Click here for Adobe Acrobat version
Click here for Microsoft Word version
********************************************************
NOTICE
********************************************************
This document was converted from Microsoft Word.
Content from the original version of the document such as
headers, footers, footnotes, endnotes, graphics, and page numbers
will not show up in this text version.
All text attributes such as bold, italic, underlining, etc. from the
original document will not show up in this text version.
Features of the original document layout such as
columns, tables, line and letter spacing, pagination, and margins
will not be preserved in the text version.
If you need the complete document, download the
Microsoft Word or Adobe Acrobat version.
*****************************************************************
Before the
Federal Communications Commission
Washington, D.C. 20554
In the Matter of )
)
Satellite Cable Services, Inc. ) File No. EB-03-SE-188
)
Operator of Cable Systems in: )
)
Delmont, South Dakota )
Geddes, South Dakota )
Pickstown, South Dakota )
)
Request for Waiver of Section 11.11(a) of the )
Commission's Rules )
ORDER
Adopted: August 15, 2003 Released: August 19,
2003
By the Chief, Spectrum Enforcement Division, Enforcement Bureau:
1. In this Order, we grant Satellite Cable Services, Inc.
(``Satellite Cable'') temporary, 36-month 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 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, Inc. 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 25, 2002, Satellite Cable filed a request
for permanent waivers of Section 11.11(a) for the three-
captioned cable systems. In support of this request,
Satellite Cable states the three cable television systems were
recently acquired. Moreover, Satellite Cable states that the
three small, rural cable systems serve together approximately
165 subscribers. Based on price quotes provided by EAS
equipment manufacturers, Satellite Cable estimates that it
would cost between $7,500 and $10,000 per headend to install
EAS equipment at these systems. Satellite Cable asserts that
this cost will impose a substantial financial hardship on it
and provides its financial statement for the four-month period
ending December 2001 in support of this assertion. In
addition, Satellite Cable submits that its subscribers will
continue to have ready access to national EAS information from
other sources, including its cable systems. Satellite Cable
also asserts that its subscribers will have access to EAS
information through over-the-air reception of broadcast
television and radio stations.
4. Based upon our review of the financial data and other
information submitted by Satellite Cable, we find that
permanent waivers of Section 11.11(a) for the three captioned
cable systems are not warranted. However, we conclude that
temporary waivers of Section 11.11(a) for these systems from
October 1, 2002 until October 1, 2005 are warranted.9 In
particular, we find that the estimated $7,500 to $10,000 per
headend cost of EAS equipment for these small cable systems
could impose a financial hardship on Satellite Cable.
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.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 Satellite Cable
Services, Inc. IS GRANTED a waiver of Section 11.11(a) of the
Rules from October 1, 2002 until October 1, 2005 for the three
captioned cable television systems.
7. IT IS FURTHER ORDERED that Satellite Cable Services,
Inc. 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 Satellite Cable Services, Inc., David L. Edwards, Esq.,
Cutler & Donahoe, LLP, 10 North Phillips Avenue, 9th Floor,
Sioux Falls, South Dakota 57104-6725.
FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION
Joseph P. Casey
Chief, Spectrum Enforcement 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 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.