Federal Communications Commission DA 11-1651
Before the
Federal Communications Commission
Washington, D.C. 20554
In the Matter of
St. George Cable, Inc.
St. George Island, Florida
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File No.:  EB-10-TP-0065
NAL/Acct. No.:  201132700009  
FRN:  0021185574
NOTICE OF APPARENT LIABILITY FOR FORFEITURE AND ORDER
Adopted:  September 30, 2011 Released:  September 30, 2011 
By the District Director, Tampa Office, South Central Region, Enforcement Bureau:
I. INTRODUCTION
1. In this Notice of Apparent Liability for Forfeiture and Order (“NAL”), we find that St. 
George Cable, Inc.  (“St. George”), operator of the cable television system in St. George Island, Florida, 
apparently willfully and repeatedly violated sections 11.35(a), 76.605(a)(12), 76.611(a) and 76.1801 of the 
Commission’s rules (“Rules”),1 by (1) failing to install Emergency Alert System (“EAS”) equipment; (2) 
operating its cable system with excessive signal leakage; and (3) failing to register its cable system with the 
Commission.  We conclude that St. George is apparently liable for a forfeiture in the amount of twenty-five 
thousand dollars ($25,000).  We further order St. George to submit a sworn statement certifying that it is 
currently in compliance with sections 11.35 and 76.1801 of the Rules.2
II. BACKGROUND
2. On July 27, 2010, in response to a complaint, agents from the Tampa Office of the 
Enforcement Bureau (“Tampa Office”) reviewed Commission records and determined that St. George had 
failed to file a registration statement with the Commission on FCC Form 322 for the system.  On January 11 
and 13, 2011, agents from the Tampa Office conducted an inspection of the St. George Island cable system 
and observed twenty leaks.  Fourteen leaks on the frequency 121.2625 MHz measured over 100 microvolts 
per meter (“?V/m”) at a distance of at least 3 meters; the highest measuring 1,023 ?V/m.  The Cumulative 
Leakage Index (“CLI”) for all twenty of the measured leaks was calculated at 64.88.  The agents reviewed 
the results of the system inspection with St. George’s owner on January 14, 2011.  The owner admitted that 
St. George did not maintain any cable signal leakage logs and did not perform routine maintenance of the 
cable system.  He stated that St. George only conducts maintenance and repairs after receipt of a complaint.
3. On January 14, 2011, agents from the Tampa Office also requested to inspect St. George’s 
EAS equipment and logs.  St George’s owner admitted that the company had never installed any EAS 
equipment for the St. George Island system.3 He also admitted that St. George still had not registered the 
  
1 See 47 C.F.R. §§ 11.35(a) (EAS equipment requirements), 76.605(a)(12) (cable television technical standards), 
76.611(a)(1) (cable television basic signal leakage performance criteria), 76.1801 (cable registration statement).
2 See 47 C.F.R. §§ 11.35 and 76.1801.
3 The agents found no record of any waivers of EAS requirements being granted to St. George.
Federal Communications Commission DA 11-1651
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system with the Commission on a FCC Form 322 and, therefore, was never assigned a community unit 
number or physical system number.    
4. On January 20, 2011, the Tampa Office issued an order directing St. George to cease 
operations on aeronautical band frequencies.4 On February 28, 2011, St. George informed the Tampa 
Office that it had repaired all of the leaks found in the January inspection and brought the system’s CLI into 
compliance.5  
III. DISCUSSION
5. Section 503(b) of the Communications Act of 1934, as amended (“Act”),6 provides that any 
person who willfully or repeatedly fails to comply substantially with the terms and conditions of any license, 
or willfully or repeatedly fails to comply with any of the provisions of the Act or of any rule, regulation or 
order issued by the Commission thereunder, shall be liable for a forfeiture penalty.  Section 312(f)(1) of the 
Act defines willful as the “conscious and deliberate commission or omission of [any] act, irrespective of any 
intent to violate” the law.7 The legislative history to section 312(f)(1) of the Act clarifies that this definition 
of willful applies to both sections 312 and 503(b) of the Act,8 and the Commission has so interpreted the term 
in the section 503(b) context.9  The Commission may also assess a forfeiture for violations that are merely 
repeated, and not willful.10  The term “repeated” means the commission or omission of such act more than 
once or for more than one day.11
6. EAS Equipment.  Every analog and digital cable system is part of the nationwide EAS 
network and is categorized as a participating national EAS source, unless the cable system affirmatively 
requests authority to refrain from participation and the Commission approves the request.12 The EAS 
  
4 See Letter from Ralph Barlow, District Director, Tampa Office, to Charles Sumner, Owner of St. George Cable, 
Inc., dated January 20, 2011.  This letter was in addition to a verbal warning issued on January 14, 2011 that St. 
