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Before the
Federal Communications Commission
Washington, D.C. 20554
In the matter of )
)
LB Cable LLC )
) File No.: EB-04-HS-023
Operator of Cable Systems in )
Georgia and Montana )
)
Request for Waivers of Section )
11.11(a) of the Commission's )
Rules
ORDER
Adopted: July 6, 2004 Released: July 8, 2004
By the: Director, Office of Homeland Security, Enforcement
Bureau
1. In this Order, we grant LB Cable LLC (LB Cable)
temporary waivers of section 11.11(a) of the Federal
Communications Commission's (Commission) rules (Rules)1 for 20
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, 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 filed a request for
temporary waivers of the EAS requirements for the recently
acquired small cable systems in rural Georgia and Montana,
asserting that the cost of immediate installation of EAS
equipment in the 20 systems would cause financial hardship. LB
Cable states that it began operating the subject systems on the
day that it acquired them in a bankruptcy sale on February 2,
2004, and, therefore has not had enough time to generate
sufficient revenue to purchase and install EAS equipment at this
time. Based on price quotes from EAS equipment manufacturers, LB
Cable estimates that it would cost approximately $200,000 to
purchase and install the EAS equipment at the 20 headends. LB
Cable asserts that without the requested waivers, it may have to
delay or cancel its plans to upgrade and interconnect the 20
headends which would delay or eliminate the delivery of broadband
services to over 8,900 rural subscribers. Finally, LB Cable
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, we conclude that temporary waivers of section
11.11(a) of the Rules for the 20 cable systems listed in
Attachment A, are warranted. In particular, we find
that the estimated cost of $200,000 to purchase and
install EAS equipment at these recently acquired cable
television systems could impose a financial hardship on
LB Cable.
5. Accordingly, IT IS ORDERED that, pursuant to sections
0.111, 0204(b) and 0.311 of the rules,10 LB Cable LLC's
request for temporary waivers of section 11.11(a) of the
rules is GRANTED until October 1, 2005, for its 20 cable
television systems listed in Attachment A.11
6. IT IS FURTHER ORDERED that LB Cable 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 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 System Temporary Waiver
Granted Until
Abbeville, Georgia October 1, 2005
Allentown, Georgia October 1, 2005
Dry Branch, Georgia October 1, 2005
Dudley, Georgia October 1, 2005
East Dublin, Georgia October 1, 2005
Gordon, Georgia October 1, 2005
Guyton, Georgia October 1, 2005
Newton County, Georgia October 1, 2005
North Baldwin, Georgia October 1, 2005
Port Wentworth, Georgia October 1, 2005
Rentz, Georgia October 1, 2005
Rochelle, Georgia October 1, 2005
Sparta, Georgia October 1, 2005
Wrens, Georgia October 1, 2005
Big Sky, Montana October 1, 2005
Culbertson, Montana October 1, 2005
Plentywood, Montana October 1, 2005
Poplar, Montana October 1, 2005
Scobey, Montana October 1, 2005
West Yellowston, Montana 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.