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Before the
Federal Communications Commission
Washington, D.C. 20554
In the Matter of )
)
Uvision, LLC ) File No. EB-02-TS-545
)
Operator of Cable Systems in: )
)
Sheridan, Oregon )
Stayton, Oregon )
Lacomb, Oregon )
Detroit, Oregon )
)
Request for Waiver of Section 11.11(a) of the )
Commission's Rules )
ORDER
Adopted: May 9, 2003 Released: May 15, 2003
By the Chief, Technical and Public Safety Division, Enforcement
Bureau:
1. In this Order, we grant Uvision, LLC (``Uvision'')
temporary waivers of Section 11.11(a) of the Commission's
Rules (``Rules'') for the four above-captioned cable
television systems. Specifically, we grant temporary, six-
month waivers of Section 11.11(a) for the Sheridan, Slayton,
and Lacomb Oregon cable television systems and a temporary,
36-month waiver of Section 11.11(a) for the Detroit, Oregon
cable television 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. Uvision filed a request for three temporary, six-month
waivers and one temporary, 36-month waiver of Section 11.11(a)
for the four captioned small cable systems on September 20,
2002. In support of its waiver request, Uvision states that
the Sheridan and Stayton cable systems serve between 2,200 and
5,600 subscribers, and the Detroit and Lacomb cable systems
serve between 167 and 219 subscribers. Based on price quotes
provided by EAS equipment vendors, Uvision estimates that it
would cost at least $32,900 to install EAS equipment for these
cable systems. Uvision submits that it has ordered EAS
equipment which will enable it to bring the Sheridan, Stayton
and Lacomb systems into EAS compliance. Uvision asserts that
the added cost of installing EAS equipment at the Detroit
system will impose a substantial financial hardship on it and
provides financial statements for 2001 and 2002 in support of
this assertion. In addition, Uvision submits that its
subscribers will continue to have ready access to national EAS
information from other sources, including its cable systems.
In this regard, Uvision notes that its subscribers currently
have access to national EAS messages on at least 41 percent of
all programmed channels. Uvision 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 Uvision, we conclude that temporary,
six-month waivers of Section 11.11(a) for three cable systems
and a temporary, 36-month waiver of Section 11.11(a) for one
cable system are warranted.9 In particular, we find that the
estimated cost of $32,900 of EAS equipment for these small
cable systems could impose a financial hardship on Uvision.
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 Uvision, LLC IS
GRANTED a waiver of Section 11.11(a) of the Rules until April
1, 2003 for the Sheridan, Oregon, Stayton, Oregon and Lacomb,
Oregon cable television systems and IS GRANTED a waiver of
Section 11.11(a) of the Rules until October 1, 2005 for the
Detroit, Oregon cable television system.
7. IT IS FURTHER ORDERED that Uvision LLC place a copy of
these waivers 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 Uvision LLC, 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 six-month waivers will extend from October 1, 2002,
until April 1, 2003 and the 36-month waiver 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.