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Before the
Federal Communications Commission
Washington, D.C. 20554
In the Matter of )
)
Gilmer Cable Television Company )
) File No. EB-04-HS-005
Operator of Cable System in: )
)
Gilmer, Texas )
)
Request for Waiver of Section 11.11(a) of the )
Commission's Rules )
ORDER
Adopted: January 27, 2004 Released: January 29,
2004
By the Director, Office of Homeland Security, Enforcement Bureau:
1. On October 29, 2002, Gilmer Cable Television Company
(``Gilmer'') was granted a 12-month waiver of its
obligations under section 11.11(a)1 of the Commission's
Rules (``Rules'').2 In this Order, we grant Gilmer a six-
month extension of that waiver.
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 Section
11.11(a) of the Commission's rules 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. 5
3. In 1997, the Commission amended the EAS rules to
provide financial relief for small cable systems.6 The
Commission declined to exempt small cable systems from the
EAS requirements entirely, however, concluding that such an
exemption would be inconsistent with the statutory mandate
of section 624(g).7 The amended rules 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.8 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.9
5. On August 9, 2002, Gilmer filed a
request for a temporary, 24-month waiver of section 11.11(a). In
its waiver request, Gilmer noted that its small, rural cable
system served 2,450 subscribers. Gilmer asserted that the
estimated cost to install the EAS equipment would impose a
substantial financial hardship on Gilmer and provided financial
data for 2000 and 2001 in support of this assertion. On October
29, 2002, we granted Gilmer a temporary 12-month waiver of
section 11.11(a) for its small cable system, concluding that the
financial data and other information submitted by Gilmer did not
justify a waiver period of longer duration.10
6. On September 30, 2003, Gilmer
filed a request for a one year extension to the temporary 12-
month waiver granted in the Waiver Order for the captioned cable
system. Gilmer stated that it has lost 120 subscribers since its
August 9, 2002, waiver request and that it continues to have
financial problems. Gilmer provided additional financial
information regarding operation expenses for its cable system in
support of its request for additional time to comply with section
11.11(a) of the Rules.
7. Based on the additional financial data
and other information submitted by Gilmer, we conclude that a
six-month extension of the temporary waiver of Section 11.11(a)
of the Rules for the captioned cable system is warranted.11 The
information provided by Gilmer shows that a minimal extension is
justified, but does not support a finding of financial hardship
of a magnitude that would warrant a 12-month extension of the
temporary waiver.12
8. Accordingly, IT IS ORDERED that, pursuant to
Sections 0.111, 0.204(b), 0.311 of the Rules,13 that Gilmer Cable
Television Company's request for a waiver of section 11.11(a) of
the Rules is GRANTED, consistent with the discussion and
conclusions in this Order.
9. IT IS FURTHER ORDERED that Gilmer Cable
Television Company place a copy of this waiver in its system
file.
10. IT IS FURTHER ORDERED that a copy of this
Order shall be sent by Certified Mail Return Receipt Requested
to counsel for Gilmer Cable Television Company, Timothy P.
Tobin, Esq., Cole, Raywid and Braverman, 1919 Pennsylvania
Avenue, N.W., Suite 200, Washington, D.C. 20006
FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION
James A. Dailey
Director, Office of Homeland Security
Enforcement Bureau
_________________________
1 47 C.F.R. § 11.11(a).
2 Gilmer Cable Television Company, Order, 17 FCC Rcd 22101
(Enf. Bur., Tech. & Pub. Safety Div., 2002) (``Waiver Order'').
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, FO Docket Nos. 91-
171/91-301, Report and Order and Further Notice of Proposed Rule
Making, 10 FCC Rcd 1786 (1994), reconsideration granted in part,
denied in part, 10 FCC Rcd 11494 (1995).
5 47 C.F.R. § 11.11(a).
6 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).
7 Id. at 15512-13.
8 Id. at 15516-15518.
9 Amendment of Part 11 of the Commission's Rules Regarding the
Emergency Alert System, EB Docket 01-66, FCC 02-64, 17 FCC Rcd
4055 (2002).
10 Gilmer Cable Television Company, Order, 17 FCC Rcd 22101
(Enf. Bur., Tech. & Pub. Safety Div., 2002).
11 The six-month extension waiver will extend from October 1,
2003 until April 1, 2004.
12 We note that Gilmer raised health-related matters in
support of its request for an extension of its temporary waiver.
However, these matters are not a valid basis for granting waivers
of our EAS rules.
13 47 C.F.R. §§ 0.111, 0.204(b), 0.311.