[Federal Register Volume 80, Number 132 (Friday, July 10, 2015)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 39698-39715]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2015-16324]


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FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION

47 CFR Part 79

[MB Docket No. 12-107; FCC 15-56]


Accessible Emergency Information, and Apparatus Requirements for 
Emergency Information and Video Description

AGENCY: Federal Communications Commission.

ACTION: Final rule.

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SUMMARY: In this document, the Commission adopts additional rules under 
the authority of the Twenty-First Century Communications and Video 
Accessibility Act of 2010 (CVAA) to make emergency information in video 
programming accessible to individuals who are blind or visually 
impaired. First, the document requires multichannel video programming 
distributors to pass through a secondary audio stream containing 
audible emergency information when they permit consumers to access 
linear programming on second screen devices, such as tablets, 
smartphones, laptops, and similar devices. Second, the document 
requires manufacturers of apparatus that receive or play back video 
programming to provide a mechanism that is simple and easy to use for 
activating the secondary audio stream to access audible emergency 
information.

DATES: Effective August 10, 2015.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Evan Baranoff, [email protected], 
of the Media Bureau, Policy Division, (202) 418-2120.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: This is a summary of the Commission's Second 
Report and Order (Order), FCC 15-56, adopted on May 21, 2015, and 
released on May 28, 2015. The full text of this document is available 
electronically via the FCC's Electronic Document Management System 
(EDOCS) Web site at http://fjallfoss.fcc.gov/edocs_public/ or via the 
FCC's Electronic Comment Filing System (ECFS) Web site at http://fjallfoss.fcc.gov/ecfs2/. (Documents will be available electronically 
in ASCII, Microsoft Word, and/or Adobe Acrobat.) This document is also 
available for public inspection and copying during regular business 
hours in the FCC Reference Information Center, Federal Communications 
Commission, 445 12th Street SW., CY-A257, Washington, DC 20554. The 
complete text may be purchased from the Commission's copy contractor, 
445 12th Street SW., Room CY-B402, Washington, DC 20554. Alternative 
formats are available for people with disabilities (Braille, large 
print, electronic files, audio format), by sending an email to 
[email protected] or calling the Commission's Consumer and Governmental 
Affairs Bureau at (202) 418-0530 (voice), (202) 418-0432 (TTY).

I. Introduction

    1. In this Second Report and Order, we take additional steps under 
the authority of sections 202 and 203 of the Twenty-First Century 
Communications and Video Accessibility Act of 2010 (``CVAA'') \1\ to 
make emergency information in video programming accessible to 
individuals who are blind or visually impaired. The Commission adopted 
rules in 2013 to require that visual emergency information shown during 
non-newscast television programming, such as in an on-screen crawl, is 
also available to individuals who are blind or visually impaired 
through an aural presentation on a secondary audio stream.\2\ In 
adopting these rules pursuant to sections 202 and 203 of the CVAA, the 
Commission recognized the importance of making sure that individuals 
who are blind or visually impaired are able to hear critical 
information about emergencies affecting their locality, which can 
enable them promptly to respond to such emergency situations and to 
protect their lives and property.
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    \1\ Twenty-First Century Communications and Video Accessibility 
Act of 2010, Public Law 111-260, 124 Stat. 2751 (2010); Amendment of 
Twenty-First Century Communications and Video Accessibility Act of 
2010, Public Law 111-265, 124 Stat. 2795 (2010) (making technical 
corrections to the CVAA).
    \2\ See Accessible Emergency Information; Apparatus Requirements 
for Emergency Information and Video Description: Implementation of 
the Twenty-First Century Communications and Video Accessibility Act 
of 2010, MB Docket Nos. 12-107, 11-43, Report and Order, FCC 13-45, 
78 FR 31770 (2013) (``First Report and Order''). A secondary audio 
stream is an audio channel, other than the main program audio 
channel, that is typically used for foreign language audio and video 
description.
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    2. First, this Second Report and Order concludes that multichannel 
video programming distributors (``MVPDs'')

[[Page 39699]]

must pass through a secondary audio stream containing audible emergency 
information in accordance with section 79.2 of the Commission's rules 
\3\ when they permit consumers to access linear programming \4\ on 
tablets, smartphones, laptops, and similar devices over the MVPD's 
network as part of their MVPD services. Increasingly, Americans are 
utilizing a wide range of devices in addition to the television to view 
video programming,\5\ and a number of MVPDs now allow customers to view 
linear programming on ``second screen'' devices using applications or 
other technologies.\6\ Our rule ensures that individuals who are blind 
or visually impaired will be provided with accessible emergency 
information when they are watching linear programming over the MVPD's 
network as part of their MVPD services, regardless of whether they are 
viewing the programming on their television or on their tablet, 
smartphone, or similar device.
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    \3\ 47 CFR 79.2.
    \4\ The term ``linear programming'' is generally understood to 
refer to video programming that is prescheduled by the video 
programming provider. See Promoting Innovation and Competition in 
the Provision of Multichannel Video Programming Distribution 
Services, MB Docket No. 14-261, Notice of Proposed Rulemaking, FCC 
14-210, 80 FR 2078 (2014) (``MVPD Definition NPRM'') (using the term 
``linear programming'' ``consistent with prior Commission use''); 
Annual Assessment of the Status of Competition in the Market for the 
Delivery of Video Programming, MB Docket No. 14-16, Notice of 
Inquiry, FCC 14-8, 79 FR 8452 (2014) (``A linear channel is one that 
distributes programming at a scheduled time. Non-linear programming, 
such as video-on-demand (`VOD') and online video content, is 
available at a time of the viewer's choosing.'')).
    \5\ See Annual Assessment of the Status of Competition in the 
Market for the Delivery of Video Programming, MB Docket No. 14-16, 
Sixteenth Report, FCC 15-41, para. 336 (rel. Apr. 2, 2015) (``16th 
Video Competition Report'') (``IP video distribution opportunities 
for MVPDs and [online video distributors] continu`e to expand 
through portable media devices.'').
    \6\ For example, Cablevision, Charter, Comcast, Cox, and Time 
Warner Cable currently offer applications that allow their 
subscribers to view linear programming on mobile and other devices.
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    3. Second, this Second Report and Order requires manufacturers of 
apparatus subject to section 79.105 of the Commission's rules \7\ to 
provide a mechanism that is simple and easy to use for activating the 
secondary audio stream to access audible emergency information. 
Individuals who are blind or visually impaired should not have to 
navigate through multiple levels of menus or take other time-consuming 
actions to activate the secondary audio stream when they hear the aural 
tone signaling that emergency information is being provided visually on 
the screen. In emergency situations, every second counts. Thus, we 
believe that in order for emergency information to be made fully 
accessible to individuals who are blind or visually impaired in 
accordance with section 203 of the CVAA, manufacturers of covered 
apparatus must ensure that such individuals have a simple, easy to use 
mechanism to activate the secondary audio stream in order to hear 
emergency information.
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    \7\ 47 CFR 79.105.
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    4. In the Second Further Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (``Second 
Further Notice'') accompanying the Second Report and Order (and 
published in this issue of the Federal Register), we seek comment on 
three issues: (i) Whether we should adopt rules regarding how covered 
entities should prioritize emergency information conveyed aurally on 
the secondary audio stream when more than one source of visual 
emergency information is presented on-screen at the same time; (ii) 
whether we should reconsider the Commission's requirement for ``school 
closings and changes in school bus schedules'' resulting from emergency 
situations to be conveyed aurally on the secondary audio stream, 
considering the length of such information and the limits of the 
secondary audio stream; and (iii) whether we should require MVPDs to 
ensure that the navigation devices that they provide to subscribers 
include a simple and easy to use activation mechanism for accessing 
audible emergency information on the secondary audio stream, and to 
provide a simple and easy to use mechanism to activate the secondary 
audio stream for emergency information when they permit subscribers to 
view linear programming on mobile and other devices as part of their 
MVPD services.

