1998 Biennial Regulatory Review``Annual Report of Cable Television Systems,'' Form 325

[Federal Register Volume 64, Number 100 (Tuesday, May 25, 1999)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 28106-28109]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 99-13010]


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FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION

47 CFR Part 76

[CS Docket No. 98-61; FCC 99-13]


1998 Biennial Regulatory Review--``Annual Report of Cable 
Television Systems,'' Form 325

AGENCY: Federal Communications Commission.

ACTION: Final rule.

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SUMMARY: This document revises and streamlines the Form 325, ``Annual 
Report of Cable Television Systems,'' which is provided for in the 
Commission's rules. The Form 325 solicits basic operational information 
from cable television systems. In the past, in order to ensure the 
accuracy and usefulness of the data obtained, the Form 325 was mailed 
to every cable system in the country. In an effort to reduce the 
administrative burdens imposed upon both the cable industry and the 
Commission, while still allowing the Commission access to the public 
information necessary for it to carry out its regulatory functions, the 
Commission not only modified the form but also drastically reduced the 
universe of system operators required to file the form.

DATES: These rules are effective June 24, 1999 except for Sec. 76.403, 
which contains modified information collection requirements that 
require OMB approval. The Commission will publish a notice in the 
Federal Register at a later date announcing the effective date. Written 
comments by the public on the modified information collection 
requirements should be submitted on or before June 24, 1999.

ADDRESSES: A copy of any comments on the modified information 
collection requirements in Secs. 76.403 should be submitted to Judy 
Boley, Federal Communications Commission, Room 1-C804, 445 12th Street, 
S.W., Washington, DC 20554, and to Timothy Fain, OMB Desk Officer, 
10236 NEOB, 725--17th Street, N.W., Washington, DC 20503.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Karen Kosar, Consumer Protection and 
Competition Division, Cable Services Bureau at (202) 418-1053. For 
additional information concerning the information collection 
requirements contained herein, contact Judy Boley at (202) 418-0214, or 
via the Internet at jboley@fcc.gov.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Summary of Action

    1. As part of the Commission's 1998 biennial regulatory review of 
its regulations conducted pursuant to Section 11 of the 
Telecommunications Act of 1996, the Commission issued a Report and 
Order which revises and streamlines the Form 325, ``Annual Report of 
Cable Television Systems,'' which is provided for in section 76.403 of 
the Commission's rules. In this proceeding, the Commission sought to 
strike a balance to reduce the burdens placed upon the industry and on 
Commission resources in the Form 325 information collection process 
while still retaining access to core information that is needed by the 
Commission in order to perform its regulatory functions.
    2. In the Report and Order, the Commission drastically reduced the 
number of system operators required to file the form. In the past, the 
Form 325

[[Page 28107]]

information collection process applied to every cable system in the 
country--nearly 11,000 systems. The Report and Order states that the 
Commission now believes that sufficient information could be collected 
to monitor the cable industry by sending out approximately 1,100 forms, 
an overall reduction of over 9,000 forms. In this regard, all cable 
systems with 20,000 or more subscribers will be required to file the 
form annually. For those systems with less than 20,000 subscribers, the 
Commission will utilize a stratified sampling methodology in order to 
collect information from that group, as opposed to a mandatory 
requirement to have all of those systems file Form 325.
    3. The current four part Form 325 will be replaced with a 
streamlined, user-friendly Form 325 containing a reduced number of 
questions. In addition, information will no longer be collected on both 
a Community Unit Identification Number (``CUID'') basis and a Physical 
System Identification Number (``PSID'') basis, but will be collected 
solely on a PSID basis. This method of reporting information on a 
system basis will eliminate a previously cumbersome and excessively 
detailed procedure designed to elicit information regarding cable 
operators and the communities they serve on an individual community 
unit basis.
    4. The following modifications will be made to the revised Form 
325:

