PUBLIC NOTICE FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION 1919 M STREET, N.W. WASHINGTON, D.C. 20554 News media information 202/418-0500 Fax-On-Demand 202/418-2830 Internet: http://www.fcc.gov ftp.fcc.gov August 5, 1996 FY 1996 Cable Television System Regulatory Fees The Federal Communications Commission issues this Public Notice in order to provide information concerning the payment of regulatory fees in 1996. If you are an operator of a cable television system or a licensee of a cable antenna relay service (CARS) or broadcast auxiliary service, you should carefully review this Public Notice. WHO MUST PAY REGULATORY FEES IN 1996 Cable television systems operating on or before December 31, 1995 must pay regulatory fees per subscriber in 1996. Governments and nonprofit (exempt under Section 501(c) of the Internal Revenue Code) entities are exempt from paying regulatory fees and should not submit payment, but will be asked to submit a current IRS Determination Letter documenting its nonprofit status, a certification of governmental authority, or certification from a governmental authority attesting to its exempt status. All cable television systems must pay regulatory fees of $0.55 per subscriber for each community unit in which it operates. Additionally, each system operating on or before October 1, 1995 must pay a $325.00 fee for each CARS license held and, if applicable, a $35.00 fee for each Broadcast Auxiliary Service license held. In the event that there has been a change in ownership of a system after the effective dates above, but before the date payment is due, responsibility for payment of the regulatory fees rests upon the new owner. A regulatee will be relieved of its fee payment requirement if its total fee due, including all categories of fees for which payment is due by the entity, amounts to less than $10. WHY THE COMMISSION MUST COLLECT REGULATORY FEES The requirement to collect annual regulatory fees from cable television systems was contained in Public Law 103-66, "The Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1993." These regulatory fees, which are likely to change each fiscal year, are used to offset costs associated with the Commission's enforcement, public service, international and policy and rulemaking activities. These fees are in addition to any application processing fees associated with obtaining a license or other authorization from the Commission. WHEN FEES WILL BE DUE All cable systems must pay the following regulatory fees to the Commission during the period beginning September 12, 1996 and ending September 20, 1996, in order to avoid a 25% late penalty: TYPE OF FEE REGULATORY FEE PAYMENT FEE CODE Cable System Subscriber Fee $0.55 per subscriber TOC6 CARS License $325 per license TQC6 Broadcast Auxiliary Services License $35 per license MUB6 FCC FORM 159 Regulatory fee payments must be accompanied by FCC Form 159 ("FCC Remittance Advice"). A copy of this form, with specific instructions, is attached to this Public Notice. Please see "Special Instructions for Completing FCC Forms 159 & 159-C" for detailed information on how to correctly complete these Forms. WHERE TO SEND REGULATORY FEE PAYMENTS If sending your regulatory fee payment by mail, please address your envelope as follows: Federal Communications Commission Regulatory Fees P.O. Box 358835 Pittsburgh, PA 15251-5835 If you prefer to send your regulatory fee payment by courier to our lockbox bank, you may do so 24 hours per business day (except bank holidays). Please address your envelope and deliver it to the following address: Federal Communications Commission c/o Mellon Bank Three Mellon Bank Center 525 William Penn Way 27th Floor, Room 153-2713 Pittsburgh, PA 15259-0001 (Attention: FCC Module Supervisor) METHOD OF PAYMENT Regulatory fee payments may be made by check, money order, or by credit card (Visa or Mastercard only). When paying by credit card, please make sure you complete block 22 and sign block 23 of Form 159. Payments may also be made by wire transfer, ACH Debit or ACH Credit. Instructions are provided below. NOTE: We encourage arrangements to consolidate regulatory fee payments either by a single entity or by different entities into a single payment instrument. Consolidated fee payments may cover several different service categories. Multiple fee payments may be made utilizing any of the methods of payment mentioned above. Payors who will be making a single payment for a significant number of entities and wish to submit automated data submissions in lieu