II. Background

    5. The CVAA was enacted on October 8, 2010 with the purpose of 
ensuring that individuals with disabilities are able to fully utilize 
modern communications services and equipment and to better access video 
programming.\8\ Sections 202 and 203 of the CVAA address, in part, the 
accessibility of emergency information for individuals who are blind or 
visually impaired.\9\ Specifically, section 202 of the CVAA directs the 
Commission to (i) ``identify methods to convey emergency information 
(as that term is defined in section 79.2 of title 47, Code of Federal 
Regulations \10\) in a manner accessible to individuals who are blind 
or visually impaired,'' \11\ and (ii) ``promulgate regulations that 
require video programming providers and video programming distributors 
(as those terms are defined in section 79.1 of title 47, Code of 
Federal Regulations \12\) and program owners to convey such emergency 
information in a manner accessible to individuals who are blind or 
visually impaired.'' \13\ Section 203 of

[[Page 39700]]

the CVAA directs the Commission to prescribe rules requiring certain 
apparatus on which consumers receive or play back video programming, 
such as televisions, set-top boxes, DVD and Blu-ray players, to have 
the capability to decode and make available emergency information and 
video description services in a manner accessible to individuals who 
are blind or visually impaired, and requiring certain apparatus 
designed to record video programming to enable the rendering or pass 
through of emergency information and video description.\14\
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    \8\ See H.R. Rep. No. 111-563, 111th Cong., 2d Sess. at 19 
(2010); S. Rep. No. 111-386, 111th Cong., 2d Sess. at 1 (2010).
    \9\ Pursuant to Section 201 of the CVAA, the Chairman of the 
Commission established an advisory committee known as the Video 
Programming Accessibility Advisory Committee (``VPAAC''), comprised 
of representatives from industry and consumer groups, which 
submitted its statutorily mandated report addressing accessible 
emergency information to the Commission on April 9, 2012. See Second 
Report of the Video Programming Accessibility Advisory Committee on 
the Twenty-First Century Communications and Video Accessibility Act 
of 2010, available at http://vpaac.wikispaces.com; Public Law 111-
260, sec. 201(e)(2) (``VPAAC Second Report: Access to Emergency 
Information''). The portion of the report that addresses emergency 
information is available at http://vpaac.wikispaces.com/file/view/120409+VPAAC+Access+to+Emergency+Information+REPORT+AS+SUBMITTED+4-9-2012.pdf. See also Media Bureau and Consumer and Governmental 
Affairs Bureau Seek Comment on Second VPAAC Report: Video 
Description and Access to Emergency Information, MB Docket No. 12-
107, Public Notice, DA 12-636 (MB rel. Apr. 24, 2012).
    \10\ ``Emergency information'' is defined in section 79.2 of the 
Commission's rules as ``[i]nformation, about a current emergency, 
that is intended to further the protection of life, health, safety, 
and property, i.e., critical details regarding the emergency and how 
to respond to the emergency. Examples of the types of emergencies 
covered include tornadoes, hurricanes, floods, tidal waves, 
earthquakes, icing conditions, heavy snows, widespread fires, 
discharge of toxic gases, widespread power failures, industrial 
explosions, civil disorders, school closings and changes in school 
bus schedules resulting from such conditions, and warnings and 
watches of impending changes in weather.'' 47 CFR 79.2(a)(2). As in 
the First Report and Order, we note that the emergency information 
covered by this proceeding does not include emergency alerts 
delivered through the Emergency Alert System (EAS), the 
accessibility requirements for which are contained in Part 11 of the 
Commission's rules. See 47 CFR 11.1 et seq.; First Report and Order, 
para. 9. However, to the extent a broadcaster or other covered 
entity uses the information provided through EAS or any other source 
(e.g., the National Weather Service) to generate its own crawl 
conveying emergency information as defined in section 79.2(a)(2) 
outside the context of an EAS activation, it must comply with the 
requirements of section 79.2. See First Report and Order, para. 9.
    \11\ 47 U.S.C. 613(g)(1).
    \12\ Section 79.1 defines a ``video programming provider'' as 
``[a]ny video programming distributor and any other entity that 
provides video programming that is intended for distribution to 
residential households including, but not limited to broadcast or 
nonbroadcast television network and the owners of such 
programming.'' 47 CFR 79.1(a)(12). Section 79.1 defines a ``video 
programming distributor'' as ``[a]ny television broadcast station 
licensed by the Commission and any multichannel video programming 
distributor as defined in Sec.  76.1000(e) of this chapter, and any 
other distributor of video programming for residential reception 
that delivers such programming directly to the home and is subject 
to the jurisdiction of the Commission.'' Id. 79.1(a)(11).
    \13\ 47 U.S.C. 613(g)(2).
    \14\ Id. 303(u)(1), 303(z)(1).
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    6. The Commission adopted the First Report and Order on April 9, 
2013.\15\ The record compiled in the proceeding reflected consensus 
among industry and consumer groups supporting use of a secondary audio 
stream to provide emergency information in a manner accessible to 
individuals who are blind or visually impaired, which was recommended 