George Island system was likely in violation of CLI requirements.  On January 14, 2011, agents from the Tampa 
Office had not completed their final calculations to determine whether the system exceeded CLI.
5 See Letter from Charles Sumner, Owner of St. George Cable, Inc., to Ralph Barlow, District Director, Tampa 
Office dated February 2, 2011.  St. George faxed the completed report to the Tampa Office on February 28, 2011.
6 See 47 U.S.C. § 503(b).
7 See 47 U.S.C. § 312(f)(1).
8 See H.R. Rep. No. 97-765, 97th Cong. 2d Sess. 51 (1982) (“This provision [inserted in section 312] defines the 
terms ‘willful’ and ‘repeated’ for purposes of section 312, and for any other relevant section of the act (e.g., section 
503) . . . .   As defined[,] . . . ‘willful’ means that the licensee knew that he was doing the act in question, regardless 
of whether there was an intent to violate the law.  ‘Repeated’ means more than once, or where the act is continuous, 
for more than one day.  Whether an act is considered to be ‘continuous’ would depend upon the circumstances in 
each case.  The definitions are intended primarily to clarify the language in sections 312 and 503, and are consistent 
with the Commission’s application of those terms . . . .”).
9 See, e.g., Application for Review of Southern California Broadcasting Co., Memorandum Opinion and Order, 6 
FCC Rcd 4387, 4388 (1991) (“Southern California Broadcasting Co.”).
10 See, e.g., Callais Cablevision, Inc., Notice of Apparent Liability for Monetary Forfeiture, 16 FCC Rcd 1359, 1362 
¶ 10 (2001) (“Callais Cablevision, Inc.”) (proposing a forfeiture for, inter alia, a cable television operator’s repeated 
signal leakage). 
11 Section 312(f)(2) of the Act, 47 U.S.C. § 312(f)(2), which also applies to violations for which forfeitures are 
assessed under section 503(b) of the Act, provides that “[t]he term 'repeated', when used with reference to the 
commission or omission of any act, means the commission or omission of such act more than once or, if such 
commission or omission is continuous, for more than one day.” 
12 See 47 C.F.R. §§ 11.11, 11.41.
Federal Communications Commission DA 11-1651
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enables the President and state and local governments to provide immediate and emergency 
communications and information to the general public.13 State and local area plans identify local primary 
sources responsible for coordinating carriage of common emergency messages from sources such as the 
National Weather Service or local emergency management officials.14 Required monthly and weekly 
tests originate from EAS Local or State Primary sources and must be retransmitted by the participating 
station.  As the nation’s emergency warning system, the EAS is critical to public safety, and we recognize 
the vital role that regulatees play in ensuring its success.  The Commission takes seriously any violations 
of the Rules implementing the EAS and expects full compliance from its regulatees.
7. Section 11.35 of the Rules requires all EAS participants to ensure that EAS encoders, EAS 
decoders, and Attention Signal generating and receiving equipment are installed so that the monitoring and 
transmitting functions are available during the times the systems are in operation.15 On January 14, 2011, 
agents from the Tampa Office observed that St. George did not have any EAS equipment installed for the 
St. George Island system when the system was in operation.  Further, St. George’s owner admitted that 
EAS equipment had never been installed for the system and that the company acquired a franchise for the 
system in 1998.16 Thus, based on the evidence before us, we find that St. George apparently willfully and 
repeatedly violated section 11.35 of the Rules by failing to install EAS equipment for the St. George 
Island cable system.
