**Before the**

**Federal Communications Commission**

**Washington, D.C. 20554**

In the Matter of )

)

Beck's Cable Systems ) File No. EB-02-TS-227

)

Operator of Cables Systems in: )

)

Rosamond, Illinois )

Panama, Illinois )

Dix, Illinois )

)

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

Commission's Rules )

## ORDER 

**Adopted: October 9, 2002 Released: October 10, 2002**

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

1.  In this *Order*, we grant Beck's Cable Systems, ("Beck's")
    temporary, 36-month waivers of Section 11.11(a) of the Commission's
    Rules ("Rules") for the three 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.  Beck's filed a request for a three-year waiver of the EAS
    requirements of Section 11.11(a) for the three captioned cable
    systems on May 29, 2002. In support of its waiver request, Beck's
    states that each of the three systems serves small, rural
    communities and has few subscribers. Specifically, Beck's indicates
    that the Rosamond system serves 62 subscribers, the Dix system
    serves 190 subscribers, and the Panama system serves 214
    subscribers. Beck's asserts that the cost of installing EAS
    equipment at the three systems will impose a substantial financial
    hardship on it and provides a financial statement for 2002 in
    support of this assertion. In addition, Beck's submits that its
    subscribers will continue to have ready access to national EAS
    information from other sources, including its cable systems. In this
    regard, Beck' notes that its subscribers currently have access to
    national EAS messages on a substantial number of all programmed
    channels. Finally, Beck's 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 Beck's, we conclude that a temporary, 36-month waiver
    of Section 11.11(a) for the three captioned systems is
    warranted.[^9] In particular, we find that the cost of EAS equipment
    for these small cable systems could impose a financial hardship on
    Beck's.

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] Beck's Cable Systems, **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 Beck's Cable Systems, 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 Larry K. Beck, Owner,
    Beck's Cable Systems, Rural Route 2, Box 300A, Ramsey, Illinois
    62080.

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.