by the VPAAC.\16\ Thus, to implement the emergency information 
requirements in Section 202, the First Report and Order adopted rules 
requiring that video programming providers (including program owners) 
and video programming distributors use a secondary audio stream to 
convey televised emergency information aurally, when such information 
is conveyed visually during programming other than newscasts.\17\ 
Pursuant to section 203, the First Report and Order also adopted rules 
applicable to manufacturers that require apparatus designed to receive, 
play back, or record video programming transmitted simultaneously with 
sound to make available the secondary audio stream.\18\
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    \15\ See generally First Report and Order.
    \16\ See First Report and Order, para. 13; VPAAC Second Report: 
Access to Emergency Information at 7, 10-11.
    \17\ See First Report and Order, para. 12; 47 CFR 
79.2(b)(2)(ii). The Commission did not revise the existing 
requirement applicable to emergency information provided visually 
during newscasts, explaining that the rule already requires such 
information to be made accessible to individuals who are blind or 
visually impaired through aural presentation in the main program 
audio. First Report and Order, para. 10. See 47 CFR 79.2(b)(2)(i).
    \18\ See First Report and Order, paras. 49, 52; 47 CFR 79.105 
through 79.106.
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    7. In the Further Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (``Further 
Notice'') that accompanied the First Report and Order, the Commission 
sought comment on whether MVPDs are covered by the emergency 
information rules when they permit their subscribers to access linear 
programming via mobile or other devices.\19\ In a separate Further 
Notice of Proposed Rulemaking issued in conjunction with the 
Commission's User Interfaces Order \20\ (``User Interfaces Further 
Notice''), also under MB Docket No. 12-107, the Commission sought 
comment on whether to require manufacturers of apparatus covered by 
section 203 of the CVAA to provide access to the secondary audio stream 
used for audible emergency information by a simple and straightforward 
mechanism, such as a mechanism reasonably comparable to a button, key, 
or icon.\21\ In particular, the Commission sought comment on whether 
section 303(u)(1)(C) of the Communications Act of 1934, as amended (the 
``Act''), as added by section 203 of the CVAA, which requires that 
covered apparatus have the capability to make available emergency 
information in a manner that is accessible to individuals who are blind 
or visually impaired, gives the Commission authority to adopt such a 
requirement.\22\ Consumer and academic commenters, including the 
American Foundation for the Blind (``AFB''), the American Council of 
the Blind (``ACB''), and the Rehabilitation Engineering Research Center 
for Wireless Technologies (``Wireless RERC''), support such a 
requirement, while industry commenters oppose it.
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    \19\ See Accessible Emergency Information; Apparatus 
Requirements for Emergency Information and Video Description: 
Implementation of the Twenty-First Century Communications and Video 
Accessibility Act of 2010, MB Docket Nos. 12-107, 11-43, Further 
Notice of Proposed Rulemaking, FCC 13-45, 78 FR 31800 (2013) 
(``Further Notice'') (accompanying First Report and Order). The 
Commission also sought comment on the following issues in the 
Further Notice: (i) Whether MVPDs must pass through video 
description on the secondary audio stream when they permit their 
subscribers to access linear programming via mobile or other 
devices; (ii) whether the Commission should mandate that the 
secondary audio stream include a particular tag (e.g., a ``visually 
impaired'' (``VI'') tag); and (iii) whether the Commission should 
require covered entities to provide customer support services that 
are specifically designed to assist consumers who are blind or 
visually impaired to navigate between the main and secondary audio 
streams. See id. The Commission is continuing to consider these 
issues.
    \20\ See Accessibility of User Interfaces, and Video Programming 
Guides and Menus; Accessible Emergency Information, and Apparatus 
Requirements for Emergency Information and Video Description: 
Implementation of the Twenty-First Century Communications and Video 
Accessibility Act of 2010, MB Docket Nos. 12-108, 12-107, Report and 
Order, FCC 13-138, 78 FR 77210 (2013) (``User Interfaces Order''); 
Accessibility of User Interfaces, and Video Programming Guides and 
Menus; Accessible Emergency Information, and Apparatus Requirements 
for Emergency Information and Video Description: Implementation of 
the Twenty-First Century Communications and Video Accessibility Act 
of 2010, MB Docket Nos. 12-108, 12-107, Further Notice of Proposed 
Rulemaking, FCC 13-138, 78 FR 77074 (2013) (``User Interfaces 
Further Notice'').
    \21\ See User Interfaces Further Notice, para. 9.
    \22\ See id.; 47 U.S.C. 303(u)(1)(C); Public Law 111-260, sec. 
203.
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    8. To further implement sections 202 and 203 of the CVAA, we adopt 
the rules discussed below. Consistent with the intent of the CVAA, we 
must ensure that individuals with disabilities are not left behind as 
new technologies and platforms for viewing video programming are 
developed, and we are mindful of this as we revise our rules promoting 
the accessibility of emergency information.

