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                           Before the
                Federal Communications Commission
                     Washington, D.C. 20554

In the Matter of                )
                                )
North American Communications Corporation    )    File No. EB-02-
TS-501
                                )
Operator of Cable Systems in the States of:  )
                                )    
Minnesota and Wisconsin         )
                                )
Request for Waiver of Section 11.11(a) of the     )    
Commission's Rules              )    
                                        
                              ORDER 

Adopted:  April 28, 2003                Released:  May 2, 2003

By the Chief, Technical  and Public Safety Division,  Enforcement 
Bureau:

1.        In this Order, we  grant North American  Communications 
  Corporation (``North   American'') temporary, 36-month  waivers 
  of Section 11.11(a)  of the Commission's Rules (``Rules'')  for 
  27 cable television systems in the two above-captioned  states.  
  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 September 9,  2002, North American  filed a  request 
  for  temporary, 36-month  waivers of  Section 11.11(a)  for  27 
  small,  rural cable  television systems  operating in  the  two 
  captioned  states.  In  support of  its waiver  request,  North 
  American states that these 27 small, rural cable systems  serve 
  between  32  and  667  subscribers.   Based  on  price   quotes 
  provided  by   EAS  equipment  manufacturers,  North   American 
  estimates that  it would cost  a total of  $270,000 to  install 
  EAS equipment at  these cable systems.  North American  asserts 
  that  the cost  of installing  EAS equipment  at these  systems 
  will  impose  a  substantial  financial  hardship  on  it   and 
  provides financial statements  for 2000 and 2001 in support  of 
  this assertion.  In  addition, North American submits that  its 
  subscribers will continue to have ready access to national  EAS 
  information from  other sources, including  its cable  systems.  
  In  this regard,  North  American notes  that  its  subscribers 
  currently have access to  national EAS messages on at least  50 
  percent  of  all  programmed  channels.   North  American  also 
  asserts  that   its  subscribers  will   have  access  to   EAS 
  information   through  over-the-air   reception  of   broadcast 
  television and radio stations and other sources.  

4.        Based upon our review of  the financial data and  other 
  information  submitted  by North  American,  we  conclude  that 
  temporary, 36-month  waivers of Section  11.11(a) for 27  cable 
  systems  in  the  two  captioned  states  are  warranted.9   In 
  particular, we  find that  the estimated $270,000  cost of  EAS 
  equipment  for  these  small  cable  systems  could  impose   a 
  financial hardship on North American.  

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  North  American 
  Communications  Corporation  IS GRANTED  a  waiver  of  Section 
  11.11(a) of the Rules  until October 1,  2005 for the 27  cable 
  television systems listed in Attachment A. 

7.        IT   IS   FURTHER    ORDERED   that   North    American 
  Communications Corporation 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 North  American Communications Corporation, 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


     North American Communications Corporation

     Cable Systems:                     Temporary Waiver Granted 
Until:

     Minnesota
     Big Falls, Minnesota                    October 1, 2005
     Big Fork, Minnesota                October 1, 2005
     Bovey, Minnesota                   October 1, 2005
     Cologne, Minnesota                 October 1, 2005
     Delavan, Minnesota                 October 1, 2005
     Dexter, Minnesota                  October 1, 2005
     Easton, Minnesota                  October 1, 2005
     Fountain, Minnesota                October 1, 2005
     Garden City, Minnesota                  October 1, 2005
     Green Isle, Minnesota                   October 1, 2005
     Hayward, Minnesota                 October 1, 2005
     Kelliher, Minnesota                October 1, 2005
     Lewisville, Minnesota                   October 1, 2005
     Madison Lake, Minnesota            October 1, 2005
     Mapleview, Minnesota                    October 1, 2005
     Mayer, Minnesota                   October 1, 2005
     New Auburn, Minnesota              October 1, 2005
     New Market Twp, Minnesota               October 1, 2005
     Ostrander, Minnesota                    October 1, 2005
     Plato, Minnesota                   October 1, 2005
     Racine, Minnesota                  October 1, 2005
     Red Rock Twp, Minnesota            October 1, 2005
     Rose Creek, Minnesota                   October 1, 2005
     Vernon Center, Minnesota           October 1, 2005
     Wells Twp, Minnesota                    October 1, 2005
     Wykoff, Minnesota                  October 1, 2005

     Wisconsin
     Hudson, 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 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.