**Before the**

**Federal Communications Commission**

**Washington, D.C. 20554**

In the Matter of )

)

Cable & Communications Corporation d/b/a ) File No. EB-02-TS-049

Mid-Rivers Cable Television )

)

Operator of Cable Systems in: )

)

Glendive, Montana )

Sidney, Montana )

Roundup, Montana )

Wibaux, Montana )

Circle, Montana )

Jordan, Montana )

Ekalaka, Montana )

Richey, Montana )

)

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

Commission's Rules )

## ORDER 

**Adopted: July 25, 2002 Released: July 30, 2002**

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

1.  In this *Order*, we grant Cable & Communications Corporation d.b.a.
    Mid-Rivers Cable Television ("Mid-Rivers") temporary waivers of
    Section 11.11(a) of the Commission's Rules ("Rules") for the each of
    the eight above-captioned cable television systems. Specifically, we
    grant a temporary, 12-month waiver of Section 11.11(a) for the
    Glendive, Montana system, a temporary, 24-month waiver of Section
    11.11(a) for the Sidney, Montana system and a temporary, 36-month
    waiver of Section 11.11(a) for the Roundup, Montana; Wibaux,
    Montana; Circle, Montana; Jordan, Montana; Ekalaka, Montana; and
    Richey, Montana systems. Section 11.11(a) requires cable systems
    serving fewer than 5,000 subscribers from a headend to either
    provide national level EAS messages on all programmed channels or
    install Emergency Alert System ("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.  Mid-Rivers filed a request for temporary waiver of Section 11.11(a)
    for each of the eight captioned cable systems on January 30, 2001.
    Mid-Rivers seeks a 12-month waiver for the Glendive, Montana system,
    a 24-month waiver for the Sidney, Montana system and a 36-month
    waiver for the Roundup, Montana; Wibaux, Montana; Circle, Montana;
    Jordan, Montana; Ekalaka, Montana; and Richey, Montana systems. In
    support of its waiver request, Mid-Rivers states that each of the
    eight systems serves small, rural communities and each system serves
    between 68 and 1,445 subscribers. Based on price quotes provided by
    EAS equipment manufacturers, Mid-Rivers estimates that it would cost
    approximately \$9,000 to install EAS equipment at each of these
    systems for a total cost of \$72,000. Mid-Rivers asserts that the
    cost of installing EAS equipment at the eight systems will impose a
    substantial financial hardship on it and provides financial
    statements for 2000 and 2001 in support of this assertion. In
    addition, Mid-Rivers submits that its subscribers will continue to
    have ready access to national EAS information on at least one-third
    of all programmed channels carried on its systems. Mid-Rivers 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. Finally, Mid-Rivers believes that it can
    fund EAS equipment for the eight systems by phasing them into
    compliance over the next three years.

4.  Based upon our review of the financial data and other information
    submitted by Mid-Rivers, we conclude that a 12-month waiver of
    Section 11.11(a) for the Glendive, Montana system, a 24-month waiver
    of Section 11.11(a) for the Sidney, Montana system and a 36-month
    waiver of Section 11.11(a) for Roundup, Montana; Wibaux, Montana;
    Circle, Montana; Jordan, Montana; Ekalaka, Montana; and Richey,
    Montana systems are warranted.[^9] In particular, we find that the
    estimated \$72,000 cost of EAS equipment for these small cable
    systems, which are slated for elimination, could impose a financial
    hardship on Mid-Rivers.

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] Cable & Communications
    Corporation d.b.a. Mid-Rivers Cable Television **IS GRANTED** a
    waiver of Section 11.11(a) of the Rules until October 1, 2003 for
    its Glendive, Montana cable system, **IS GRANTED** a waiver of
    Section 11.11(a) of the Rules until October 1, 2004 for its Sidney,
    Montana cable system and **IS GRANTED** a waiver of Section 11.11(a)
    of the Rules until October 1, 2005 for its Roundup, Montana; Wibaux,
    Montana; Circle, Montana; Jordan, Montana; Ekalaka, Montana; and
    Richey, Montana cable systems.

7.  **IT IS FURTHER ORDERED** that Cable & Communications Corporation
    d.b.a. Mid-Rivers Cable Television 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 Cable &
    Communications Corporation d.b.a. Mid-Rivers Cable Television,
    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

[^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 waiver for the Glendive, Montana system will extend 12 months
    from October 1, 2002, until October 1, 2003, the waiver for the
    Sidney, Montana system will extend 24 months from October 1, 2002,
    until October 1, 2004 and the waiver for the Roundup, Montana;
    Wibaux, Montana; Circle, Montana; Jordan, Montana; Ekalaka, Montana;
    and Richey, Montana systems will be extend 36 months from October 1,
    2002, until October 1, 2005. Mid-Rivers also specifically requested
    waiver of the testing and monitoring requirements of the EAS rules
    for these eight systems. 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.