of a large number of FCC Forms 159-C ("Advice Continuation Sheets") may do so. Specific Instructions regarding automated data submission will be issued shortly. There is no limit to the number of payment items. WIRE TRANSFER PAYMENT INSTRUCTIONS A wire transfer is a transaction that you initiate via your bank. It authorizes your bank to wire funds from your account to our lockbox bank, the Mellon Bank in Pittsburgh, PA. All payments made by wire transfer must be supported by a completed FCC Remittance Advice (FCC Form 159) and Advice Continuation Sheet (FCC Form 159-C), if required. The Form 159 must be faxed to Mellon Bank at (412) 236-5702 at least one hour before the wire transfer on the same business day. Indicate on the top of the FCC Form 159 "Wire Transfer - Regulatory Fee Payment." In the "Reserve Box" located at the upper left hand corner indicate "358835." Failure to submit the completed Form 159 will result in a delay in crediting your account. Due to Federal Reserve regulations, wire transfers received after 6:00 p.m. (EST) will be credited the next business day. The following information should be provided to your bank in order to complete the wire transfer: ABA Routing Number 043000261 Receiving Bank: Mellon Pittsburgh BNF: FCC/ACV--9116106 OBI Field: (Skip one space between each information item) "REGULATORYPAY" FCC ACCOUNT NO. (Exactly as on Form 159, Block #1) PAYOR NAME (Exactly as on Form 159, Block #3) Phone: (Daytime Phone #, exactly as on Form 159, Block #9) LOCKBOX 358835 ACH DEBIT PAYMENT INSTRUCTIONS This method involves simply calling Mellon Bank's toll-free telephone number, entering your payment via a computer terminal, or sending a CPU-CPU transmission by 8:15 p.m. (EST) of the business day before your payment is due. Mellon Bank will electronically process your payments to the FCC the next business day. A brief application form must be completed and a personal identification number (PIN) issued by the bank. This process requires 30 days advance notice. Please contact Reginia Dorsey, Chief, Billings & Collections Branch, Financial Operations Division at (202) 418-1995 for further details. ACH CREDIT PAYMENT INSTRUCTIONS This method requires that you contact your bank directly and authorize them to electronically transfer funds from your account directly to Mellon Bank for credit to the FCC. For specific instructions and charges, please contact your local bank. The following information should be provided to your bank in order to complete the ACH Credit transaction: ABA Routing Number 043000261 Receiving Bank: Mellon Pittsburgh FCC Bank Account #--9116966 Supplemental Information: (Skip one space between each information item) "REGULATORYPAY" FCC PAYOR ACCOUNT NO. (Exactly as on Form 159, Block #1) PHONE: (Daytime phone #, exactly as on Form 159, Block #9) LOCKBOX 358835 WARNING: ACH Credit Payments normally take one to two days to post to the account of the FCC. If you elect this method of payment, you must effect your credit transaction in sufficient time to meet the due date. COMPLIA NCE Please make sure your total remittance and the amount indicated on the form FCC 159 are in agreement. Failure to do so will delay processing. Cable television systems are solely responsible for accurately accounting for all CARS and Broadcast Auxiliary Service licenses, as well as subscribers within each community unit, and for paying the proper regulatory fees. Any data omission, erroneous or incomplete data submission, or payment deficiency may result in a 25% monetary penalty, dismissal of pending actions, and/or revocation of any authorization. You are strongly urged to submit your payment on time and accurately in order to avoid a penalty. Additionally, the Commission will invoke any lawful authority it may possess under the Debt Collection Act against any cable television system failing to meet its regulatory fee payment obligations to collect any fees due or outstanding. WAIVERS , REDUCTIONS AND DEFERMENTS OF REGULATORY FEES The Commission will consider requests for waivers, reductions or deferments of regulatory fees, in extraordinary and compelling circumstances only, upon a showing that such action overrides the public interest in reimbursing the Commission for its regulatory costs. Timely submission of the appropriate regulatory fee must accompany requests for waivers or reductions. This will ensure efficient collection in situations where a waiver or reduction is not warranted and will allow the requestor to avoid a 25% late-payment penalty if its