8. Cable Signal Leakage Standards.  The Commission has established cable signal leakage 
rules to control emissions that could cause cable systems to interfere with aviation frequencies.  
Protecting the aeronautical frequencies from harmful interference is of paramount importance.17 To this 
end, the Commission has established basic signal leakage standards.18 The Commission has determined 
the tolerable levels of unwanted signals on the aeronautical frequencies in two ways, with signal leakage 
levels that exceed these thresholds considered harmful interference.  First, leakage at any given point 
must not exceed 20 µV/m.19 Second, the Commission requires that each system annually measure and 
report its CLI (10 log IĄ)20 to demonstrate safe levels of signal leakage (i.e., a CLI of less than 64).21  
  
13 See 47 C.F.R. §§ 11.1, 11.21.
14 See 47 C.F.R. § 11.18. State EAS plans contain guidelines that must be followed by broadcast and cable 
personnel, emergency officials and National Weather Service personnel to activate the EAS for state and local 
emergency alerts. The state plans include the EAS header codes and messages to be transmitted by the primary 
state, local and relay EAS sources.
15 See 47 C.F.R. § 11.35.  
16 See Non-Exclusive Franchise Agreement between St. George Cable, Inc. and Board of County Commissioners, 
Franklin County, Florida, dated September 1, 1998.
17 The “aeronautical bands” are 108-137 MHz and 225-400 MHz.  These frequencies encompass both 
radionavigation frequencies, 108–118 MHZ and 328.6–335.4 MHz, and communications frequencies, 118–137 
MHz, 225–328.6 MHz and 335.4–400 MHz.  The international distress and calling frequencies, 121.5 MHz, 156.8 
MHz, and 243 MHz, receive heightened protection.  See 47 C.F.R. §76.616.  These frequencies are critical for 
Search and Rescue Operations, including use by Emergency Locator Transmitters on planes and Emergency 
Position Indicating Radio Beacons on boats.  See generally 47 C.F.R. Part 80, Subpart V;  47 C.F.R. §§ 87.193–
87.199.  Harmful interference includes any interference that “endangers the functioning of a radionavigation service 
or of other safety services.”  See 47 C.F.R. §§ 2.1, 76.613(a).
18 See Amendment of Part 76 of the Commission’s Rules to Add Frequency Channelling Requirements and 
Restrictions and to Require Monitoring for Signal Leakage from Cable Television Systems, Memorandum Opinion 
and Order, Docket No. 21006, 101 FCC 2d 117, ¶ 14 (1985).
19 See 47 C.F.R. §76.605(a)(12).
20 See 47 C.F.R. § 76.615(b)(7).
21 See 47 C.F.R. § 76.611(a).
Federal Communications Commission DA 11-1651
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The rules also require cable operators to provide for a program of routine monitoring of the system to 
detect leaks.22 The cable system operator must eliminate any harmful interference it causes.23 Cable 
system operators also must maintain a log for two years showing the date and location of each leakage 
source and the date on which the leakage was repaired.24  
9. As discussed above, section 76.605(a)(12) of the Rules states that signal leakage from a 
cable television system shall be limited to 20 µV/m at 3 meters,25 and section 76.611(a) of the Rules states 
that no cable television system shall provide service in the aeronautical radio bands unless the system’s 
CLI is less than 64.26  On January 11 and 13, 2011, however, agents from the Tampa Office observed 
fourteen leaks on aeronautical frequencies that exceeded 100 µV/m at 3 meters in the St. George Island 
system.  Additionally, the CLI for the St. George Island system on January 11 and 13, 2011 was 
calculated at 64.88, which exceeds the limit under the rule.  Moreover, St. George admitted that it did not 
conduct routine monitoring of its system to detect leaks or maintain any signal leakage logs.  Thus, based 
on the evidence before us, we find that St. George apparently willfully and repeatedly violated sections 
76.605(a)(12) and 76.611(a) by operating the St. George cable system with excessive signal leakage.
