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Before the
Federal Communications Commission
Washington, D.C. 20554
In the Matter of )
)
Telecom Supply, Inc. ) File No. EB-02-TS-557
)
Operator of Cable System in: )
)
Livingston, Texas )
)
Request for Waiver of Section 11.11(a) of the )
Commission's Rules )
ORDER
Adopted: February 25, 2003 Released: March 3, 2003
By the Chief, Technical and Public Safety Division, Enforcement
Bureau:
1. In this Order, we grant Telecom Supply, Inc. (``TSI'')
a temporary, one-month 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. TSI filed a request for a temporary, one-month waiver
of Section 11.11(a) for the captioned cable system on
September 25, 2002. In support of its waiver request, TSI
states that it has ordered EAS equipment for the small, rural
cable system which serves approximately 450 subscribers.
Based on information provided by its vendor, TSI further
states that the EAS equipment is scheduled for delivery by
October 15, 2002. Finally, TSI believes that it can bring its
cable system into EAS compliance by November 1, 2002.
4. Based upon our review of the information submitted by
TSI, we conclude that a temporary, one-month waiver of Section
11.11(a) for the captioned cable system is warranted.7
5. Accordingly, IT IS ORDERED that, pursuant to Sections
0.111, 0.204(b) and 0.311 of the Rules,8 Telecom Supply, Inc.
IS GRANTED a waiver of Section 11.11(a) of the Rules until
November 1, 2002 for the captioned cable television system.
6. IT IS FURTHER ORDERED that Telecom Supply, Inc. place a
copy of this waiver in its system file.
7. IT IS FURTHER ORDERED that a copy of this Order shall
be sent by Certified Mail Return Receipt Requested to counsel
for Telecom Supply, Inc., 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 waiver will extend from October 1, 2002, until November
1, 2002. Additionally, we clarify that the waiver we are
granting also encompasses the EAS testing and monitoring
requirements.
8 47 C.F.R. §§ 0.111, 0.204(b) and 0.311.