III. Discussion

A. Accessible Emergency Information Requirements for Linear Programming 
on Mobile and Other Devices

    9. Given the increasing number of ways in which consumers are 
accessing linear video programming from MVPDs, we believe that it is 
important to further define MVPD responsibilities with regard to the 
secondary audio stream for emergency information on mobile and other 
devices. Specifically, we conclude that MVPDs must pass through a 
secondary audio stream containing audible emergency information when 
they permit consumers to access linear programming on tablets, 
smartphones, laptops, and similar devices \23\ over the MVPD's network 
as part of their MVPD services.\24\ For our purposes here, linear video 
programming is accessed ``over the MVPD's network'' \25\ if it can only 
be received via a connection provided by the MVPD \26\ using an MVPD-
provided application or plug-in.\27\
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    \23\ In addition to tablets, smartphones, and laptops, the 
phrase ``similar devices'' includes other devices on which 
subscribers can view MVPD-provided linear programming over the 
MVPD's network, such as personal computers, game consoles, and Roku 
devices.
    \24\ At this time, this does not include over-the-top (``OTT'') 
services, which are at issue in a separate proceeding that considers 
whether to interpret the term MVPD to include ``services that make 
available for purchase, by subscribers or customers, multiple linear 
streams of video programming, regardless of the technology used to 
distribute the programming.'' MVPD Definition NPRM, para. 1. As in 
the MVPD Definition NPRM, we use the term OTT to refer to linear 
video services that travel over the Internet and that MVPDs do not 
treat as managed video services on any MVPD system.
    \25\ This definition applies when we use the phrase ``over the 
MVPD's network'' throughout the item.
    \26\ Video is ``received via a connection provided by the MVPD'' 
if it is received either via an MVPD's broadband connection or if it 
is video that comes over a coaxial or satellite connection that is 
converted to IP in the home gateway.
    \27\ This is distinguishable from video programming provided 
over the Internet, which can be accessed by an MVPD subscriber when 
using either an MVPD-provided connection, or a third-party Internet 
service provider or broadband connection. For example, a customer 
that uses a tablet connected to a bookstore's Wi-Fi to access video 
programming would not be accessing the programming ``over the MVPD's 
network.''
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1. Legal and Policy Analysis
    10. In the Further Notice, we inquired whether an MVPD is acting as 
a ``video programming distributor'' that provides

[[Page 39701]]

``video programming'' covered by the emergency information rules 
adopted in the First Report and Order when it permits its subscribers 
to access linear programming that contains emergency information via 
tablets, laptops, personal computers, smartphones, or similar 
devices.\28\ We also sought comment on whether, under this approach, an 
MVPD should be required to ensure that any application or plug-in that 
it provides to the consumer to access such programming is capable of 
making emergency information audible on a secondary audio stream.
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    \28\ Further Notice, para. 2.
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    11. We conclude that the accessible emergency information 
requirements adopted in the First Report and Order should apply to 
linear video programming distributed by MVPDs to their subscribers over 
the MVPD's network, regardless of the device on which such programming 
is viewed. In the First Report and Order, the Commission determined 
that the accessible emergency information requirements adopted therein 
apply to video programming subject to section 79.2 that is provided by 
a covered entity, i.e., video programming provided by television 
broadcast stations licensed by the Commission, MVPDs, and any other 
distributor of video programming for residential reception that 
delivers such programming directly to the home and is subject to the 
jurisdiction of the Commission.\29\ As the National Cable & 
Telecommunications Association (``NCTA'') observes, MVPDs are expressly 
included within the regulatory definition of a ``video programming 
distributor.'' \30\ Further, linear programming distributed by an MVPD 
to a subscriber over the MVPD's network is ``video programming'' 
subject to section 79.2 of the rules. In other words, it is 
``[p]rogramming provided by, or generally considered comparable to 
programming provided by, a television broadcast station that is 
distributed and exhibited for residential use.'' \31\ Accordingly, 
MVPDs must comply with the accessible emergency information 
requirements when they permit consumers to access linear programming on 
tablets, smartphones, laptops, and similar devices over the MVPD's 
network as part of their MVPD services.\32\ Further, section 202 of the 
CVAA gives the Commission discretion in how it implements the 
requirement that video programming distributors, including MVPDs, 
``convey [ ] emergency information in a manner accessible to 
individuals who are blind or visually impaired.'' \33\ Thus, applying 
the emergency information rules when MVPDs permit subscribers to access 
linear programming on mobile and other devices over the MVPD's network 
adheres to the statutory directive to ensure that emergency information 
is conveyed in an accessible manner to individuals with visual 
disabilities.
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    \29\ First Report and Order, para. 7; 47 CFR 79.1(a)(10) through 
(11).
    \30\ See Comments of the National Cable & Telecommunications 
Association, MB Docket Nos. 12-107, 11-43, at 3 (``NCTA Comments''); 
47 CFR 79.1(a)(11). See also First Report and Order, para. 33.
    \31\ See NCTA Comments at 3; 47 CFR 79.1(a)(10).
    \32\ Given that we apply the rules only when MVPDs permit 
consumers to access linear programming on tablets, smartphones, 
laptops, and similar devices over the MVPD's network as part of 
their MVPD services, and not to OTT services at this time, we need 
not address the issues raised by industry commenters with regard to 
whether the Commission has authority under the CVAA to extend the 
accessible emergency information requirements in Section 79.2 to all 
linear programming delivered over the Internet or via Internet 
protocol (``IP''). See Comments of AT&T Services, Inc., MB Docket 
Nos. 12-107, 11-43, at 3 (``AT&T Comments''); Comments of DIRECTV, 
LLC, MB Docket Nos. 12-107, 11-43, at 5-6 (``DIRECTV Comments''); 
Comments of the Consumer Electronics Association, MB Docket Nos. 12-
107, 11-43, at 6 (``CEA Comments''); Comments of the 
Telecommunications Industry Association, MB Docket Nos. 12-107, 11-
43, at 3-4 (``TIA Comments''); Reply Comments of the Entertainment 
Software Association, MB Docket Nos. 12-107, 11-43, at 3 (``ESA 
Reply''); Reply Comments of the Information Technology Industry 
Council, MB Docket Nos. 12-107, 11-43, at 3-4 (``ITIC Reply''). See 
also Reply Comments of the National Association of Broadcasters, MB 
Docket Nos. 12-107, 11-43, at 2 (``NAB Reply'').
    \33\ 47 U.S.C. 613(g)(2).
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    12. NCTA, AT&T Services, Inc. (``AT&T''), and the Wireless RERC 
argue that MVPDs should be covered by the emergency information rules 
in section 79.2 when they provide linear programming that contains 
emergency information for viewing on mobile and other devices within 
the home. NCTA contends that ``a cable operator delivering linear 
broadcast stations containing emergency information (or any other 
linear video programming service that might provide an aural version of 
emergency information covered by the rules) within a subscriber's home 
would be a `video programming distributor' for . . . purposes [of the 
rules], even if the linear service is received through use of an 
operator-supplied app on a device owned by a consumer.'' \34\ According 
to NCTA, ``cable operators would not object to applying the emergency 
information rules in these circumstances.'' \35\ Likewise, AT&T states 
that ``when an MVPD is allowing its subscribers to access video 
programming that is distributed to the home via the MVPD's network, the 
MVPD is subject to the Commission's emergency information rules, 
regardless of the devices that are accessing the video programming.'' 
\36\ The Wireless RERC agrees with AT&T's position.\37\
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    \34\ NCTA Comments at 3.
    \35\ Id.
    \36\ AT&T Comments at 3.
    \37\ Reply Comments of the Rehabilitation Engineering Research 
Center for Wireless Technologies, MB Docket Nos. 12-107, 11-43, at 5 
(``Wireless RERC Reply'').
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    13. We believe that requiring MVPDs to pass through a secondary 
audio stream with audible emergency information in these circumstances 
will further the goals of the CVAA by helping to ensure that emergency 
information is made accessible to individuals who are blind or visually 
impaired when they watch linear video programming provided by their 
MVPD over the MVPD's network, regardless of the device on which they 
are viewing the programming. The number of ways in which consumers are 
able to access linear programming from their MVPDs is growing. As NCTA 
points out, ``[c]able operators, as part of their existing services, 
increasingly are providing applications (`apps') or other technologies 
that enable their subscribers to view linear programming within the 
home over the cable operator's network.'' \38\ Consumer advocates 
emphasize the importance of making sure that the emergency information 
rules keep pace with such trends and urge the Commission to apply the 
emergency information rules

