Federal Register / Vol. 61, No. 123 / Tuesday, June 25, 1996 / Rules and Regulations 32709

Federal Communications Commission.

William F. Caton,

Acting Secretary.

Rule Changes

Part 76 of Title 47 of the Code of

Federal Regulations is amended as

follows:

PART 76—CABLE TELEVISION

SERVICE

1. The authority citation for Part 76

continues to read as follows:

Authority: 47 U.S.C. §§ 151, 152, 153, 154,

301, 302, 303, 303a, 307, 308, 309, 312, 315,

317, 325, 503, 521, 522, 531, 532, 533, 534,

535, 536, 537, 543, 544, 544a, 545, 548, 552,

554, 556, 558, 560, 561, 571, 572, 573.

2. Section 76.923 is amended by

revising paragraphs (a), (c), (f), (g) and

(m) to read as follows:

§ 76.923 Rates for equipment and

installation used to receive the basic

service tier.

(a) Scope. (1) The equipment

regulated under this section consists of

all equipment in a subscriber’s home,

provided and maintained by the

operator, that is used to receive the

basic service tier, regardless of whether

such equipment is additionally used to

receive other tiers of regulated

programming service and/or

unregulated service. Such equipment

shall include, but is not limited to:

(i) Converter boxes;

(ii) Remote control units; and

(iii) Inside wiring.

(2) Subscriber charges for such

equipment shall not exceed charges

based on actual costs in accordance

with the requirements set forth in this

section.

* * * * *

(c) Equipment basket. A cable

operator shall establish an Equipment

Basket, which shall include all costs

associated with providing customer

equipment and installation under this

section. Equipment Basket costs shall be

limited to the direct and indirect

material and labor costs of providing,

leasing, installing, repairing, and

servicing customer equipment, as

determined in accordance with the cost

accounting and cost allocation

requirements of § 76.924, except that

operators do not have to aggregate costs

in a manner consistent with the

accounting practices of the operator on

April 3, 1993. The Equipment Basket

shall not include general administrative

overhead including marketing expenses.

The Equipment Basket shall include a

reasonable profit.

(1) Customer equipment. Costs of

customer equipment included in the

Equipment Basket may be aggregated,

on a franchise, system, regional, or

company level, into broad categories.

Except to the extent indicated in

paragraph (c)(2) of this section, such

categorization may be made, provided

that each category includes only

equipment of the same type, regardless

of the levels of functionality of the

equipment within each such broad

category. When submitting its

equipment costs based on average

charges, the cable operator must provide

a general description of the averaging

methodology employed and a

justification that its averaging

methodology produces reasonable

equipment rates. Equipment rates

should be set at the same organizational

level at which an operator aggregates its

costs.

(2) Basic service tier only equipment.

Costs of customer equipment used by

basic-only subscribers may not be

aggregated with the costs of equipment

used by non-basic-only subscribers.

Costs of customer equipment used by

basic-only subscribers may, however, be

aggregated, consistent with an operator’s

aggregation under paragraph (c)(1) of

this section, on a franchise, system,

regional, or company level. The

prohibition against aggregation applies

to subscribers, not to a particular type

of equipment. Alternatively, operators

may base its basic-only subscriber cost

aggregation on the assumption that all

basic-only subscribers use equipment

that is the lowest level and least

expensive model of equipment offered

by the operator, even if some basic-only

subscribers actually have higher level,

more expensive equipment.

(3) Installation costs. Installation

costs, consistent with an operator’s

aggregation under paragraph (c)(1) of

this section, may be aggregated, on a

franchise, system, regional, or company

level. When submitting its installation

costs based on average charges, the

cable operator must provide a general

description of the averaging

methodology employed and a

justification that its averaging

methodology produces reasonable

equipment rates. Installation rates

should be set at the same organizational

level at which an operator aggregates its

costs.

