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Before the
Federal Communications Commission
Washington, D.C. 20554
In the Matter of )
)
New England Cablevision, Inc. and ) File No. EB-02-TS-635
Flasher Cablevision, Inc. ) File No. EB-02-TS-646
)
Operators of Cable Systems in: )
)
New England, North Dakota and )
Flasher, North Dakota )
)
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 New England Cablevision, Inc.
and Flasher Cablevision, Inc. (``the Companies'')
temporary, 36-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 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 October 1, 2002, the Companies filed a request for
waivers of Section 11.11(a) for the two captioned small,
rural cable systems. In support of its request, the
Companies states that the New England, North Dakota
cable system serves approximately 150 subscribers, and
the Flasher, North Dakota cable system serves
approximately 55 subscribers. Based on price quotes
provided by EAS equipment manufacturers, the Companies
estimate that it would cost a total of approximately
$20,000 to install EAS equipment at these systems. The
Companies assert that the cost of installing EAS
equipment at these systems will impose a substantial
financial hardship on them and provide financial
statements for 2001 in support of this assertion. In
addition, the Companies indicate that its subscribers
will continue to have ready access to national EAS
information from other sources, including its cable
system's programmed channels. The Companies also
indicate 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 the Companies, we conclude that
temporary, 36-month waivers of Section 11.11(a) for the
two captioned cable systems are warranted.9 In
particular, we find that the estimated $20,000 cost of
EAS equipment for these small cable systems could impose
a financial hardship on the Companies.
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, if such a device
becomes available.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 New England
Cablevision, Inc. and Flasher Cablevision, Inc. ARE
GRANTED waivers of Section 11.11(a) of the Rules until
October 1, 2005 for the two captioned cable television
systems.
7. IT IS FURTHER ORDERED that New England Cablevision,
Inc. and Flasher Cablevision, Inc. place a copy of this
waiver in their system files.
8. IT IS FURTHER ORDERED that a copy of this Order shall
be sent by Certified Mail Return Receipt Requested to
the owner of New England Cablevision, Inc. and Flasher
Cablevision, Inc., Mr. Glenn Giese, Post Office Box 39,
New England, North Dakota 58647.
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 Id. at 15513.
8 Id. at 15513, n. 59.
9 The waivers will extend from October 1, 2002, until October
1, 2005. 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.