General Information

    5. In this portion of the form, the Commission will solicit 
information from cable operators regarding the number of subscribers 
served by their systems as well as the number of potential subscribers 
(homes passed) that cable operators can access from their systems. 
Additionally, information will be sought regarding miles of cable plant 
and how much of the plant is devoted to coaxial cable or fiber optic 
cable, including the number and average nodal sizes in terms of 
subscribers served. Cable operators will also be required to report 
whether their cable systems use microwave facilities as part of the 
cable plant.
    6. In addition, questions on the form will solicit general 
information regarding the provision of digital services so that the 
Commission can better assess the technical capabilities of cable 
systems and the future of the cable industry. In that regard, the form 
will ask for information including: number of cable modems deployed and 
the number of cable modem subscribers; number of subscribers requiring 
set-top boxes and the number of set-top boxes in inventory and 
deployed--analog/digital/hybrid--and total amount of analog spectrum 
versus digital spectrum.

Frequency and Signal Distribution Information

    7. In this part of the form, the Commission will seek information 
pertaining to areas such as transmitted spectrum and channel capacity. 
Specifically, information will be sought regarding upstream channel 
usage (i.e., two-way capability) in order to ascertain the capabilities 
of cable operators to transmit information from their subscribers' 
premises back to the cable headend. The form also will request 
information regarding downstream channel usage in order to ascertain 
the total number of video channels, both analog and digital, capable of 
being carried on a system, including the number of digital channels per 
6 MHz of spectrum. Of that number, information will be sought regarding 
the total number of channels, including all non-video channels, 
activated and delivered on the system. Operators also will be asked to 
provide information about aggregate totals for addressable converters, 
modems deployed, and the number of telephony subscribers that use their 
systems. The form will also require operators to submit their channel 
lineups and to identify which stations are carried pursuant to leased 
access, government access, public and educational access, and which 
stations are carried pursuant to must carry or retransmission consent 
provisions. Finally, operators will be asked to provide information 
regarding the number of tiers carried on their systems and how many 
channels may be carried on each of those tiers.
    8. This Report and Order also modifies section 76.615 of the 
Commission's rules which requires cable operators to notify the 
Commission annually of all signals carried in the aeronautical radio 
frequency bands, a requirement previously fulfilled by the filing of a 
Form 325. Since all cable operators will no longer be required to file 
Form 325, this requirement will now be satisfied by a cable operator 
filing Commission Form 320, ``Basic Signal Leakage Performance 
Report.''

Final Regulatory Flexibility Analysis

    9. Background. As required by the Regulatory Flexibility Act 
(``RFA''), an Initial Regulatory Flexibility Analysis (``IRFA'') was 
incorporated into the Notice of Proposed Rule Making (``NPRM'') in this 
proceeding. The Commission sought written public comment on the 
possible impact of the proposed policies and rules on small entities in 
the NPRM, including comments on the IRFA. This Final Regulatory 
Flexibility Analysis (``FRFA'') in this Report and Order conforms to 
the RFA.
    10. Need for Action and Objectives of the Rules. Section 11 of the 
1996 Telecommunications Act requires the Commission to conduct a 
biennial review of regulations that apply to operations and activities 
of any provider of telecommunications service and to repeal or modify 
any regulation it determines to be no longer in the public interest. 
Although Section 11 does not specifically refer to cable operators, the 
Commission has determined that the first biennial review presents an 
excellent opportunity for a thorough examination of all of the 
Commission's regulations.
    11. Summary of Significant Issues Raised by the Public Comments in 
Response to the IRFA. While no commenter has specifically responded to 
the IRFA, several commenters allege that the current requirement to 
file a Form 325 is unnecessarily burdensome. Commenters generally 
contend that the current Form 325 has outlived its usefulness and the 
information contained therein is available from other sources.
    12. Description and Estimate of the Number of Small Entities to 
which Rules will Apply. The RFA directs the Commission to provide a 
description of and, where feasible, an estimate of the number of small 
entities that might be affected by the rules here adopted. The RFA 
defines the term ``small entity'' as having the same meaning as the 
terms ``small business,'' ``small organization,'' and ``small 
governmental jurisdiction.'' In addition, the term ``small business'' 
has the same meaning as the term ``small business concern'' under the 
Small Business Act. Under the Small Business Act, a small business 
concern is one which: (a) is independently owned and operated; (b) is 
not dominant in its field of operation; and (c) satisfies any 
additional criteria by the SBA. The rule implementing a streamlined 
Form 325 that we adopt in this Report and Order only will affect cable 
systems.
    13. SBA Definitions for Cable. The SBA has developed a definition 
of small entities for cable and other pay television services, which 
includes all such companies generating $11 million or less in annual 
receipts. According to the Census Bureau data from 1992, there were 
approximately 1,758 cable systems with less than $11 million in 
revenue.
    14. Additional Cable System Definitions. In addition, the

