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Before the
Federal Communications Commission
Washington, D.C. 20554
In the Matter of )
)
New Century Communications Co. ) File No. EB-02-TS-429
)
Operator of Cable Systems in the States of )
)
Iowa, Minnesota, Wisconsin )
)
Request for Waiver of Section 11.11(a) of the )
Commission's Rules )
ORDER
Adopted: October 29, 2002 Released: November 5,
2002
By the Chief, Technical and Public Safety Division, Enforcement
Bureau:
1. In this Order, we grant New Century Communications Co.
(``New Century'') temporary, waivers of Section 11.11(a) of
the Commission's Rules (``Rules'') for 33 cable television
systems in the three above-captioned states. Specifically, we
grant a temporary, 36-month waiver of Section 11.11(a) for the
33 cable television 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 August 20, 2002, New Century filed a request for
temporary, 36-month waivers of Section 11.11(a) for 33 small
rural cable systems in the three captioned states. New
Century states that each of these systems serves between 6 and
301 subscribers. Based on price quotes provided by EAS
equipment manufacturers, New Century estimates that it would
cost approximately $330,000 to install EAS equipment at the 33
systems. New Century asserts that this cost will impose a
substantial financial hardship on it and provides its
financial statements for the year 2001 in support of this
assertion. In addition, New Century submits that its
subscribers will continue to have ready access to national EAS
information from other sources, including its cable systems.
In this regard, New Century notes that its subscribers
currently have access to national EAS messages on at least 48
percent of all programmed channels. New Century 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 New Century, we conclude that
temporary, 36-month waivers of Section 11.11(a) for the 33
cable television systems in Attachment A are warranted.9 In
particular, we find that the estimated $330,000 cost of EAS
equipment for the small cable systems could impose a financial
hardship on New Century.
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 New Century
Communications, Co. IS GRANTED a waiver of Section 11.11(a) of
the Rules until October 1, 2005 for the 33 cable systems
listed in Attachment A.
7. IT IS FURTHER ORDERED that New Century Communications,
Co., 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 New Century Communications, Co., 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
New Century Communications Co.
Cable Systems: Temporary Waiver Granted
Until:
Iowa
Delhi, Iowa October 1, 2005
Hopkinton, Iowa October 1, 2005
Luxemburg, Iowa October 1, 2005
Worthington, Iowa October 1, 2005
Minnesota
Canosia, Minnesota October 1, 2005
Finland, Minnesota October 1, 2005
French River, Minnesota October 1, 2005
Knife Lake, Minnesota October 1, 2005
Knife River, Minnesota October 1, 2005
Long Lake/Fayal, Minnesota October 1, 2005
Round Lake, Minnesota October 1, 2005
Rutledge, Minnesota October 1, 2005
Schultz, Minnesota October 1, 2005
Willow River, Minnesota October 1, 2005
Wrenshall, Minnesota October 1, 2005
Wisconsin
Almond, Wisconsin October 1, 2005
Bancroft, Wisconsin October 1, 2005
Briggsville, Wisconsin October 1, 2005
Dalton, Wisconsin October 1, 2005
Doylestown, Wisconsin October 1, 2005
Endeavor, Wisconsin October 1, 2005
Granton, Wisconsin October 1, 2005
Kellnersville, Wisconsin October 1, 2005
Kingston, Wisconsin October 1, 2005
Milladore, Wisconsin October 1, 2005
Marquette, Wisconsin October 1, 2005
Oxford, Wisconsin October 1, 2005
Packwaukee, Wisconsin October 1, 2005
Rosholt, Wisconsin October 1, 2005
Rozellville, Wisconsin October 1, 2005
Saxeville, Wisconsin October 1, 2005
Tustin/Bloomfield, Wisconsin October 1, 2005
Wolf River, Wisconsin 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. Additionally, we clarify that the waivers
we are granting also encompasses 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.