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Before the
Federal Communications Commission
Washington, D.C. 20554
In the Matter of )
)
Youngsville Television Corporation a/k/a )
Youngsville TV Corp. ) File No. EB-02-TS-266
)
Operator of Cable System in: )
)
Broken Straw Township, Pennsylvania )
)
Request for Waiver of Section 11.11(a) of the )
Commission's Rules )
ORDER
Adopted: October 7, 2003 Released: October 9,
2003
By the Chief, Spectrum Enforcement Division, Enforcement Bureau:
1. In this Order, we deny the request of Youngsville
Television Corporation a/k/a Youngsville TV Corp.
(``Youngsville'') to extend the temporary, 12-month waiver of
Section 11.11(a) of the Commission's Rules (``Rules'')
previously granted for the above-captioned cable television
system.1 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, 2002.2
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.3 In 1994, the Commission adopted rules requiring
cable systems to participate in EAS.4 In 1997, the Commission
amended the EAS rules to provide financial relief for small
cable systems.5 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).6 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.7 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.
3. On April 30, 2002, Youngsville filed a request for a
waiver of Section 11.11(a) of the Rules for the captioned
cable system. In its waiver request, Youngsville noted that
its small cable system served approximately 1,200 subscribers.
In support of its waiver request, Youngsville asserted that
the estimated cost to install EAS equipment would impose a
substantial financial hardship on it due to the cost of its
recent system upgrades. On October 25, 2002, we granted
Youngsville a temporary, 12-month waiver of Section 11.11(a)
for its small cable system.8 We concluded that the financial
data and other information submitted by Youngsville did not
justify a waiver period of longer duration.
4. On June 11, 2003, Youngsville filed a request for a
one-year or two-year extension to the temporary, 12-month
waiver granted in the Waiver Order for the captioned cable
system. Youngsville states that it has 1,250 subscribers.
Youngsville provides a financial statement for 2002 and
updated information regarding operational expenses for the
captioned cable system in support of its request for a waiver
extension.
5. Based upon our review of the additional financial data
and other information submitted by Youngsville, we do not find
that an extension of the 12-month waiver of Section 11.11(a)
of the Rules granted for the captioned cable system is
warranted. In particular, the information provided by
Youngsville does not support financial hardship of a magnitude
that would warrant a waiver extension to install EAS
equipment. Accordingly, we deny Youngsville's request for an
EAS waiver extension.
6. Accordingly, IT IS ORDERED that, pursuant to Sections
0.111, 0.204(b), 0.311 of the Rules,9 Youngsville Television
Corporation a/k/a Youngsville TV Corp.'s request for a waiver
extension IS DENIED.
7. IT IS FURTHER ORDERED that a copy of this Order shall
be sent by Certified Mail Return Receipt Requested to Felix
Matthews, President, Youngsville Television Corporation a/k/a
Youngsville TV Corp., 3 West Main Street, Youngsville,
Pennsylvania 16371.
FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION
Joseph P. Casey
Chief, Spectrum Enforcement Division
Enforcement Bureau
_________________________
1 Youngsville Television Corporation, 17 FCC Rcd 20849 (Enf.
Bur., Tech. & Pub. Safety Div., 2002) (``Waiver Order'').
2 47 C.F.R. § 11.11(a).
3 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).
4 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), reconsideration granted in part,
denied in part, 10 FCC Rcd 11494 (1995).
5 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).
6 Id. at 15512-13.
7 Id. at 15516-15518.
8 17 FCC Rcd at 20849.
9 47 C.F.R. §§ 0.111, 0.204(b), 0.311.