* * * * *

(f) Remote charges. Monthly charges

for rental of a remote control unit shall

consist of the average annual unit

purchase cost of remotes leased,

including acquisition price and

incidental costs such as sales tax,

financing and storage up to the time it

is provided to the customer, added to

the product of the HSC times the

average number of hours annually

repairing or servicing a remote, divided

by 12 to determine the monthly lease

rate for a remote according to the

following formula:

Monthly Charge = UCE + (HSC × HR)

12

Where, HR=average hours repair per

year; and UCE=average annual unit

cost of remote.

(g) Other equipment charges. The

monthly charge for rental of converter

boxes and other customer equipment

shall be calculated in the same manner

as for remote control units. Separate

charges may be established for each

category of other customer equipment.

* * * * *

(m) Cable operators shall set charges

for equipment and installations to

recover Equipment Basket costs. Such

charges shall be set, consistent with the

level at which Equipment Basket costs

are aggregated as provided in

§ 76.923(c). Cable operators shall

maintain adequate documentation to

demonstrate that charges for the sale

and lease of equipment and for

installations have been developed in

accordance with the rules set forth in

this section.

* * * * *

[FR Doc. 96–16104 Filed 6–24–96; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 6712–01–P

47 CFR Part 90

[PR Docket No. 93–144; PP Docket No. 93–

253; FCC 95–501]

The Future Development of SMR

Systems in the 800 MHz Frequency

Band; Correction

AGENCY: Federal Communications

Commission.

ACTION: Correction to final rule.

SUMMARY: This document contains

corrections to the final rule, which was

published Friday, February 16, 1996,

(61 FR 6138). The rule related to the

special limitations on amendment of

applications for assignment and transfer

of authorizations for radio systems

above 800 MHz in § 90.609 paragraphs

(c) and (d).

EFFECTIVE DATE: June 25, 1996.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Lisa

Warner, Wireless Telecommunications

Bureau, at (202) 418–0620.
32710 Federal Register / Vol. 61, No. 123 / Tuesday, June 25, 1996 / Rules and Regulations

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Background

The portion of the final rule that is the

subject of this correction, supersedes

paragraph six of the rules section on the

effective date and affects persons who

amend applications for assignment or

transfer of authorizations for radio

systems above 800 MHz under Part 90

of Chapter I of Title 47 of the Code of

Federal Regulations.

Need for Correction

As published, the final rule contains

errors which may prove misleading and

need clarification.

Correction of Publication

Accordingly, the publication on

February 16, 1996 of the final rule,

which is the subject of FR Doc. 96–3509,

is corrected as follows:

§ 90.609 (Corrected)

On page 6155, in the second column,

in instruction paragraph 6., in line

three, the words ‘‘introductory text’’ are

removed.

Federal Communications Commission.

David Furth,

Acting Chief, Commercial Wireless Division,

Wireless Telecommunications Bureau.

[FR Doc. 96–13792 Filed 6–24–96; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 6712–01–P

47 CFR Part 95

[WT Docket No. 95–47; FCC 96–224]

Permitting Mobile Operation in the

Interactive Video and Data Service

(IVDS)

AGENCY: Federal Communications

Commission.

ACTION: Final rule.

SUMMARY: The Commission has

amended its rules to permit IVDS

licensees to provide mobile service to

subscribers. This action authorizes

mobile operation of response transmitter

units (subscriber units) operated with an

effective radiated power of 100

milliwatts or less. The Commission also

eliminated the IVDS ‘‘duty cycle’’

requirement for operations outside of

TV channel 13 Grade B contours. The

Commission found that these

amendments would provide additional

flexibility for IVDS licensees to meet the

communications needs of the public

without increasing the likelihood of

interference.