[[Page 39702]]

to mobile and other devices.\39\ In addition, the Wireless RERC 
explains that individuals who are blind or visually impaired may not 
draw a distinction between regular television broadcasts and linear 
programming on mobile and other devices offered as part of an MVPD's 
services and, therefore, they argue that the emergency information 
rules should apply equally to the latter.\40\ We concur. Consumers who 
choose to watch linear programming offered by an MVPD on a mobile 
device over the MVPD's network should not be deprived of timely and 
potentially life-saving accessible emergency information that they 
otherwise would have received had they watched the same programming on 
a television.
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    \38\ See NCTA Comments at 2; Wireless RERC Reply at 4; Letter 
from Diane B. Burstein, Vice President and Deputy General Counsel, 
NCTA, to Marlene H. Dortch, Secretary, FCC, at 1 (Apr. 4, 2014) 
(``NCTA Apr. 4, 2014 Ex Parte Letter''). See also Further Notice, 
n.6 (stating that Cablevision currently permits consumers to access 
its entire package of video programming, including broadcast 
channels that contain emergency information, through its Optimum app 
for the iPad and other devices); Charter Communications, Press 
Release, Charter Announces Launch of Charter TV App (Apr. 8, 2014) 
(announcing the Charter TV App available for free download on 
various platforms, through which ``Charter TV customers can now 
watch over 130 live TV Channels anywhere inside their home on their 
mobile devices such as tablets or smartphones''); Comcast, Xfinity 
TV Apps, available at http://xfinitytv.comcast.net/apps (``Turn any 
device into a personal TV screen anywhere in your home. Stream any 
channel live, watch XFINITY On DemandTM and access your 
DVR shows on your tablet, smartphone or computer.''); Cox, About the 
Contour App, available at http://www.cox.com/residential/support/tv/article.cox?articleId=ee838930-c7d7-11e2-caa8-000000000000 (``With 
the Contour App, you can [w]atch over 130 live channels and 
thousands of On Demand programs while in the home.''); Time Warner 
Cable, TWC TV App, available at http://www.timewarnercable.com/en/tv/features/twc-tv.html (``Watch up to 300 live TV channels on up to 
five of your favorite devices simultaneously in your home with the 
TWC TV app'').
    \39\ See Wireless RERC Reply at 3-4; Comments of Jose Cruz, MB 
Docket Nos. 12-107, 11-43, at 2 (arguing that ``[t]he blind/visually 
impaired should be able to access emergency broadcasts from their 
MVPD . . . through mobile and/or other electronic devices,'' which 
``may affect their well-being or the well-being of their 
families''); Comments of Jeanette M. Schmoyer, MB Docket Nos. 12-
107, 11-43, at 1 (arguing that the accessible emergency information 
requirements should apply to television programming delivered over 
tablets, laptops, smartphones, and similar devices, and stating that 
``[a]t the rate technology changes, PC's are already decreasing in 
sales in favor of laptops and tablets'' and ``[i]nformation provided 
as a visual element needs to be provided in an audio element no 
matter what the device'').
    \40\ See Wireless RERC Reply at 4.
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    14. Although we inquired in the Further Notice as to whether the 
emergency information rules should apply to an MVPD's linear 
programming accessed outside the home, we find it more appropriate to 
apply the rules when MVPDs permit consumers to access linear 
programming on tablets, smartphones, laptops, and similar devices over 
the MVPD's network as part of their MVPD services. In the Further 
Notice, we noted that some MVPDs currently enable subscribers to access 
linear programming inside the home as well as outside the home (i.e., 
TV Everywhere \41\), and we sought comment on whether our emergency 
information rules should apply in both situations, irrespective of 
where the subscriber is physically located when accessing the 
programming.\42\ Instead of applying our rules based on where the 
consumer is located when viewing the programming, we look instead to 
whether the programming is provided over the MVPD's network, as opposed 
to over the Internet, given that Internet-based video services are 
currently at issue in a separate proceeding. NCTA argues that the rules 
should apply only within an MVPD subscriber's home, and not outside of 
the home, ``both because of the limited scope of the statutory and 
regulatory definitions, and because of the nature of emergency 
information.'' \43\ We conclude that focusing on whether the services 
are provided over the MVPD's network more clearly delineates the 
services subject to the rule and avoids confusion as to whether the 
rule applies with respect to OTT services that consumers may be able to 
access in their homes.\44\ Further, to the extent NCTA's ``in the 
home'' construction is intended to ensure that the emergency 
information rules do not apply to video programming accessed over the 
Internet, our approach to cover linear programming accessed over the 
MVPD's network as part of an MVPD's services accomplishes this 
objective. Our emergency information rules do not apply, at this time, 
to an MVPD's linear programming that is accessed via the Internet, such 
as TV Everywhere offerings.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \41\ See 16th Video Competition Report, para. 3 (``These 
services, referred to as `TV Everywhere,' allow MVPD subscribers to 
access both linear and video-on-demand (`VOD') programming on a 
variety of in-home and mobile Internet-connected devices.''); id. at 
n.22 (``TV Everywhere is an authentication system whereby certain 
movies and television shows are accessible online via a variety of 
display devices including personal computer, mobile, and 
television--but only if you can prove (or `authenticate') that you 
have a subscription to an MVPD.''); id. para. 85 (``Most of the 
video programming offered on TV Everywhere is available only to MVPD 
subscribers. Access to TV Everywhere video programming is restricted 
through the use of an authentication process that requires a 
subscriber to select their MVPD service provider and then provide a 
user ID and password.'') (citation omitted).
    \42\ Further Notice, para. 2.
    \43\ NCTA Comments at 3, n.11. See also AT&T Comments at 1; CEA 
Comments at 4 (``The Commission consistently has applied Section[ ] 
79.2 only in the context of traditional broadcast television and 
MVPD services, which are classic examples of services for 
residential reception that deliver such programming directly to the 
home.'') (citation omitted); TIA Comments at 4 (``The Commission's 
video description and emergency information requirements are 
appropriately limited to the MVPD's traditional programming offered 
within the home, and that qualifies as linear video programming 
under Part 79.1 of the Commission's rules.''); ESA Reply at 3 (``The 
CVAA imposes emergency information requirements not on the full 
range of video programming, but only on that programming intended 
for in[hyphen]home reception.'').
    \44\ Moreover, we disagree with NCTA's argument that emergency 
information is irrelevant to a subscriber outside of his or her 
home. See NCTA Comments at 3, n.11.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    15. As mentioned above, we do not apply these rules to over-the-top 
services provided by MVPDs at this time. In December 2014, we adopted a 
Notice of Proposed Rulemaking proposing to include within the 
definition of MVPD certain Internet-based video services.\45\ 
Specifically, we proposed ``to modernize our interpretation of the term 
`multichannel video programming distributor' (`MVPD') by including 
within its scope services that make available for purchase, by 
subscribers or customers, multiple linear streams of video programming, 
regardless of the technology used to distribute the programming.'' \46\ 
In that NPRM, we specifically sought comment on the application of our 
rules pertaining to accessibility of emergency information by persons 
with disabilities to Internet-based distributors of video programming 
that qualify as MVPDs under the proposed definition.\47\ We conclude, 
therefore, that application of the emergency information rules to such 
services is better addressed in that proceeding.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \45\ See MVPD Definition NPRM, para. 1.
    \46\ Id.
    \47\ Id. at para. 56.
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2. MVPD Obligations
    16. We conclude that MVPDs must ensure that any application or 
plug-in that they provide to consumers to access linear programming 
over the MVPD's network on mobile and other devices is capable of 
passing through the aural representation of emergency information 
(including the accompanying aural tone) on a secondary audio stream. In 
so concluding, we do not change the underlying obligations applicable 
to video programming distributors and video programming providers as 
set forth in the First Report and Order. In the First Report and Order, 
the Commission concluded that the video programming distributor or 
video programming provider that creates visual emergency information 
content and adds it to the programming stream is responsible for 
providing an aural representation of the information on a secondary 
audio stream, accompanied by an aural tone.\48\ The Commission also 
found that video programming distributors are responsible for ensuring 
that the aural representation of the emergency information and the 
accompanying aural tone get passed through to consumers.\49\ NCTA 
asserts that ``the Further Notice appears to contemplate an additional 
requirement that operators `mak[e] the emergency information audible on 
a secondary audio stream' on devices that they do not control,'' which, 
they argue, goes

