ACA: Streamline EAS Waivers

April 25, 2012
The American Cable Association is asking the FCC to reconsider its Emergency Alert System (EAS) rules in a manner that would reduce administrative cost burdens of filing for waivers under the FCC's standard waiver process for cable systems that provide service to fewer than 501 subscribers and lack physical access to a wireline broadband connection at the headline to receive alert messages formatted in the Common Alert Protocol (CAP).The ACA is concerned that the standard waiver process has costs that represent a financial barrier for operators seeking relief for their systems serving fewer than 501 subscribers. In lieu of the standard waiver process, the ACA recommended a streamlined waiver process based on operator-certified statements attesting to the physical unavailability of wireline broadband Internet access at the cable headend and an expedited filing and decision making process that presumes the waiver is granted unless opposed within 10 days.