FCC Record, Volume 27, No. 5, Pages 3728 to 4696, April 9 - April 27, 2012 Page: 4,693
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Federal Communications Commission
and an additional 379 systems have 10,000-19,999 subscribers.'" Thus, under this second size standard,
most cable systems are small and may be affected by rules adopted pursuant to the Order.
55. Cable System Operators. The Act also contains a size standard for small cable system
operators, which is "a cable operator that, directly or through an affiliate, serves in the aggregate fewer
than 1 percent 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 an
operator serving fewer than 677,000 subscribers shall be deemed a small operator, if its annual revenues,
when combined with the total annual revenues of all its affiliates, do not exceed $250 million in the
aggregate.192 Industry data indicate that, of 1,076 cable operators nationwide, all but ten are small under
this size standard.193 We note that the Commission neither requests nor collects information on whether
cable system operators are affiliated with entities whose gross annual revenues exceed $250 million,94
and therefore we are unable to estimate more accurately the number of cable system operators that would
qualify as small under this size standard.
56. Open Video Services. The open video system ("OVS") framework was established in
1996, and is one of four statutorily recognized options for the provision of video programming services
by local exchange carriers.'"s The OVS framework provides opportunities for the distribution of video
programming other than through cable systems. Because OVS operators provide subscription
services,'"6 OVS falls within the SBA small business size standard covering cable services, which is
"Wired Telecommunications Carriers."'97 The SBA has developed a small business size standard for
this category, which is: all such firms having 1,500 or fewer employees. According to Census Bureau
data for 2007, there were a total of 955 firms in this previous category that operated for the entire year.'"9
Of this total, 939 firms had employment of 999 or fewer employees, and 16 firms had employment of
1000 employees or more.'99 Thus, under this second size standard, most cable systems are small and
may be affected by rules adopted pursuant to the Order. In addition, we note that the Commission has
certified some OVS operators, with some now providing service.200 Broadband service providers
1"0 WARREN COMMUNICATIONS NEWS, TELEVISION & CABLE FACTBOOK 2006, "U.S. Cable Systems by Subscriber
Size," page F-2 (data current as of Oct. 2005). The data do not include 718 systems for which classifying data were
not available.
'191 47 U.S.C. 543(m)(2); see also 47 C.F.R. 76.901(f) & nn.l-3.
192 47 C.F.R. 76.901(f); see FCC Announces New Subscriber Count for the Definition of Small Cable Operator,
Public Notice, 16 FCC Rcd 2225 (Cable Services Bureau 2001).
193 These data are derived from R.R. BOWKER, BROADCASTING & CABLE YEARBOOK 2006, "Top 25 Cable/Satellite
Operators," pages A-8 & C-2 (data current as of June 30, 2005); WARREN COMMUNICATIONS NEWS, TELEVISION &
CABLE FACTBOOK 2006, "Ownership of Cable Systems in the United States," pages D-1805 to D-1857.
94 The Commission does receive such information on a case-by-case basis if a cable operator appeals a local
franchise authority's finding that the operator does not qualify as a small cable operator pursuant to 76.901(f) of
the Commission's rules.
9 " 47 U.S.C. 571(a)(3)-(4). See Annual Assessment of the Status of Competition in the Market for the Delivery of
Video Programming, MB Docket No. 06-189, Thirteenth Annual Report, 24 FCC Red 542, 606 para. 135 (2009)
("Thirteenth Annual Cable Competition Report").
1' See 47 U.S.C. 573.
97 U.S. Census Bureau, 2007 NAICS Definitions, "517110 Wired Telecommunications Carriers";
http://www.census.gov/naics/2007/def/ND517110.HTM#N517110.
19s U.S. Census Bureau, 2007 Economic Census, Subject Series: Information, Table 5, Employment Size of Firms
for the United States: 2007, NAICS code 5171102 (issued Nov. 2010).
' See id.
20o A list of OVS certifications may be found at http://www.fcc.gov/mb/ovs/csovscer.html.4693
FCC 12-47
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United States. Federal Communications Commission. FCC Record, Volume 27, No. 5, Pages 3728 to 4696, April 9 - April 27, 2012, book, April 2012; Washington D.C.. (https://digital.library.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metadc102307/m1/982/: accessed April 23, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, UNT Digital Library, https://digital.library.unt.edu; crediting UNT Libraries Government Documents Department.