[[Page 39703]]

beyond the requirement to ensure that aural emergency information gets 
passed through to consumers.\50\ We agree that, consistent with the 
responsibilities set forth in the current rule, to the extent MVPDs do 
not originate visual emergency information that is added to the 
programming stream, they are not responsible for providing an aural 
representation of the information on a secondary audio stream.\51\ 
MVPDs are responsible for ensuring that the aural representation of 
emergency information on the secondary audio stream gets passed through 
to consumers, and we find that this obligation applies if the MVPD 
permits the consumer to view linear programming on mobile and other 
devices over the MVPD's network as part of its MVPD services.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \48\ First Report and Order, para. 36; 47 CFR 79.2(b)(2)(ii). In 
addition, both video programming distributors and video programming 
providers are responsible for ensuring that aural emergency 
information supersedes all other programming on the secondary audio 
stream, with each entity responsible only for its own actions or 
omissions in this regard. First Report and Order, para. 36; 47 CFR 
79.2(b)(5).
    \49\ First Report and Order, para. 36; 47 CFR 79.2(b)(2)(ii).
    \50\ NCTA Comments at 3-4 (citation omitted).
    \51\ Although NCTA argues that ``[c]able operators do not 
originate the type of `emergency information' addressed by the 
Commission's new rule,'' but ``simply pass along the aural emergency 
information contained in a secondary audio stream that is created by 
the originator of that information,'' NCTA Comments at 4, we 
reiterate our position ``that to the extent an MVPD does create a 
crawl or other visual graphic conveying local emergency information 
as defined in Section 79.2 and embeds it in non-newscast 
programming, it should also be responsible for making the visual 
emergency information aurally accessible.'' First Report and Order, 
n.38.
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3. Apparatus Manufacturer Obligations
    17. We also sought comment in the Further Notice as to whether 
apparatus manufacturers covered by section 203 of the CVAA should be 
required to ensure that tablets, laptops, personal computers, 
smartphones, and similar devices are capable of receiving the secondary 
audio stream.\52\ As part of this inquiry, we asked whether apparatus 
manufacturers should be solely responsible for making emergency 
information accessible on these types of devices, or whether both the 
MVPD and the manufacturer have a role in facilitating the provision of 
the secondary audio stream on such devices.\53\ Consumer electronics 
industry commenters argue that manufacturers should not be subject to 
compliance obligations because apparatus have no control over the audio 
functionality of MVPD applications and technologies used to distribute 
linear programming on mobile and other devices.\54\ For example, CTIA-
The Wireless Association (``CTIA'') explains that mobile device 
manufacturers have no control over the development or installation of 
MVPD applications, and once an MVPD application is installed on a 
mobile device, the application controls the audio capabilities, i.e., 
whether there are multiple audio streams and which audio stream is 
heard by the user.\55\ According to CTIA, ``the mobile device simply 
supports the general audio functionality of the device, so that it will 
play whatever audio stream the app itself provides.'' \56\ Likewise, 
CEA contends that if an MVPD application is capable of delivering and 
switching between more than one audio stream for linear programming, 
the device generally will play the audio stream delivered by the 
application.\57\
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    \52\ Further Notice, para. 3.
    \53\ Id.
    \54\ See Comments of CTIA-The Wireless Association, MB Docket 
Nos. 12-107, 11-43, at 2, 5-6 (``CTIA Comments''); CEA Comments at 
10-11; TIA Comments at 4-5; ITIC Reply at 5; Letter from Julie M. 
Kearney, Vice President, Regulatory Affairs, CEA, to Marlene H. 
Dortch, Secretary, FCC, at 2 (Mar. 28, 2014) (``CEA Mar. 28, 2014 Ex 
Parte Letter''). See also Wireless RERC Reply at 5 (agreeing with 
TIA and CTIA that the responsibility for accessible emergency 
information on mobile and other devices lies with MVPDs because they 
are providing the video programming via an application or Web site, 
and ``thus the mobile device in this case is serving as a 
conduit'').
    \55\ CTIA Comments at 5.
    \56\ Id.
    \57\ CEA Mar. 28, 2014 Ex Parte Letter at 1-2.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    18. Based on the record, we do not impose compliance obligations on 
the manufacturers of apparatus covered by section 203 of the CVAA with 
regard to ensuring that any application or plug-in that MVPDs provide 
to consumers to access linear programming on mobile and other devices 
is capable of passing through audible emergency information on a 
secondary audio stream. The record demonstrates that such entities 
typically do not control either the applications or technologies in 
question or the ability of consumers to select and receive the 
secondary audio stream for MVPD-provided linear programming on mobile 
and other devices. We believe that the responsibility for passing 
through the aural representation of emergency information in the 
secondary audio stream properly lies with MVPDs. However, to the extent 
MVPD applications or other technologies have been designed and 
developed to work on a specific type of device or platform, we expect 
that users will be able to hear the secondary audio stream in an MVPD 
application through the native audio functionality of the device, as 
professed by industry commenters. We may impose obligations on 
manufacturers in the future if we find that the apparatus itself does 
not make a secondary audio stream with audible emergency information 
from an MVPD application available to the apparatus user or otherwise 
impedes the ability of a user to hear the secondary audio stream.\58\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \58\ See ESA Reply at 4 (``If . . . the Commission were to 
impose emergency information requirements on IP-delivered linear 
video programming within the home, any responsibility on devices 
should be limited to a `do not block' or `do no harm' 
requirement.''). See also Wireless RERC Reply at 5 (``[I]f mobile 
device manufacture[r]s at any point incorporate the ability to tune 
into linear programming via a chip or other built-in modification 
(via software, hardware or firmware) or an app that is `integrated 
into a mobile device by the manufacturer,' then the device 
manufacturer should be responsible for ensuring the provision of 
accessible emergency information.'') (citation omitted).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

