FCC RELEASES FORM 325A 

     The Federal Communications Commission has mailed its new
Annual Report of Cable Television Systems (FCC Form 325A) to  
over 11,000 cable television system operators serving nearly
33,000 communities nationwide.  The updated form replaces former
FCC Form 325, Schedules 1 and 2.  The 325A is pre-printed with
the most current cable system information on file with the
Commission.  

     Cable television system operators who owned and/or operated
a cable facility on December 31, 1993, are required to update the
pre-printed information and return the form to the Commission
within sixty days of receipt of the form.  Instructions on
completion of the form accompanied each mailing.

     The form collects data on both a community-specific and
system-wide basis, which will enable the Commission to study
physical and operational changes on individual cable systems as
well as for the entire cable industry.  This, in turn, will
enhance the Commission's ability to analyze competitive issues
within the cable industry at the national and state levels;
conduct studies on cable industry trends and developments; and
assess the effectiveness of its rules and regulations.  

The form consists of five parts as follows:  
          
Part 1- information concerning the cable television operator
including the community and county served, the legal and assumed
name used to do business in the community, and the business
address of the company.  

Part 2- information on the community and county for which the
cable company operates including the population of the community
and/or the county, subscriber count, homes passed, and miles of
cable plant.  

Part 3- frequencies and signals (both broadcast and non-
broadcast) distributed throughout the system from a single
headend.  

Part 4- information on the services offered by the cable system
including local programs such as time/weather, burglar alarm,
utility meter reading, preference polling and facsimile delivery. 

Part 5- individual responsible for providing the reported
information to the Commission.

     Upon completion of the process, the FCC intends to make the
information gathered on the new Form 325As available to all
interested parties, including cable and other industries, state
and local governments and the public.  For example, the "System
Community and Physical System Full-Record Reports", "Community
Cross Reference Lists", "TV Station Authorization and
Distribution Reports" and "Operator Mail Address Report" will be
among the first informational reports released.  Other computer-
generated reports will follow as needed. 

     For assistance with completion of the form, contact the
Cable Services Bureau staff for your region at (202) 416-0859
(Northeast), (202) 416-0860 (Southeast), (202) 416-0876
(Central), or (202) 416-0953 (Western).   

News Media contact: Susan Lewis Sallet at (202) 632-5050.
Cable Services Bureau contact: Michael Lance at (202) 416-0916.