10. Cable Community Registration Statement.  Section 76.1801 of the Rules requires cable 
operators to submit a registration statement with the Commission on FCC Form 322.27 “A system 
community unit shall be authorized to commence operation only after filing with the Commission the 
following information on FCC Form 322.”28 On July 27, 2010, St. George was instructed to file a Form 
322 with the Commission for the St. George Island system, but it did not.  In fact, on January 14, 2011, 
St. George admitted that it had not yet filed a Form 322.  As of September 28, 2011 -- more than a year 
after St. George was directed to file the required Form -- the Commission still has no record of a Form 
322 on file for the St. George Island system and, as such, St. George still has not been assigned a
community unit number or physical system number.  Thus, based on the evidence before us, we find that St. 
George apparently willfully and repeatedly violated section 76.1801 of the Rules by failing to submit a 
registration statement with the Commission on FCC Form 322.   
11. Proposed Action.  Pursuant to the Commission’s Forfeiture Policy Statement and section 
1.80 of the Rules, the base forfeiture amount for EAS equipment not installed or operational is $8,000; for 
violation of rules relating to distress and safety frequencies is $8,000; and for failing to file required forms is 
$3,000.29  Cable signal leakage in the aeronautical bands constitutes harmful interference to distress and 
safety frequencies.30  In assessing the monetary forfeiture amount, we must also take into account the 
statutory factors set forth in section 503(b)(2)(E) of the Act, which include the nature, circumstances, extent, 
and gravity of the violations, and with respect to the violator, the degree of culpability, any history of prior 
offenses, ability to pay, and other such matters as justice may require.31 Because St. George has not 
  
22 See 47 C.F.R. § 76.614.
23 See 47 C.F.R. §76.613(b).
24 See 47 C.F.R. § 76.1706.
25 See 47 C.F.R. § 76.605(a)(12).
26 See 47 C.F.R. § 76.611(a).
27 See 47 C.F.R. § 76.1801.
28 Id.
29 See The Commission’s Forfeiture Policy Statement and Amendment of Section 1.80 of the Rules to Incorporate the 
Forfeiture Guidelines, Report and Order, 12 FCC Rcd 17087 (1997) (“Forfeiture Policy Statement”), recon. denied, 
15 FCC Rcd 303 (1999); 47 C.F.R. § 1.80.
30 See 47 C.F.R. §§ 2.1, 76.613(a).
31 47 U.S.C. § 503(b)(2)(E).
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submitted the Form 322 more than a year after being instructed to do so, we conclude an upward adjustment 
in the amount of $1,500 is warranted.  Because St. George never installed EAS equipment for its St. George 
Island system after it was required to do so in 2002,32 we conclude an upward adjustment in the amount of 
$4,500 is warranted.  Applying the Forfeiture Policy Statement, section 1.80 of the Rules, and the statutory 
factors to the instant case, we conclude that St. George is apparently liable for a $25,000 forfeiture 
consisting of the following elements: $12,500 for failure to install EAS equipment; $8,000 for excessive 
cable signal leakage; and $4,500 for failure to file required forms.
12. We direct St. George to submit a statement signed under penalty of perjury by an officer or 
director of St. George stating that: (1) it has installed operational EAS equipment for the St. George Island 
system in compliance with section 11.35 of the Rules; and (2) it has submitted a Form 322 for the St. 
George Island system in compliance with section 76.1801 of the Rules.  This statement must be provided to 
the Tampa Office at the address listed in paragraph 17 within thirty days after the release date of this NAL.  
IV. ORDERING CLAUSES
13. Accordingly, IT IS ORDERED that, pursuant to section 503(b) of the Communications 
Act of 1934, as amended, and sections 0.111, 0.204, 0.311, 0.314 and 1.80 of the Commission’s Rules, St.