4. Compliance Deadline
    19. We adopt a compliance deadline of two years after publication 
of the Second Report and Order in the Federal Register. NCTA requests 
that the Commission provide MVPDs at least two years after adoption of 
new requirements to come into compliance because of the technical 
challenges involved.\59\ NCTA explains that passing through a secondary 
audio stream to mobile and other devices in the home is ``a different, 
more complex, and more costly matter'' than passing a secondary audio 
stream through to a television set.\60\ According to NCTA, ``cable 
operators generally just pass through the primary audio stream to 
operator-provided apps,'' and thus, ``operators would have to acquire 
additional equipment and encoding to support the pass through of an 
additional audio stream in IP,'' and ``operators may need to provide 
audio enhancements to many different apps created to serve a 
multiplicity of devices in the home.'' \61\ Given these challenges, 
NCTA asks for sufficient time to allow operators to support the 
capability for a secondary audio stream on these devices going 
forward.\62\ DIRECTV states that developing the technological ecosystem 
to support a secondary audio stream for emergency information in the IP 
context ``would be a massive undertaking'' because linear programming 
delivered via IP does not currently include this capability, the 
equipment used to view such programming does not currently support it, 
and adding additional data to

[[Page 39704]]

the video stream would further congest strained broadband 
capabilities.\63\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \59\ NCTA Comments at 5. See also CEA Comments at 9 (arguing 
that a two-year period would be consistent with deadlines the 
Commission has adopted in other CVAA proceedings); ESA Reply at 4 
(suggesting that ``any deadline should be subject to industry 
development of appropriate technical standards, with a subsequent 
phase-in period of at least two years after adoption of such 
standard to address any complicated handoffs of other technical and 
business challenges'').
    \60\ NCTA Comments at 4-5.
    \61\ Id. at 5. See also NCTA Apr. 4, 2014 Ex Parte Letter at 1-
2.
    \62\ NCTA Apr. 4, 2014 Ex Parte Letter at 2.
    \63\ DIRECTV Comments at 7. See also NAB Reply at 3.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    20. Although we acknowledge that today MVPDs typically pass through 
a single audio stream in the IP context,\64\ the record also 
demonstrates that at least some MVPDs are already able to use a 
secondary audio stream to deliver emergency information when they 
provide linear programming on mobile and other devices. Notably, 
Comcast has made investments in infrastructure to enable the secondary 
audio stream when it offers its cable services through its Xfinity 
applications, and, currently, ``Comcast customers can access the 
secondary audio stream via the Xfinity user interface on a number of 
third-party devices.'' \65\ Further, Cablevision customers currently 
can access the secondary audio stream when using Cablevision's Optimum 
application on a laptop or personal computer, though not when using 
this application on other mobile devices.\66\ Cablevision has already 
initiated efforts to transmit the secondary audio stream over the 
Optimum application on mobile and other devices, and explains that the 
process of implementing this functionality involves further development 
of the application, software upgrades, and testing.\67\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \64\ NCTA Apr. 4, 2014 Ex Parte Letter at 1.
    \65\ See Letter from James R. Coltharp, Chief Policy Advisor, 
FCC & Regulatory Policy, Comcast Corporation, to Marlene H. Dortch, 
Secretary, FCC, at 1 (May 23, 2014).
    \66\ See Letter from Tara M. Corvo, Counsel for Cablevision 
Systems Corp., to Marlene H. Dortch, Secretary, FCC, at 1 (June 26, 
2014).
    \67\ Id. In addition, we note that Netflix has begun to include 
alternative audio tracks for their programming on Netflix-supported 
devices. See Todd Spangler, Netflix Adding Audio Description Tracks 
for Visually Impaired, Starting with `Marvel's Daredevil,' Variety 
(Apr. 14, 2015), available at http://variety.com/2015/digital/news/netflix-adding-audio-description-tracks-for-visually-impaired-starting-with-marvels-daredevil-1201472372/# (noting that ``the 
company is working with studios and other content owners to increase 
the amount of audio description across a range of devices including 
smart TVs, tablets and smartphones'').
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    21. Based on our review of the record, we conclude that a 
compliance deadline of two years after publication of the Second Report 
and Order in the Federal Register is reasonable, though we encourage 
covered MVPDs to offer this functionality as soon as it is technically 
feasible for them to do so. The record shows that MVPDs may need to 
take a number of steps to achieve compliance, such as acquiring 
additional equipment to support the pass through of the secondary audio 
stream for IP and developing or modifying applications to support this 
type of audio functionality for a number of devices. We believe that a 
two-year period will provide sufficient time for MVPDs to achieve these 
steps, along with the requisite testing and implementation, and is 
consistent with other timeframes adopted by the Commission for CVAA-
related compliance.\68\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \68\ See First Report and Order, para. 37.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