[[Page 28108]]

Commission has developed, with SBA's approval, our own definition of a 
small cable system operator for the purposes of rate regulation. Under 
the Commission's rules, a ``small cable company'' is one serving no 
more than 400,000 subscribers nationwide. Based on recent information, 
we estimate that there were 1,439 cable operators that qualified as 
small cable companies at the end of 1995. Since then, some of those 
companies may have grown to serve over 400,000 subscribers, and others 
may have been involved in transactions that caused them to be combined 
with other cable operators.
    15. The Communications Act also contains a definition of a small 
cable system operator, which is ``a cable operator that, directly or 
through an affiliate, serves in the aggregate fewer than 1% of all 
subscribers in the United States and is not affiliated with any entity 
or entities whose gross annual revenues in the aggregate exceed 
$250,000,000.'' The Commission has determined that there are 61,700,000 
cable subscribers in the United States. Therefore, we found that an 
operator serving fewer than 617,000 subscribers shall be deemed a small 
operator, if its annual revenues, when combined with total annual 
revenues of all of its affiliates, do not exceed $250 million in the 
aggregate. Based on available data, we find that the number of cable 
operators serving 617,000 subscribers or less total 1,450. Although it 
seems certain that some of these cable system operators are affiliated 
with entities whose gross annual revenues exceed $250,000,000, we are 
unable at this time to estimate with greater precision the number of 
cable systems that would qualify as small cable operators under the 
definition in the Communications Act.
    16. Description of Reporting, Recordkeeping and Other Compliance 
Requirements. This analysis examines the costs and administrative 
burdens associated with our rules and requirements. The rule we adopt 
today significantly reduces the burden on the cable industry. The rule 
requires that all cable systems having 20,000 or more subscribers, and 
a sampling of cable operators having less than 20,000 subscribers, must 
file a streamlined Form 325. This will result in reducing the filing 
burden from nearly 11,000 to approximately 1,100 forms filed by cable 
operators. In addition, the form itself has been modified to be less 
burdensome. We estimate that it will take operators approximately 2 
hours to fill out each newly revised Form 325. No other compliance 
requirements are imposed.
    17. Steps Taken to Minimize Significant Economic Impact on Small 
and Significant Alternatives Considered. We believe that our amended 
rule will alleviate Form 325 filings for some small cable operators 
under the SBA's definition of small businesses. In addition, by our 
action of streamlining Form 325, the burden on all cable operators will 
be substantially reduced.
    18. It is ordered that, pursuant to authority found in Sections 
4(i), 303(r) and 628 of the Communications Act of 1934, as amended, 47 
U.S.C. 154(i), 303(r) and 548 that section 76.403 of the Commission's 
rules, and section 76.615 of the Commission's rules, are amended as set 
forth in the rule changes.
    19. It is further ordered that the rules as amended shall become 
effective 30 days after publication in the Federal Register. The 
information collections contained in these rules shall become effective 
70 days after publication in the Federal Register, following OMB 
approval, unless a notice is published in the Federal Register stating 
otherwise.
    20. It is further ordered that the Commission's Office of Public 
Affairs, Reference Operations Division, shall send a copy of this 
Report and Order, including the Final Regulatory Flexibility Analysis, 
to the Chief Counsel for Advocacy of the Small Business Administration 
in accordance with paragraph 603(a) of the Regulatory Flexibility Act, 
Public Law No. 96-354, 94 Stat. 1164, 5 U.S.C. 601 et seq. (1981).

