Click here for Adobe Acrobat version
Click here for Microsoft Word version
********************************************************
NOTICE
********************************************************
This document was converted from Microsoft Word.
Content from the original version of the document such as
headers, footers, footnotes, endnotes, graphics, and page numbers
will not show up in this text version.
All text attributes such as bold, italic, underlining, etc. from the
original document will not show up in this text version.
Features of the original document layout such as
columns, tables, line and letter spacing, pagination, and margins
will not be preserved in the text version.
If you need the complete document, download the
Microsoft Word or Adobe Acrobat version.
*****************************************************************
Before the
Federal Communications Commission
Washington, D.C. 20554
In the Matter of )
)
Savage Communications, Inc. ) File No. EB-02-TS-475
)
Operator of Cables Systems in: )
)
Bamum, Minnesota )
Floodwood, Minnesota )
Greenway, Minnesota )
Hill City, Minnesota )
Isle, Minnesota )
McGregor, Minnesota )
Mission, South Dakota )
Pillager, Minnesota )
Rosebud, South Dakota )
Sandstone, Minnesota )
St. Francis, South Dakota )
Verndale, Minnesota )
)
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 Savage Communications, Inc.
(``Savage'') temporary waivers of Section 11.11(a) of the
Commission's Rules (``Rules'') for the 12 above-captioned
cable television systems. Specifically, we grant 12-month
waivers for the Isle, Minnesota and the Sandstone, Minnesota
cable systems and 36-month waivers for the Damum, Minnesota;
Floodwood, Minnesota; Greenway, Minnesota; Hill City,
Minnesota; McGregor, Minnesota; Mission, South Dakota;
Pillager, Minnesota; Rosebud, South Dakota; St. Francis, South
Dakota and Verndale, Minnesota cable systems. 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. Savage filed a request for temporary waivers of Section
11.11(a) for the 12 captioned cable systems on August 28,
2002. In support of its waiver request, Savage states that
above-captioned cable systems serve between 107 and 1,722
subscribers. Based on price quotes from EAS equipment
manufacturers, Savage estimates that it would cost
approximately $106,000 to install EAS equipment at these
systems. Savage asserts that this cost will impose a
substantial financial hardship on it and provides its
financial statements for 2001 and 2002 in support of this
assertion. In addition, Savage submits that its subscribers
will continue to have ready access to national EAS information
from other sources, including its cable systems. In this
regard, Savage notes that its subscribers currently have
access to national EAS messages on at least 42 percent of all
programmed channels. Savage 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 Savage, we conclude that temporary,
12-month waivers of Section 11.11(a) for the Isle, Minnesota
and the Sandstone, Minnesota cable systems and 36-month
waivers for the Damum, Minnesota; Floodwood, Minnesota;
Greenway, Minnesota; Hill City, Minnesota; McGregor,
Minnesota; Mission, South Dakota; Pillager, Minnesota;
Rosebud, South Dakota; St. Francis, South Dakota and Verndale,
Minnesota cable system are warranted.9 In particular, we find
that the $106,000 cost of EAS equipment for these small cable
systems could impose a financial hardship on Savage.
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 Savage
Communications, Inc. IS GRANTED a waiver of Section 11.11(a)
of the Rules until April 1, 2003 for the cable television
systems in Isle, Minnesota and Sandstone, Minnesota and IS
GRANTED a waiver of Section 11.11(a) of the Rules until
October 1, 2005 for the cable television systems in Damum,
Minnesota; Floodwood, Minnesota; Greenway, Minnesota; Hill
City, Minnesota; McGregor, Minnesota; Mission, South Dakota;
Pillager, Minnesota; Rosebud, South Dakota; St. Francis, South
Dakota and Verndale, Minnesota.
7. IT IS FURTHER ORDERED that Savage Communications,
Inc., place a copy of these waivers in its systems files.
8. IT IS FURTHER ORDERED that a copy of this Order shall
be sent by Certified Mail Return Receipt Requested to counsel
for Savage Communications, Inc. Cunningham Communications,
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
_________________________
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 12-month waivers will extend from October 1, 2002 until
October 1, 2003 and the 36-month waivers will extend 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.