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Before the
Federal Communications Commission
Washington, D.C. 20554
In the Matter of )
)
Pacific Sun Cable Partners, LP ) File No. EB-02-TS-200
)
Operator of Cable System in: )
)
Groveland, California )
)
Request for Waiver of Section 11.11(a) of the )
Commission's Rules )
MEMORANDUM OPINION AND ORDER
Adopted: April 29, 2003 Released: May 2, 2003
By the Chief, Technical and Public Safety Division, Enforcement
Bureau:
1. In this Memorandum Opinion and Order, we grant a
petition for reconsideration filed by Pacific Sun Cable
Partners, LP (``Pacific Sun'') of an Order denying Pacific
Sun's request for a temporary, 36-month waiver, and instead
granting Pacific Sun a temporary, 12-month waiver, of Section
11.11(a) of the Commission's Rules (``Rules'') for the above-
captioned cable television system.1 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,
2002.2
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.3 In 1994, the Commission adopted rules requiring
cable systems to participate in EAS.4 In 1997, the Commission
amended the EAS rules to provide financial relief for small
cable systems.5 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).6 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.7 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.8 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.9
3. On May 21, 2002, Pacific Sun filed a request for a
temporary, 36-month waiver of Section 11.11(a) of the Rules
for the captioned cable system. In its waiver request,
Pacific Sun noted that its small cable system served
approximately 1,052 subscribers. In support of its waiver
request, Pacific Sun provided financial data for 2001 and
asserted that the estimated $17,000 cost to install EAS
equipment at its system would impose a substantial financial
hardship on it. On October 4, 2002, we denied Pacific Sun's
request for a 36-month waiver and instead granted Pacific Sun
a 12-month waiver of Section 11.11(a) for its small cable
system.10 We concluded that the financial data and other
information submitted by Pacific Sun did not justify its
request for a 36-month waiver.
4. On November 4, 2002, Pacific Sun filed a petition for
reconsideration of the Waiver Order. Pacific Sun asserts that
reconsideration is appropriate under Section 1.106(b)(2)(i)
and (c)(1) of the Rules because of substantial changes in
relevant facts and circumstances since it filed its original
waiver request.11 Specifically, Pacific Sun states that, in
the six months since it filed its original waiver request, its
system's customer base has declined to fewer than 930
subscribers and its finances have deteriorated significantly.
Pacific Sun asserts that the estimated $17,000 cost of
installing EAS equipment at the system within the 12-month
waiver period will impose a serious financial hardship on it.
Pacific Sun provides its financial statement for the first
seven months of 2002 in support of this assertion.
5. Based upon our review of the new financial data and
other information submitted by Pacific Sun, we conclude that
Pacific Sun has justified a 36-month waiver of Section
11.11(a) of the Rules for the captioned small cable system.12
Accordingly, we grant Pacific Sun's petition for
reconsideration.
6. Accordingly, IT IS ORDERED that, pursuant to Section
405 of the Communications Act of 1934, as amended,13 and
Sections 0.111, 0.204(b), 0.311 and 1.106 of the Rules,14
Pacific Sun Cable Partners, LP's petition for reconsideration
IS GRANTED.
7. IT IS FURTHER ORDERED that Pacific Sun Cable Partners,
LP IS GRANTED a waiver of Section 11.11(a) of the Rules until
October 1, 2005 for the captioned cable television system.
8. IT IS FURTHER ORDERED that Pacific Sun Cable Partners,
LP place a copy of this waiver in its system file.
9. IT IS FURTHER ORDERED that a copy of this Memorandum
Opinion and Order shall be sent by Certified Mail Return
Receipt Requested to counsel for Pacific Sun Cable Partners,
LP, 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 Pacific Sun Cable Partners, LP, 17 FCC Rcd 18974 (Enf. Bur.,
Tech. & Pub. Safety Div., 2002) (``Waiver Order'').
2 47 C.F.R. § 11.11(a).
3 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).
4 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), reconsideration granted in part,
denied in part, 10 FCC Rcd 11494 (1995).
5 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).
6 Id. at 15512-13.
7 Id. at 15516-15518.
8 Id. at 15513.
9 Id. at 15513, n. 59.
10 17 FCC Rcd at 18975.
11 See 47 C.F.R. § 1.106(b)(2)(i) and (c)(1).
12 The waiver will extend from October 1, 2002 until October
1, 2005. We clarify that the waiver we are granting also
encompasses the EAS testing and monitoring requirements.
13 47 U.S.C. § 405.
14 47 C.F.R. §§ 0.111, 0.204(b), 0.311 and 1.106.