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Before the
Federal Communications Commission
Washington, D.C. 20554
In the Matter of )
)
Hancel, Inc. d/b/a Hancock Video) File No. EB-02-TS-613
)
Operator of Cable Systems in: )
)
Hancock, New York )
Lakewood, Pennsylvania )
)
Request for Waivers of Section 11.11(a) of the )
Commission's Rules )
ORDER
Adopted: July 9, 2003 Released: July 14, 2003
By the Chief, Technical and Public Safety Division, Enforcement
Bureau:
1. In this Order, we grant Hancel, Inc. d/b/a Hancock
Video (``Hancel'') temporary, two-month waivers of Section
11.11(a) of the Commission's Rules (``Rules'') for the two
above-captioned cable television systems. 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
3. Hancel filed a request for temporary, two-month waivers
of Section 11.11(a) for the two captioned cable systems on
September 30, 2002. In support of its waiver request, Hancel
states that it has ordered EAS equipment for the two small,
rural cable systems which, together, serve less than 1,200
subscribers. Based on information provided by its vendor,
Hancel further states that the EAS equipment should be
delivered by November 1, 2002. In addition, Hancel submits
that its subscribers will continue to have ready access to
national EAS information from other sources, including its
cable systems. Hancel also submits that subscribers will have
access to EAS information through over-the-air reception of
broadcast television and radio stations. Finally, Hancel
believes that it can bring the two cable systems into
compliance with EAS requirements by December 1, 2002.
4. Based upon our review of the information submitted by
Hancock Video, we conclude that temporary, two-month waivers
of Section 11.11(a) for the two captioned cable systems are
warranted.7
5. Accordingly, IT IS ORDERED that, pursuant to Sections
0.111, 0.204(b) and 0.311 of the Rules,8 Hancel, Inc. d/b/a
Hancock Video IS GRANTED a waiver of Section 11.11(a) of the
Rules until December 1, 2002 for the two captioned cable
television systems.
6. IT IS FURTHER ORDERED that Hancel, Inc. d/b/a Hancock
Video place a copy of this waiver in its system files.
7. IT IS FURTHER ORDERED that a copy of this Order shall
be sent by Certified Mail Return Receipt Requested to counsel
for Hancel, Inc. d/b/a Hancock Video, Marci E. Greenstein,
Esq., Kraskin, Lesse & Cosson, LLP, 2120 L Street, N.W., Suite
520, Washington, D.C. 20037.
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 The waivers will extend from October 1, 2002, until December
1, 2002. Additionally, we clarify that these waivers we are
granting also encompass the EAS testing and monitoring
requirements.
8 47 C.F.R. §§ 0.111, 0.204(b) and 0.311.