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 Federal  Communications  Commission  DA  03-  10 
 Before  the  Federal  Communications  Commission 
 Washington,  D.  C.  20554 
 In  the  Matter  of  )  ) 
 Complete  Communication  Services  )  File  No.  EB-  02-  TS-  307  ) 
 Operator  of  Cable  Systems  in:  )  ) 
 State  Center,  Iowa  )  Stratford,  Iowa  ) 
 Roland,  Iowa  )  ) 
 Request  for  Waiver  of  Section  11.  11(  a)  of  the  )  Commissions  Rules  ) 


 ORDER 
 Adopted:  January  31,  2003  Released:  February  5,  2003 
 By  the  Chief,  Technical  and  Public  Safety  Division,  Enforcement  Bureau: 
 1.  In  this  Order,  we  grant  Complete  Communication  Services  (  CCS)  a  temporary,  12-  month  waiver  of  Section  11.11(  a)  of  the  Commissions  Rules  (  Rules)  for  the  cable  television  system 
 in  Stratford,  Iowa  and  temporary,  36-  month  waivers  of  Section  11.11(  a)  of  the  Rules  for  the  cable  television  systems  in  State  Center  and  Roland,  Iowa.  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 


 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  Commissions  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  Commissions  Rules  Regarding  the  Emergency  Broadcast  System, 
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 Federal  Communications  Commission  DA  03-  10 
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 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  entitys  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 
 entitys  audience.  8 
 3.  CCS  filed  a  request  for  a  permanent  or  five-  year  waiver  of  Section  11.11(  a)  for  the  three  captioned  cable  system  on  July  11,  2002.  In  support  of  its  waiver  request,  CCS  states  that  these  are  small, 
 rural  cable  systems  serving  between  226  and  1,237  subscribers.  Based  on  price  quotes  provided  by  EAS  equipment  manufacturers,  CCS  estimates  that  it  would  cost  between  $21,000  and  30,000  to  install  EAS 
 equipment  at  these  cable  systems.  CCS  asserts  that  this  cost  will  impose  a  substantial  financial  hardship  on  it  and  provides  financial  data  for  2000  and  2001  in  support  of  this  assertion.  In  addition,  CCS  submits 
 that  its  subscribers  will  continue  to  have  ready  access  to  national  EAS  information  from  other  sources,  including  its  cable  systems.  In  this  regard,  CCS  notes  that  its  subscribers  currently  have  access  to 
 national  EAS  messages  on  64%  of  all  programmed  channels.  CCS  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  CCS,  we  find  that  a  permanent  or  five-  year  waiver  of  Section  11.11(  a)  for  the  captioned  cable  systems  is  not 
 warranted.  However,  we  conclude  that  a  temporary,  12-  month  waiver  of  Section  11.11(  a)  for  one  cable  system  and  temporary,  36-  month  waivers  of  Section  11.11(  a)  for  two  cable  systems  are  warranted.  9  In 
 particular,  we  find  that  the  estimated  $21,000  plus  cost  of  EAS  equipment  for  these  small  cable  systems  could  impose  a  financial  hardship  on  CCS. 


 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  12-  month  waiver  will  extend  from  October  1,  2002,  until  October  1,  2003,  and  the  36-  month  waiver  will 
 extend  from  October  1,  2002  until  October  1,  2005.  Additionally,  we  clarify  that  the  waivers  we  are  granting  also  encompass  the  EAS  testing  and  monitoring  requirements. 
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 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  Complete  Communication  Systems  IS  GRANTED  a  waiver  of  Section  11.  11(  a)  of  the  Rules 
 until  October  1,  2003  for  the  Stratford,  Iowa  cable  television  system  and  IS  GRANTED  waivers  of  Section  11.11(  a)  of  the  Rules  until  October  1,  2005  for  the  State  Center  and  Roland,  Iowa  cable  television 
 systems. 
 7.  IT  IS  FURTHER  ORDERED  that  Complete  Communication  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  Randall  Baker,  General  Manager,  Complete  Communication  Services,  Post 
 Office  Box  438,  1001  Tennyson,  Stratford,  Iowa  50249. 
 FEDERAL  COMMUNICATIONS  COMMISSION 


 Joseph  P.  Casey  Chief,  Technical  and  Public  Safety  Division 
 Enforcement  Bureau 


 10  Amendment  of  Part  11  of  the  Commissions  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. 
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