request is denied. The regulatory fee would be refunded if the request is granted. Only in exceptional or compelling instances (where payment of the regulatory fee along with the waiver or reduction request could result in the reduction of service to a community or other financial hardship to the regulatee or licensee) will the Commission accept a petition to defer payment along with a waiver or reduction request. All requests for deferments must be received before September 20, 1996, in order to avoid the 25% late-payment penalty. ADDITIO NAL INFORMATION Applicable Public Notices, and Forms 159 and 159-C are available from the Commission's Office of Public Affairs, Public Service Division and can be downloaded from the Internet (ftp@fcc.gov). Forms may also be obtained by contacting the Forms Hotline at (800) 418-3676 outside the Washington, D.C. area, or (202) 418-3676 locally. For additional information, please contact the Public Service Division at (202) 418-0192, or write to: Federal Communications Commission, Office of Public Affairs, ATTN: Public Service Division, 1919 M Street, N.W., Washington, D.C. 20554. PAYMENT PROCEDURES FOR CABLE TELEVISION SYSTEMS Subscriber Fees All cable television systems are subject to a fee of $0.55 per subscriber. A system's total subscriber fee can be determined by multiplying $0.55 times the number of subscribers as of December 31, 1995, within all community units in which it operates as defined below. You may pay for multiple community units with a single payment instrument as long as the community units are all part of the same cable system or are part of a group of commonly-owned cable systems. CARS and Broadcast Auxiliary Licenses Cable systems holding CARS licenses must pay a regulatory fee of $325.00 for each CARS license and, if applicable, a regulatory fee of $35.00 for each Broadcast Auxiliary Service license held as of October 1, 1995.. NOTE: One payment may be submitted for all regulatory fee obligations (i.e., "subscriber fees" and all Cable Antenna Relay Service and Broadcast Auxiliary Service licenses). Payment Due Date All regulatory fee payments for cable television systems must be received at the Commission during the period beginning September 12, 1996 and ending September 20, 1996. SPECIAL INSTRUCTIONS FOR COMPLETING FCC FORMS 159 & 159-C FCC Form 159 ("FCC Remittance Advice") and, as necessary, FCC Form 159-C ("Advice Continuation Sheet") must accompany all regulatory fee payments. Form 159 allows payors to report information on one or more payment items (e.g., multiple community units, CARS licenses, Broadcast Auxiliary Service licenses, or any combination). Use Form 159-C to report additional community units or licenses. FCC Form 159 and 159-C have been attached to this Public Notice for you to complete and remit with your payment. Payors filing electronically must include information equivalent to the items on the FCC Form 159 and 159-C. You may make additional copies of the forms as required. In addition to the instructions for Form 159 (which are on the reverse side of the Form 159), the following information applies specifically to cable television payors: Block (12) - "FCC CALL SIGN/OTHER ID":  Enter your community unit identification number for reporting subscribers in each community unit within your system.  Enter your call sign for CARS or Broadcast Auxiliary Service licenses. Block (14) - "PAYMENT TYPE CODE": TOC6: Use this code when paying a subscriber fee ($0.55 per subscriber). Please note that subscriber information must be provided for each community unit in which the system is operated. TQC6: Use this code when making a regulatory fee payment for a CARS license ($325.00 per license). MUB6: Use this code when making a regulatory fee payment for a Broadcast Auxiliary Services license ($35.00 per license). Block (15) - "QUANTITY":  For subscriber fees (payment type code TOC6) enter the number of subscribers within each community unit. For CARS or Broadcast Auxiliary Service licensees, enter "1" in this block. Block (16) - "AMOUNT DUE":  For subscriber fees (payment type code TOC6), multiply the amount in Block 15 ("Quantity") by $0.55 and enter the result here. Round down to the nearest whole dollar.  For CARS licenses (payment type code TQC6) enter $325.00.  For Broadcast Auxiliary Service licenses (payment type code MUB6) enter $35.00. Block (17) - "FCC CODE 1":  LEAVE BLANK. Block (18) - "FCC CODE 2":  For subscriber fees only (i.e., payment type code TOC6): Provide the name of the community unit. - FCC -