Cable Television

The Commission amends the cable television rules by permitting cable television operators to acquire satellite master antenna television (SMATV) systems within the cable television operator's service area so long as any SMATV system owned by a cable television operator within the operator's cable franchise area is operated in accordance with the terms and conditions of the local cable franchise agreement governing the cable television system. The Commission found that the prior rule which prohibited such acquisitions was inconsistent with the statutory provisions of section 11 of the Cable Television Consumer Protection and Competition Act of 1992 (1992 Cable Act). The Commission also affirms the regulatory framework implementing section 13 of the 1992 Cable Act that established a three-year holding requirement for cable systems and concludes, based on its experience with requests for waiver of the holding period, that such waiver requests generally will be looked on favorably unless the request raises serious concerns on its face or any objections to grant of the waiver provide evidence of other public interest bases for concern.