Paperwork Reduction Act

    This Report and Order has been analyzed with respect to the 
Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (the ``1995 Act'') and found to impose 
new or modified information collection requirements on the public. The 
Commission, as part of its continuing effort to reduce paperwork 
burdens, invites the general public to take this opportunity to comment 
on the information collection requirements contained in this Report and 
Order as required by the 1995 Act. Public comments are due June 24, 
1999. Comments should address: (a) whether the proposed collection of 
information is necessary for the proper performance of the functions of 
the Commission, including whether the information shall have practical 
utility; (b) the accuracy of the Commission's burden estimates; (c) 
ways to enhance the quality, utility, and clarity of the information 
collected; and (d) ways to minimize the burden of the collection of 
information on the respondents, including the use of automated 
collection techniques or other forms of information technology.
    OMB Approval Number: 3060-0061.
    Title: Annual Report of Cable Television Systems--Form 325.
    Type of Review: Revision of existing collection.
    Respondents: Business and for-profit entities.
    Number of Respondents: approximately 1,100.
    Estimated Time per Response: 2 hours.
    Total Estimated Annual Burden to Respondents: 2,200 hours.
    Total Estimated Annual Cost to Respondents: $2,200. Postage, 
stationery and photocopying costs pertaining to this filing requirement 
are estimated to be $2 per filing. 1,100 x $2 = $2,200.
    Needs and Uses: The modified Form 325 will primarily assist the 
Commission in collecting information regarding the conversion of cable 
systems from the analog to the digital medium. The information 
collected will allow the Commission to monitor the scope of the 
conversion process. The information solicited also will help to assess 
industry compliance with Commission rules and to monitor industry 
trends in various areas.

List of Subjects in 47 CFR Part 76

    Cable television.

Federal Communications Commission.
Magalie Roman Salas,
Secretary.

Rule Changes

    For the reasons discussed in the preamble, the Federal 
Communications Commission amends 47 CFR 76 as follows:

PART 76--MULTICHANNEL VIDEO AND CABLE TELEVISION SERVICE

    1. The authority citation for part 76 is revised 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, 534, 
535, 536, 537, 543, 544, 544a, 545, 548, 549, 552, 554, 556, 558, 
560, 561, 571, 572, 573.

    2. Section 76.403 is revised to read as follows:


Sec. 76.403  Cable television system reports.

    The operator of every operational cable television system that 
serves 20,000 or more subscribers shall file with the Commission a Form 
325 soliciting general information and frequency and signal 
distribution information on a Physical System Identification Number 
(``PSID'') basis. These forms shall be completed and returned to the 
Commission within 60 days after the date of receipt by the operator.


[[Page 28109]]


    Note: The Commission retains its authority to require Form 325 
to be filed by a sampling of cable operators with less than 20,000 
subscribers.
    3. Section 76.615 is amended by revising the introductory text and 
paragraph (a) to read as follows:


Sec. 76.615  Notification requirements.

    All cable television operators shall comply with each of the 
following notification requirements:
    (a) The operator of the cable system shall notify the Commission 
annually of all signals carried in the aeronautical radio frequency 
bands, noting the type of information carried by the signal (television 
picture, aural, pilot carrier, or system control etc.) The timely 
filing of the FCC Form 320 will meet this requirement.
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[FR Doc. 99-13010 Filed 5-24-99; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6712-01-P