NEWSReport No. DC-95-13                 ACTION IN DOCKET CASE                 January 12, 1995 

          COMMISSION RECONSIDERS FIRST REPORT AND ORDER REGARDING
                  CABLE SYSTEM ANTI-TRAFFICKING RULES AND
          SATELLITE MASTER ANTENNA TV CROSS-OWNERSHIP LIMITATIONS
                            (MM DOCKET 92-264)

     The Commission today acted on petitions for reconsideration of the First Report and
Order in MM Docket 92-264, in which it adopted rules implementing the anti-trafficking
provisions of Section 13, and the multichannel multipoint distribution service ("MMDS") and
satellite master antenna television ("SMATV") cross-ownership provisions of Section 11 of
the Cable Television Consumer Protection and Competition Act of 1992. 

     The Memorandum Opinion and Order adopted today affirms the rules in the First
Report and Order implementing the anti-trafficking provisions and clarifies the rules'
application in various situations.  Subject to certain exceptions, the statutory provision
restricts the ability of a cable operator to sell or otherwise transfer ownership of a cable
system that it has held for less than three years.  The Commission clarified that when a
transaction is statutorily exempt from the three-year holding requirement (i.e., a pro forma,
involuntary or tax exempt transaction) a new holding period does not commence upon
consummation of the exempt transaction.  The Commission also noted that in the future it
will generally treat requests for waiver of the anti-trafficking rules favorably, absent some
indication that a particular request raises serious public interest concerns. 

     In the Memorandum Opinion and Order, the Commission also modified the SMATV-
cable cross-ownership rules to permit a SMATV operator to sell its facilities that operate
within a cable operator's service area to the locally franchised cable operator, provided the
acquired facility is operated in accordance with the terms and conditions of the cable
operator's local cable franchise agreement.  The Commission observed that this modification
better serves the underlying purposes of the statutory provision.  The MMDS-cable cross-
ownership rules were not challenged on reconsideration and, therefore, were not addressed in
the Memorandum Opinion and Order.



                                  (over)




                                   - 2 -

     Action by the Commission on January 12, 1995, by Memorandum Opinion and Order
on Reconsideration of the First Report And Order (FCC 95-21).  Chairman Hundt,
Commissioners Quello, Barrett, Ness and Chong.

                                  - FCC -    

     News Media contact: Morgan Broman (202) 416-0852
     Cable Service Bureau contacts: Rebecca L. Dorch, Jeffrey S. Lanning (202) 416-
0800.