its waiver request, TelePartners states that these are
small, rural cable systems with the two largest systems,
Missouri Valley and Logan, Iowa, serving 710 and 804
subscribers, respectively, and the 42 smaller systems each
serving between 12 and 400 subscribers. Based on a price
quote provided by an EAS equipment manufacturer, TelePartners
estimates that it would cost nearly $320,000 to install EAS
equipment at these systems. TelePartners 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, TelePartners submits that its
subscribers will continue to have ready access to national EAS
information from other sources, including its cable systems.
In this regard, TelePartners notes that its
subscribers will continue to have access to national EAS
messages on at least 53 percent of all
programmed channels. TelePartners further submits 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 TelePartners, we conclude that
temporary, 24-month waivers of Section 11.11(a) are warranted
for the for the largest two cable systems in Attachment A and
temporary, 36-month waivers of Section 11.1(a) are warranted
for the smaller 42 cable systems in Attachment A.9 In
particular, we find that the estimated $320,000 cost of EAS
equipment for these small cable systems could impose a
financial hardship on TelePartners..
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 TelePartners, L.L.C.
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 42 cable television systems in
Attachment A.
7. IT IS FURTHER ORDERED that TelePartners, L.L.C. 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 TelePartners, L.L.C., 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:
Iowa
Logan, Iowa October 1, 2004
Missouri Valley, Iowa October 1, 2004
Bronson, Iowa October 1, 2005
Fonda, Iowa October 1, 2005
Hornick, Iowa October 1, 2005
Lawton, Iowa October 1, 2005
Little Sioux, Iowa October 1, 2005
Lytton, Iowa October 1, 2005
Modale, Iowa October 1, 2005
Mondamin, Iowa October 1, 2005
Newell, Iowa October 1, 2005
Persia, Iowa October 1, 2005
Pisgah, Iowa October 1, 2005
Pomeroy, Iowa October 1, 2005
Smithland, Iowa October 1, 2005
Underwood, Iowa October 1, 2005
Nebraska
Bee, Nebraska October 1, 2005
Beemer, Nebraska October, 1, 2005
Bennington, Nebraska October 1, 2005
Butte, Nebraska October 1, 2005
Cedar Bluffs, Nebraska October 1, 2005
Clarkson, Nebraska October 1, 2005
Davey, Nebraska October 1, 2005
Decatur, Nebraska October 1, 2005
Dodge, Nebraska October 1, 2005
Dwight, Nebraska October 1, 2005
Ewing, Nebraska October 1, 2005
Fremont, Nebraska October 1, 2005
Goehner, Nebraska October 1, 2005
Howells, Nebraska October 1, 2005
Leigh, Nebraska October 1, 2005
Lindsay, Nebraska October 1, 2005
Lynch, Nebraska October 1, 2005
Mead, Nebraska October 1, 2005
Monroe, Nebraska October 1, 2005
Nickerson, Nebraska October 1, 2005
Mead, Nebraska October 1, 2005
Monroe, Nebraska October 1, 2005
Nickerson, Nebraska October 1, 2005
Cable Systems: Temporary Waiver Granted
Until:
Omaha, Nebraska October 1, 2005
Orchard, Nebraska October 1, 2005
Papillion, Nebraska October 1, 2005
Platte Center, Nebraska October 1, 2005
Rural Douglas Co., Nebraska October 1, 2005
Spencer, Nebraska October 1, 2005
Stuart, Nebraska October 1, 2005
Yutan, Nebraska 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.