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Before the
Federal Communications Commission
Washington, D.C. 20554
In the matter of )
)
LB Cable Georgia LLC )
) File No.: EB-04-HS-019
Operator of Cable Systems in )
the State of Georgia )
)
Request for Waiver of Section )
11.11(a) of the Commission's )
Rules
ORDER
Adopted: June 28, 2004 Released: June 30,
2004
By the: Director, Office of Homeland Security, Enforcement
Bureau
1. In this Order, we grant LB Cable Georgia LLC (LB Cable
Georgia) temporary waivers of section 11.11(a) of the Federal
Communications Commission's (Commission) rules (Rules)1 for 35
cable television systems listed in Attachment A. Section
11.11(a) of the 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,
2002.2
2. The Cable Act of 1992 added new section 624(g) to the
Communications Act of 1934, as amended3 and required that cable
systems be capable of providing EAS alerts to their subscribers.4
In 1994, the Commission adopted rules requiring cable systems to
participate in EAS.5 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
3. On March 2, 2004, LB Cable Georgia filed a request for
temporary waivers of the EAS requirements for the recently
acquired small cable systems in rural Georgia, asserting that the
cost of immediate installation of EAS equipment in the 35 systems
would cause financial hardship. LB Cable Georgia states that it
acquired the 35 cable systems in a bankruptcy sale in February
2004, and therefore, has not had enough time to generated
sufficient revenue to purchase and install EAS equipment at this
time. Based on price quotes from EAS equipment manufacturers, LB
Cable Georgia estimates that it would cost approximately $350,000
to purchase and install the EAS at the 35 headends. LB Cable
Georgia asserts that, without the requested waivers, it may have
to delay or cancel its plans to upgrade and interconnect the 35
headends which would delay or eliminate the delivery of broadband
services to over 6,200 rural subscribers. Finally, LB Cable
Georgia contends that subscribers will continue to have ready
access to national EAS information from other sources, including
its cable system and over-the-air reception of broadcast
television and radio stations.
4. Based on our review of the information submitted by LB Cable
Georgia, we conclude that temporary waivers of section
11.11(a) of the Rules for the 35 cable systems listed in
Attachment A, is warranted. In particular, we find that the
estimated cost of $350,000 to purchase and install EAS
equipment at these recently acquired cable television systems
could impose a financial hardship on LB Cable Georgia.
5. Accordingly, IT IS ORDERED that, pursuant to sections 0.111,
0204(b) and 0.311 of the rules,10 LB Cable Georgia LLC's
request for temporary waivers of section 11.11(a) of the rules
is GRANTED until October 1, 2005, for its 35 cable television
systems listed in Attachment A.11
6. IT IS FURTHER ORDERED that LB Cable Georgia LLC place a copy
of this waiver in its system files.
7. IT IS FURTHER ORDERED that a copy of this Order shall be
sent by Certified Mail Return Receipt Requested to counsel for
LB Cable Georgia LLC, Christopher C. Cinnamon, Esq., Cinnamon
Muller, 307 North Michigan Avenue, Suite 1020, Chicago,
Illinois 60601.
FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION
James A. Dailey
Director, Office of Homeland
Security
Enforcement Bureau
ATTACHMENT A
Cable Systems in Georgia Temporary
Waiver Granted Until
Arabi October 1, 2005
Attapulgus October 1, 2005
Berlin October 1, 2005
Chauncey October 1, 2005
Chester October 1, 2005
Climax October 1, 2005
Collins October 1, 2005
Colquitt October 1, 2005
E. Baldwin Co. October 1, 2005
Flint River October 1, 2005
Gibson October 1, 2005
Gordon October 1, 2005
Hoboken October 1, 2005
Iron City October 1, 2005
Irwinton October 1, 2005
Jeffersonville October 1, 2005
Jones Co. October 1, 2005
Midville October 1, 2005
Milan October 1, 2005
N. Baldwin October 1, 2005
Newton City October 1, 2005
Oak Park October 1, 2005
Pineview October 1, 2005
Pitts October 1, 2005
Portal October 1, 2005
Rebecca October 1, 2005
Recovery October 1, 2005
Rhine October 1, 2005
Sardis October 1, 2005
Seminole October 1, 2005
Stapleton October 1, 2005
Stillmore October 1, 2005
Surrency October 1, 2005
Toomsboro October 1, 2005
Uvalda October 1, 2005
Warwick October 1, 2005
Whigham October 1, 2005
Wiley Acres October 1, 2005
_________________________
1 47 C.F.R. § 11.11(a).
2 Id.
3 The Communications Act of 1934 was amended by the
Telecommunications Act of 1996. Pub. L. No. 104-104, 110 Stat.
56 (1996) (1996 Act).
4 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).
5 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, 10 FCC Rcd 1786 (1994),
reconsideration granted in part, denied in part, 10 FCC Rcd 11494
(1995).
6 Amendment of Part 73, Subpart G, of the Commission's Rules
Regarding the Emergency Broadcast System, Second Report and
Order, 12 FCC Rcd 15503 (1997).
7 Id. at 15512-13.
8 Id. at 15516-15518.
9 Id. at 15513.
10 47 C.F.R. §§ 0.111, 0.204(b) and 0.311.
11 We clarify that these waivers also encompass the EAS testing
and monitoring requirements.