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Before the
Federal Communications Commission
Washington, D.C. 20554
In the Matter of )
)
Boycom Cablevision, Inc. ) File No. EB-02-TS-565
)
Operator of Cable Systems in: )
)
Butler, Missouri )
Wappapello, Missouri )
)
Request for Waiver of Section 11.11(a) of the )
Commission's Rules )
ORDER
Adopted: November 21, 2002 Released: November 29,
2002
By the Chief, Technical and Public Safety Division, Enforcement
Bureau:
1. In this Order, we grant Boycom Cablevision, Inc.
(``Boycom'') temporary waivers of Section 11.11(a) of the
Commission's Rules (``Rules'') for the two above-captioned
cable television systems. Specifically, we grant a temporary,
12-month waiver of Section 11.11(a) for the Butler, Missouri
system and a temporary, 36-month waiver of Section 11.11(a)
for the Wappapello, Missouri system. 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. Boycom filed a request for temporary waiver of Section
11.11(a) for the two captioned cable systems on September 26,
2002. Boycom seeks a 24-month waiver for the Butler, Missouri
system and a 36-month waiver for the Wappapello, Missouri
system. In support of its waiver request, Boycom states that
these are small, rural cable systems serving between 629 and
1,380 subscribers. Based on price quotes provided by EAS
equipment vendors Boycom estimates that it would cost a total
of approximately $15,400 to purchase and install EAS equipment
at these systems. Boycom 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, Boycom submits that its subscribers
will continue to have ready access to national EAS information
from other sources, including its cable systems. In this
regard, Boycom notes that its subscribers currently have
access to national EAS messages on at least thirty-four
percent of all programmed channels. Boycom 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 Boycom, we decline to grant Boycom a
temporary 24-month waiver of Section 11.11(a) for the Butler,
Missouri system. However, we conclude that a temporary 12-
month waiver for the Butler, Missouri system and a 36-month
waiver of the Wappapello, Missouri system is warranted.9 In
particular, we find that the estimated $15,400 cost of EAS
equipment for these small cable systems could impose a
financial hardship on Boycom.
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 Boycom Cablevision,
Inc. IS GRANTED a waiver of Section 11.11(a) of the Rules
until October 1, 2003 for its Butler, Missouri cable system
and IS GRANTED a waiver of Section 11.11(a) of the Rules until
October 1, 2005 for its Wappapello, Missouri cable system.
7. IT IS FURTHER ORDERED that Boycom Cablevision, 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 to counsel
for Boycom Cablevision, 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 waiver for the Butler, Missouri system will extend 12
months from October 1, 2002 until October 1, 2003 and the waiver
for the Wappapello, Missouri system 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 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.