George Cable, Inc. is hereby NOTIFIED of this APPARENT LIABILITY FOR A FORFEITURE in the 
amount of twenty-five thousand dollars ($25,000) for violation of sections 11.35(a), 76.605(a)(12), 
76.611(a), and 76.1801 of the Commission’s Rules.33
14. IT IS FURTHER ORDERED that, pursuant to section 1.80 of the Commission’s Rules, 
within thirty days of the release date of this Notice of Apparent Liability for Forfeiture and Order, St. 
George Cable, Inc. SHALL PAY the full amount of the proposed forfeiture or SHALL FILE a written 
statement seeking reduction or cancellation of the proposed forfeiture.
15. IT IS FURTHER ORDERED that St. George Cable, Inc. SHALL SUBMIT a sworn 
statement as described in paragraph 12 to the Tampa Office within thirty days after the release date of this 
Notice of Apparent Liability for Forfeiture and Order.  The statements should also be emailed to SCR-
Response@fcc.gov.
16. Payment of the forfeiture must be made by credit card, check or similar instrument, 
payable to the order of the Federal Communications Commission. The payment must include the Account 
Number and FRN Number referenced above. Payment by check or money order may be mailed to Federal 
Communications Commission, P.O. Box 979088, St. Louis, MO 63197-9000.  Payment by overnight mail 
may be sent to U.S. Bank – Government Lockbox #979088, SL-MO-C2-GL, 1005 Convention Plaza, St. 
Louis, MO 63101. Payment by wire transfer may be made to ABA Number 021030004, receiving bank 
TREAS/NYC, and account number 27000001.  For payment by credit card, an FCC Form 159 
(Remittance Advice) must be submitted.  When completing the FCC Form 159, enter the NAL/Account 
number in block number 23A (call sign/other ID), and enter the letters “FORF” in block number 24A 
(payment type code).  Requests for full payment under an installment plan should be sent to: Chief 
Financial Officer -- Financial Operations, 445 12th Street, S.W., Room 1-A625, Washington, D.C. 
20554.34  If you have questions regarding payment procedures, please contact the Financial Operations 
  
32 See 47 C.F.R. § 11.11 (requiring analog cable systems serving fewer than 5,000 subscribers from a headend to 
comply with EAS requirements as of October 1, 2002).
33 47 U.S.C. § 503(b), 47 C.F.R. §§ 0.111, 0.204, 0.311, 0.314, 1.80, 11.35(a), 76.605(a)(12), 76.611(a), 76.1801.
34 See 47 C.F.R. § 1.1914.
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Group Help Desk at 1-877-480-3201 or Email: ARINQUIRIES@fcc.gov.  St. George shall send 
electronic notification on the date said payment is made to SCR-Response@fcc.gov.
17. The written statement seeking reduction or cancellation of the proposed forfeiture, if any, 
must include a detailed factual statement supported by appropriate documentation and affidavits pursuant 
to sections 1.80(f)(3) and 1.16 of the Rules.  Mail the written statement to Federal Communications 
Commission, Enforcement Bureau, South Central Region, Tampa Office, 4010 W.  Boy Scout Blvd., Suite 
425, Tampa, Florida 33607, and must include the NAL/Acct. No. referenced in the caption.  The 
statements should also be emailed to SCR-Response@fcc.gov.  
18. The Commission will not consider reducing or canceling a forfeiture in response to a claim 
of inability to pay unless the petitioner submits: (1) federal tax returns for the most recent three-year period; 
(2) financial statements prepared according to generally accepted accounting practices (“GAAP”); or (3) 
some other reliable and objective documentation that accurately reflects the petitioner’s current financial 
status.  Any claim of inability to pay must specifically identify the basis for the claim by reference to the 
financial documentation submitted.  
19. IT IS FURTHER ORDERED that a copy of this Notice of Apparent Liability for 
Forfeiture and Order shall be sent by both Certified Mail, Return Receipt Requested, and regular mail, to St. 
George Cable, Inc. at P.O Box 1090, St. George Island, Florida 32328. 
FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION
Ralph Barlow
District Director, 
Tampa Office
Southeast Region
Enforcement Bureau