**Before the**

**Federal Communications Commission**

**Washington, D.C. 20554**

In the Matter of )

)

New Century Communications Co. ) File No. EB-02-TS-429

)

Operator of Cable Systems in the States of )

)

Iowa, Minnesota, Wisconsin )

)

Request for Waiver of Section 11.11(a) of the )

Commission's Rules )

## ORDER 

**Adopted: October 29, 2002 Released: November 5, 2002**

By the Chief, Technical and Public Safety Division, Enforcement Bureau:

1.  In this *Order*, we grant New Century Communications Co. ("New
    Century") temporary, waivers of Section 11.11(a) of the Commission's
    Rules ("Rules") for 33 cable television systems in the three
    above-captioned states. Specifically, we grant a temporary, 36-month
    waiver of Section 11.11(a) for the 33 cable television systems
    listed in Attachment A. 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 August 20, 2002, New Century filed a request for temporary,
    36-month waivers of Section 11.11(a) for 33 small rural cable
    systems in the three captioned states. New Century states that each
    of these systems serves between 6 and 301 subscribers. Based on
    price quotes provided by EAS equipment manufacturers, New Century
    estimates that it would cost approximately \$330,000 to install EAS
    equipment at the 33 systems. New Century asserts that this cost will
    impose a substantial financial hardship on it and provides its
    financial statements for the year 2001 in support of this assertion.
    In addition, New Century submits that its subscribers will continue
    to have ready access to national EAS information from other sources,
    including its cable systems. In this regard, New Century notes that
    its subscribers currently have access to national EAS messages on at
    least 48 percent of all programmed channels. New Century also
    asserts that its subscribers will have access to EAS information
    through over-the-air reception of broadcast television and radio
    stations.

4.  Based upon our review of the financial data and other information
    submitted by New Century, we conclude that temporary, 36-month
    waivers of Section 11.11(a) for the 33 cable television systems in
    Attachment A are warranted.[^9] In particular, we find that the
    estimated \$330,000 cost of EAS equipment for the small cable
    systems could impose a financial hardship on New Century.

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] New Century Communications,
    Co. **IS GRANTED** a waiver of Section 11.11(a) of the Rules until
    October 1, 2005 for the 33 cable systems listed in Attachment A.

7.  **IT IS FURTHER ORDERED** that New Century Communications, Co.,
    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 counsel for New
    Century Communications, Co., Christopher C. Cinnamon, Esq., Cinnamon
    Mueller, 307 North Michigan Avenue, Suite 1020, Chicago, Illinois
    60601.

    FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION

Joseph P. Casey

Chief, Technical and Public Safety Division

> Enforcement Bureau
>
> Attachment A

New Century Communications Co.

### [Cable Systems]{.underline}: [Temporary Waiver Granted Until]{.underline}: 

### Iowa 

Delhi, Iowa October 1, 2005

Hopkinton, Iowa October 1, 2005

Luxemburg, Iowa October 1, 2005

Worthington, Iowa October 1, 2005

**Minnesota**

Canosia, Minnesota October 1, 2005

Finland, Minnesota October 1, 2005

French River, Minnesota October 1, 2005

Knife Lake, Minnesota October 1, 2005

Knife River, Minnesota October 1, 2005

Long Lake/Fayal, Minnesota October 1, 2005

Round Lake, Minnesota October 1, 2005

Rutledge, Minnesota October 1, 2005

Schultz, Minnesota October 1, 2005

Willow River, Minnesota October 1, 2005

Wrenshall, Minnesota October 1, 2005

**Wisconsin**

Almond, Wisconsin October 1, 2005

Bancroft, Wisconsin October 1, 2005

Briggsville, Wisconsin October 1, 2005

Dalton, Wisconsin October 1, 2005

Doylestown, Wisconsin October 1, 2005

Endeavor, Wisconsin October 1, 2005

Granton, Wisconsin October 1, 2005

Kellnersville, Wisconsin October 1, 2005

Kingston, Wisconsin October 1, 2005

Milladore, Wisconsin October 1, 2005

Marquette, Wisconsin October 1, 2005

Oxford, Wisconsin October 1, 2005

Packwaukee, Wisconsin October 1, 2005

Rosholt, Wisconsin October 1, 2005

Rozellville, Wisconsin October 1, 2005

Saxeville, Wisconsin October 1, 2005

Tustin/Bloomfield, Wisconsin October 1, 2005

Wolf River, Wisconsin October 1, 2005

[^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 36-months from October 1, 2002, until
    October 1, 2005. Additionally, we clarify that the waivers we are
    granting also encompasses 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.