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

In the Matter of                )
                                )
Fairfield Communications        )    File No. EB-03-TS-038
                                )       
Operator of Cable System in:    )
                                )    
Winnsboro, South Carolina       )    
                                )
Request for Waiver 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  Fairfield   Communications 
  (``Fairfield'') a temporary  waiver of Section 11.11(a) of  the 
  Commission's Rules  (``Rules'') for  the above-captioned  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  

3.        Fairfield filed  a request  for a  temporary,  12-month 
  waiver of  Section 11.11(a) for the  captioned cable system  on 
  October 4, 2002.7  In support of its waiver request,  Fairfield 
  states that its  small cable system serves approximately  1,877 
  subscribers.   Fairfield  further states  that  it  is  in  the 
  process  of rebuilding  its  system, changing  from  analog  to 
  digital facilities.  Fairfield notes that upon completion,  the 
  bulk of  it programming and EAS  signals will be imported  from 
  another cable system's headend in an adjacent city.   Fairfield 
  submits that after  the rebuild, it will install EAS  equipment 
  at the  captioned system's headend to  transmit EAS signals  to 
  local programming  channels.  Finally, Fairfield believes  that 
  it can  bring the  captioned cable system  into EAS  compliance 
  within the next twelve months. 

4.        Based upon our review  of the information submitted  by 
  Fairfield,  we conclude  that  a temporary  waiver  of  Section 
  11.11(a) for  the captioned cable system  from October 4,  2002 
  until    October 1, 2003 is warranted.8  However, we note  that 
  Fairfield  did not  file its  waiver request  until October  4, 
  2002,  after the  October 1,  2002 deadline  for cable  systems 
  serving 10,000 or  fewer subscribers to install EAS  equipment.  
  We find that Fairfield  was in violation of the requirement  in 
  Section  11.11(a) of  the Rules  to  install EAS  equipment  by 
  October 1, 2002.  We admonish Fairfield for this violation.

5.        Accordingly, IT IS ORDERED  that, pursuant to  Sections 
  0.111,   0.204(b)   and  0.311   of   the   Rules,9   Fairfield 
  Communications IS GRANTED  a waiver of Section 11.11(a) of  the 
  Rules  from October  4,  2002 until  October  1, 2003  for  the 
  captioned cable television system.

6.        IT IS FURTHER ORDERED that Fairfield Communications  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  Fairfield  Communications 
  place a copy of this waiver in its system file.

8.        IT IS FURTHER ORDERED that  a copy of this Order  shall 
  be sent by Certified Mail Return Receipt Requested to James  F. 
  Hicklin,  Secretary/Treasurer,  Fairfield  Communications,  112 
  York  Street, Post  Office  Box 160,  Chester,  South  Carolina 
  29706. 

                         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        Although Fairfield's waiver request is dated September 
10, 2002, the certified mail receipt included with the waiver 
request shows that the Commission received the waiver request on 
October 4, 2002.

  8    We   clarify  that  the  waiver   we  are  granting   also 
encompasses the EAS testing and monitoring requirements.  

  9 47 C.F.R. §§ 0.111, 0.204(b) and 0.311.