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Ottawa, 2 March 1994
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Public Notice CRTC 1994-18
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Exemption Criteria for Master Antenna Television Systems
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In this notice, the Commission announces the adoption of an amendment to criterion 2, and calls for comments on further amendments proposed in respect of this criterion.
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In Public Notice CRTC 1993-145 dated 21 October 1993, the Commission called for public comment on its proposals to amend exemption criteria 2 and 5 respecting Master Antenna Television (MATV) Systems by making the textual additions highlighted below, together with other minor modifications:
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Criterion 2
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The undertaking is not connected by any form or means of transmission, apart from the direct over-the-air reception of conventional broadcast signals or the direct reception of services by satellite, microwave or optical fibre
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a)...
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b)crossing over or under any public street or highway, except in the case of an undertaking carried on by a condominium corporation, or by a registered cooperative society, all of whose members reside on the land on which the undertaking is situated, or by an educational institution described in 1. (b).
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Criterion 5
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No service received over-the-air or by satellite or microwave or optical fibre transmission is distributed over the undertaking, other than a service that the Commission by regulation, condition of licence, or otherwise has authorized the licensee of a cable distribution undertaking serving the area within which the undertaking is situated to distribute on its undertaking, whether or not the licensee is actually distributing the service.
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The amendment to criterion 2(b) was intended to clarify that, with certain exceptions, MATV undertakings are exempted provided they do not cross (over or under) a public street or highway. The addition of the words "or optical fibre" to criteria 2 and 5 was intended to add optical fibre to the permissible methods of receiving signals by an exempt MATV system.
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The Commission received a total of 6 comments from interested parties regarding these proposed amendments, notably those representing MATV interests and those representing the views of the cable television industry. Their observations and concerns, and the Commission's determination with respect to these proposed amendments, are set out below.
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Connection
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There were essentially two opposing points of view on the proposal that MATV systems connected by crossing under any public street or highway not be exempt from licensing requirements (with certain exceptions). These views focused on whether the proposed changes should affect MATV systems that are already in existence or should only affect MATV systems constructed after the date that the Commission adopts the proposed changes.
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The cable industry argued that any MATV undertaking not currently meeting this criterion should not qualify as an exempt undertaking and should therefore be required to obtain a licence from the Commission. Representatives from the MATV industry argued the contrary.
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The Commission has reviewed this matter and is satisfied that to "grandfather" existing situations would be the most reasonable and equitable approach. Nevertheless, under the amended criterion, an operator of an existing MATV system who is currently exempted from licensing requirements would have to apply for and receive a licence before proceeding with any new construction that would have the undertaking cross over or under a public street or highway. The Commission has therefore decided to amend criterion 2(b) of the exemption criteria respecting MATV undertakings in the following manner:
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b) crossing over or under any public street or highway (or, in the case of any MATV system fully built before 2 March 1994, over any public street or highway), except in the case of an undertaking carried on by a condominium corporation, or by a registered cooperative society, all of whose members reside on the land on which the undertaking is situated, or by an educational institution described in 1. (b).
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The Commission will publish all of the modified exemption criteria for MATV undertakings once it has received and evaluated the further comments solicited below regarding the optical fibre issue.
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Optical Fibre
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Comments submitted by the representatives of MATV interests in response to Public Notice CRTC 1993-145 strongly supported the addition of optical fibre to the permissible methods of receiving signals by an exempt MATV system. They considered such a change to reflect the realities of technological change (including the move towards increased utilization of optical fibre in place of microwave), and that it would thus bring to an end what they claimed to be inequities in the current exemption criteria.
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The cable industry strongly opposed the addition of optical fibre to the permissible methods of receiving signals by an exempt MATV system. It was argued, among other things, that permitting an exempt MATV undertaking to receive service through optical fibre connected to land not owned or leased by the person carrying on the undertaking would allow any person with access to public rights of way to establish an unregulated "cable" system feeding residential buildings with television signals through optical fibre.
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The Commission considers that the comments submitted with regard to the proposed amendment raise substantive issues requiring additional consideration. It has therefore decided to initiate a further public process by calling for public comment on a revised text regarding optical fibre transmission. The proposed opening text of criterion 2 is as follows:
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The undertaking is not connected by any form of transmission, apart from (i) the direct over-the-air reception, or the reception by microwave or optical fibre, of conventional broadcast signals (ie. terrestrial radiocommunications, including distant Canadian and foreign signals), or (ii) the satellite reception of services...
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The proposed amendment, as revised, is intended to prevent a third party from using optical fibre to provide a service, by direct feed, to households or other buildings within an area served by a licensed cable operator, while permitting MATV operators to use fibre technology or microwave technology for receipt of conventional broadcast signals.
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The proposed amendment to criterion 5, as set out above, remains unchanged. All interested parties wishing to comment on the proposed amendments must send their submissions to the Secretary General, CRTC, Ottawa, K1A 0N2, by 8 April 1994. While receipt of submissions will not be acknowledged, they will be considered by the Commission and will form part of the public record of the proceeding.
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Other Matters
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As a further matter, though one unrelated to the amendments discussed above, cable interests proposed that the Commission should implement a new criterion that would require operators of exempt MATV undertakings to grant cable undertakings access to their buildings, so that residents of dwellings or units served by the undertaking would have the option of receiving television service by way of a licensed cable television system.
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The Commission has determined not to adopt such a criterion, on the basis that owners of multiple-unit buildings have the right to grant or not to grant access to their buildings. The Commission is not prepared to intrude upon matters pertaining to the exercise of these property rights.
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Related Documents: Public Notice CRTC 1993-54 dated 30 April 1993 entitled "Exemption Order Respecting Master Antenna Television Systems"; and Public Notice CRTC 1993-145 entitled "Proposed Amendments to Exemption Criteria 2 and 5 Respecting Master Antenna Television Systems dated 21 October 1993.
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Allan J. Darling
Secretary General
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