EFFECTIVE DATE: July 25, 1996.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Eric

Malinen, Wireless Telecommunications

Bureau, telephone (202) 418–0638, email at emalinen@fcc.gov

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: This is a

summary of the Commission’s Report

and Order, adopted May 16, 1996, and

released May 30, 1996. The full text of

this Commission action, including the

rule amendments and Final Regulatory

Flexibility Analysis, is available for

inspection and copying during normal

business hours in the FCC Reference

Center, Room 239, 1919 M Street, N.W.,

Washington, D.C. The full text of this

Report and Order may also be

purchased from the Commission’s copy

contractor, International Transcription

Services, Inc., 2100 M Street, N.W.,

Suite 140, Washington, D. C. 20037,

telephone (202) 857–3800. Last, the full

text may be obtained from the FCC’s

internet World Wide Web home page,

http://www.fcc.gov

Summary of Report and Order

1. On April 13, 1995, the Commission

adopted a Notice of Proposed Rule

Making, 60 FR 25193 (May 11, 1995),

proposing, inter alia, to allow IVDS

licensees to provide mobile service to

subscribers on an ancillary basis. By this

Report and Order, and in light of the

development of the industry and the

views of a majority of the commenters,

the Commission amends Part 95 of the

rules to authorize fully mobile operation

in addition to fixed operation for IVDS

response transmitter units (RTUs)

operated with an effective radiated

power of 100 milliwatts or less. This

action will enable licensees to respond

more accurately to the public’s preferred

choices of interactive services and to

offer a broader array of services.

2. Recognizing that allowing mobile

operations increases the interference

potential with respect to the operations

of licensees in other services, the

Commission concludes that the lower

power limit of 100-milliwatts is

appropriate. The limit applies even to

mobile RTUs located both within the

IVDS licensee’s service area and outside

a TV channel 13 predicted Grade B

contour. In addition, as suggested by

commenters, this 100-milliwatt limit is

specified in terms of mean power. The

Commission also concludes that no

change to the power limit for fixed

operations is necessary.

3. Given the development of IVDS and

the Commission’s current reexamination

of the parameters of the duty cycle rule,

the Commission also eliminates the

duty cycle requirement for both fixed

and mobile operations in IVDS service

areas where no TV channel 13 predicted

Grade B contour overlap exists. In such

areas, TV channel 13 operations have no

expectation to protection from

interference. The Commission also

eliminates the duty cycle in areas where

there is overlap, for fixed RTUs located

within the IVDS licensee’s service area,

but outside the TV channel 13 predicted

Grade B contour. In such areas, the

interference potential is minimal,

rendering the duty cycle restriction

unnecessary. The duty cycle

requirement is retained for mobile RTUs

located within the IVDS licensee’s

service area, but outside the TV channel

13 predicted Grade B contour.

4. The Commission also adopts its

proposal to allow indirect RTU-to-RTU

operations, but will continue to prohibit

direct RTU-to-RTU operations.

Protecting TV channel 13 from

interference is a primary concern in

regulating IVDS, and direct RTU-to-RTU

operation would increase the potential

for such interference. Further, the

Commission eliminates the requirement

that RTUs operating at 100 milliwatts or

less incorporate automatic power

control. Finally, the Commission

permits direct CTS-to-CTS

communications (fixed point-to-point

communications) on a primary basis,

finding that such fixed operation can be

designed to eliminate potential

interference to TV channel 13

operations and does not present the

interference potential presented by

direct RTU-to-RTU operations.

5. The Commission declines to permit

IVDS interconnection with the public

switched network. This determination is

consistent with retaining IVDS as a

private, although newly mobile, radio

service.

6. The amended rules are set forth

below, effective July 25, 1996.

7. This Report and Order and the rule

amendments are issued under the

authority contained in 47 U.S.C.

§§ 154(i), 303 (b), and 303 (r).

List of Subjects in 47 CFR Part 95

Communications equipment,

Interactive Video and Data Service

(IVDS), Radio.

Federal Communications Commission.

William F. Caton,

Acting Secretary.

Rule Changes

Part 95 of Chapter I of Title 47 of the

Code of Federal Regulations is amended

as follows:

PART 95—PERSONAL RADIO

SERVICES

1. The authority citation for Part 95

continues to read as follows:

Authority: Secs. 4, 303, 48 Stat. 1066,

1082, as amended; 47 U.S.C. §§ 154, 303.