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Before the
Federal Communications Commission
Washington, D.C. 20554
In the Matter of )
)
Post Cablevision of Nebraska, LP) File No. EB-02-TS-262
)
Operator of Cable Systems in: )
)
Brule, Nebraska )
Paxton, Nebraska )
Stratton, Nebraska )
)
Request for Waiver of Section 11.11(a) of the )
Commission's Rules )
ORDER
Adopted: October 21, 2002 Released: October 25,
2002
By the Chief, Technical and Public Safety Division, Enforcement
Bureau:
1. In this Order, we grant Post Cablevision of Nebraska,
LP (``Post Cablevision'') temporary 36-month waivers of
Section 11.11(a) of the Commission's Rules (``Rules'') for the
above-captioned cable television systems. Section 11.11(a)
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,
2002.1
2. The Cable Act of 1992 added new Section 624(g) to the
Communications Act of 1934 (``Act''), which requires that
cable systems be capable of providing EAS alerts to their
subscribers.2 In 1994, the Commission adopted rules requiring
cable systems to participate in EAS.3 In 1997, the Commission
amended the EAS rules to provide financial relief for small
cable systems.4 The Commission declined to exempt small cable
systems from the EAS requirements, concluding that such an
exemption would be inconsistent with the statutory mandate of
Section 624(g).5 However, the Commission 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.6 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.7 The Commission indicated that waiver
requests must contain at least the following information: (1)
justification for the waiver, with reference to the particular
rule sections for which a waiver is sought; (2) information
about the financial status of the requesting entity, such as a
balance sheet and income statement for the two previous years
(audited, if possible); (3) the number of other entities that
serve the requesting entity's coverage area and that have or
are expected to install EAS equipment; and (4) the likelihood
(such as proximity or frequency) of hazardous risks to the
requesting entity's audience.8
3. On June 20, 2002, Post Cablevision filed a request for
a waiver of Section 11.11(a) for the three captioned cable
systems. In support of its waiver request, Post Cablevision
states that these are small, rural cable systems with few
subscribers. Post Cablevision notes that the Brule system
serves 112 subscribers, the Paxton system serves 176
subscribers and the Stratton system serves 102 subscribers.
Based on price quotes provided by EAS equipment manufacturers,
Post Cablevision estimates that it would cost approximately
$12,960 to install EAS equipment at these systems. Post
Cablevision asserts that the cost of installing EAS equipment
at the systems will impose a substantial financial hardship on
it and provides financial statements for 2000 and 2001 in
support of this assertion. In addition, Post Cablevision
submits that subscribers will continue to have ready access to
national EAS information from other sources, including its
cable systems. Post Cablevision also asserts that its
subscribers will have access to EAS information through over-
the-air reception of broadcast television and radio stations
and other sources.
4. Based upon our review of the financial data and other
information submitted by Post Cablevision, we conclude that
temporary, 36-month waivers of Section 11.11(a) for the three
captioned cable systems are warranted.9 In particular, we
find that the estimated $12,960 cost of EAS equipment for
these small cable systems could impose financial hardship on
Post Cablevision.
5. We note that the Commission recently amended the EAS
rules to permit cable systems serving fewer than 5,000
subscribers to install FCC-certified decoder-only units,
rather than both encoders and decoders, if such a device
becomes available.10 Based on comments from equipment
manufacturers, we anticipate that such a decoder-only system
could result in significant cost savings to small cable
systems.11
6. Accordingly, IT IS ORDERED that, pursuant to Sections
0.111, 0.204(b) and 0.311 of the Rules,12 Post Cablevision of
Nebraska, LP IS GRANTED a waiver of Section 11.11(a) of the
Rules until October 1, 2005 for the three captioned cable
television systems.
7. IT IS FURTHER ORDERED that Post Cablevision of
Nebraska, LP place a copy of this waiver in its system files.
8. IT IS FURTHER ORDERED that a copy of this Order shall
be sent by Certified Mail Return Receipt Requested to Steve
Sharp, Post Cablevision of Nebraska, LP, 14818 W. 6th Avenue,
Suite 16A, Golden, Colorado 80401.
FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION
Joseph P. Casey
Chief, Technical and Public Safety
Division
Enforcement Bureau
_________________________
1 47 C.F.R. § 11.11(a).
2 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).
3 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, FO Docket Nos. 91-171/91-
301, 10 FCC Rcd 1786 (1994) (``First Report and Order''),
reconsideration granted in part, denied in part, 10 FCC Rcd 11494
(1995).
4 Amendment of Part 73, Subpart G, of the Commission's Rules
Regarding the Emergency Broadcast System, Second Report and
Order, FO Docket Nos. 91-171/91-301, 12 FCC Rcd 15503 (1997)
(``Second Report and Order'').
5 Id. at 15512-13.
6 Id. at 15516-15518.
7 Id. at 15513.
8 Id. at 15513, n. 59.
9 The waivers will extend from October 1, 2002 until October
1, 2005. We clarify that the waivers we are granting also
encompass the EAS testing and monitoring requirements.
10 Amendment of Part 11 of the Commission's Rules Regarding
the Emergency Alert System, EB Docket 01-66, FCC 02-64 at ¶ 71
(released February 26, 2002).
11 One manufacturer estimated that an EAS decoder-only system
can reduce the cost by 64% over what a cable operator would spend
for an encoder/decoder unit. Id. at ¶ 70.
12 47 C.F.R. §§ 0.111, 0.204(b) and 0.311.