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Before the
Federal Communications Commission
Washington, D.C. 20554
In the Matter of )
)
Willamette Broadband, LLC ) File No. EB-02-TS-649
)
Operator of Cable Systems in: )
)
Canby, Oregon )
Woodburn, Oregon )
Molalla, Oregon )
)
Request for Waiver of Section 11.11(a) of the )
Commission's Rules )
ORDER
Adopted: July 1, 2003 Released: July 3, 2003
By the Chief, Technical and Public Safety Division, Enforcement
Bureau:
1. In this Order, we grant Willamette Broadband, LLC
(``Willamette'') temporary waivers of Section 11.11(a) of the
Commission's Rules (``Rules'') for the three above-captioned
cable television systems. Section 11.11(a) requires cable
systems serving more than 5,000 but fewer than 10,000
subscribers from a headend to install Emergency Alert System
(``EAS'') equipment and begin providing EAS audio and video
messages on all channels by October 1, 2002.1 Section
11.11(a) requires cable systems serving fewer than 5,000
subscribers from a headend to either provide national level
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. 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. Willamette filed a request for temporary, six-month
waivers of Section 11.11(a) for the three captioned rural
cable systems on October 9, 2002. In support of its waiver
request, Willamette states that the Canby, Oregon system
serves 6,900 subscribers, the Woodburn, Oregon system serves
5,200 systems and the Molalla, Oregon system serves 1, 700
subscribers. Willamette further states that it ordered EAS
equipment for the Canby system headend and plans to
interconnect the three systems. Based on the $16,350 price to
install EAS equipment at the Canby system, Willamette
estimates that it would cost a total of approximately $49,000
to install EAS equipment at the three systems. Willamette
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,
Willamette submits that its subscribers will continue to have
ready access to national EAS information from other sources,
including its cable systems. In this regard, Willamette notes
that its subscribers currently have access to national EAS
messages on at least 44 percent of all programmed channels.
Willamette also asserts that its subscribers will have access
to EAS information through over-the-air reception of broadcast
television and radio stations. Finally, Willamette believes
that it can bring the captioned cable systems into EAS
compliance within the next six months.
4. Based upon our review of the financial data and other
information submitted by Willamette, we conclude that
temporary waivers of Section 11.11(a) for the three captioned
systems are warranted.9 In particular, we find that the
estimated $49,000 cost to install EAS equipment at these
systems could impose a financial hardship on Willamette.
However, we note that Willamette did not file its waiver
request until October 9, 2002, after the October 1, 2002
deadline for cable systems serving 10,000 or fewer subscribers
to install EAS equipment. We find that Willamette was in
violation of the requirement in Section 11.11(a) of the Rules
to install EAS equipment by October 1, 2002. We admonish
Willamette for this violation.
5. Accordingly, IT IS ORDERED that, pursuant to Sections
0.111, 0.204(b) and 0.311 of the Rules,10 Willamette
Broadband, LLC IS GRANTED a waiver of Section 11.11(a) of the
Rules until April 1, 2003 for the three captioned cable
television systems.
6. IT IS FURTHER ORDERED that Willamette
Broadband, LLC IS ADMONISHED for violating the requirement in
Section 11.11(a) of the Rules to install EAS equipment by October
1, 2002.
7. IT IS FURTHER ORDERED that Willamette
Broadband, LLC, place a copy of this waiver 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
Peter C. Luscombe, President, Willamette Broadband, LLC, P.O. Box
850, Canby, Oregon 97013.
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 waivers will extend from October 9, 2002 until April 1,
2003. We clarify that the waivers we are granting also encompass
the EAS testing and monitoring requirements.
10 47 C.F.R. §§ 0.111, 0.204(b) and 0.311.