B. Activation Mechanism for Audible Emergency Information on the 
Secondary Audio Stream

    22. We require manufacturers of apparatus subject to section 79.105 
of the Commission's rules \69\ to provide a mechanism that is simple 
and easy to use, such as one that is reasonably comparable to a button, 
key, or icon, for activating the secondary audio stream for audible 
emergency information. We conclude that such a requirement is necessary 
to ensure that covered apparatus are capable of making available 
emergency information in a manner that is accessible to individuals who 
are blind or visually impaired, as mandated by section 203 of the 
CVAA.\70\

---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \69\ 47 CFR 79.105. Covered apparatus include apparatus that are 
designed to receive or play back video programming transmitted 
simultaneously with sound that is provided by entities subject to 
sections 79.2 and 79.3, are manufactured or imported for use in the 
United States, and use a picture screen of any size, subject to 
certain exemptions. See id. 79.105(a) through (b).
    \70\ 47 U.S.C. 303(u)(1)(C).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

1. Legal and Policy Analysis

    23. In the User Interfaces Further Notice, the Commission sought 
comment on whether to require manufacturers of apparatus covered by 
section 203 of the CVAA to provide access to the secondary audio stream 
used for audible emergency information in a simple, straightforward, 
and timely manner, such as through a mechanism reasonably comparable to 
a button, key, or icon.\71\ Section 303(u)(1)(C) of the Act, as added 
by Section 203 of the CVAA, requires that apparatus designed to receive 
and play back video programming transmitted simultaneously with sound 
``have the capability to decode and make available emergency 
information (as that term is defined in section 79.2 of the 
Commission's regulations (47 CFR 79.2)) in a manner that is accessible 
to individuals who are blind or visually impaired.'' \72\ Further, 
section 203 also provides the Commission with authority to ``prescribe 
such regulations as are necessary to implement the requirements of 
section[] 303(u) . . . of the Communications Act.'' \73\ Pursuant to 
these statutory provisions, we find that the Commission has authority 
to require that the secondary audio stream--which is used to make 
emergency information audible to individuals who are blind or visually 
impaired--be made available on covered apparatus in a manner that is 
accessible to such individuals.\74\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \71\ User Interfaces Further Notice, para. 9.
    \72\ 47 U.S.C. 303(u)(1)(C).
    \73\ Public Law 111-260, sec. 203(d).
    \74\ See Reply Comments of the Rehabilitation Engineering 
Research Center for Wireless Technologies, MB Docket Nos. 12-108, 
12-107, at 8 (Feb. 25, 2014) (``Wireless RERC User Interfaces Reply 
Comments''); Reply Comments of the American Foundation for the Blind 
and the American Council of the Blind, MB Docket Nos. 12-108, 12-
107, at 2 (Mar. 20, 2014) (``AFB/ACB User Interfaces Reply 
Comments'').
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    24. As noted above, in the First Report and Order, we required 
video programming providers and distributors to use the secondary audio 
stream as the means to provide accessible emergency information for 
individuals who are blind or visually impaired in accordance with 
section 202 of the CVAA. Thus, to implement section 203 of the CVAA, we 
required apparatus designed to receive and play back video programming 
transmitted simultaneously with sound to decode and make available the 
secondary audio stream in a manner that enables consumers to select the 
stream used for transmission and delivery of emergency information.\75\ 
Notably, the Commission was given authority and discretion to 
promulgate regulations requiring covered entities to convey emergency 
information in a manner accessible to individuals who are blind or 
visually impaired. Use of the secondary audio stream to provide audible 
emergency information was not mandated by Congress.\76\ For example, 
the Commission could have required that visual emergency information be 
made audible on the main program audio.\77\ Given broad-based support 
from consumers and industry, as well as the recommendation of the 
VPAAC, however, the Commission decided that the secondary audio stream 
would be the best method to make visual information presented during 
non-newscast programming audibly accessible to individuals who are 
blind

[[Page 39705]]

or visually impaired. Yet, emergency information presented aurally on 
the secondary audio stream is not, as a practical matter, fully 
accessible to such individuals unless they are able to promptly switch 
to the secondary audio stream to hear the critical details of an 
emergency in a timely manner. As the VPAAC concluded, unless blind or 
visually impaired consumers are able to more easily control the means 
of accessing the secondary audio stream on devices, ``emergency 
information present on the secondary audio channel may not be readily 
accessible.'' \78\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \75\ First Report and Order, para. 50; 47 CFR 79.105(a).
    \76\ See 47 U.S.C. 613(g)(1) through (2), 303(u)(1)(C). See also 
S. Rep. No. 111-386, at 13 (``The Committee is aware that emergency 
alert information is inherently local and time sensitive in nature. 
Therefore it is the intention of the Committee that the Commission 
have flexibility with respect to applying the requirements of new 
section 713(g). . . .''); H.R. Rep. No. 111-563, at 29 (same).
    \77\ See VPAAC Second Report: Access to Emergency Information at 
8. See also id. at 11-12.
    \78\ VPAAC Second Report: Access to Emergency Information at 7-8 
(``To obtain emergency information from television programming, many 
users with visual disabilities require a greater level of access to 
controls on receiving devices than most models of such devices offer 
today. . . . [A] blind or visually impaired person will need a 
reliable method of accessing the secondary audio feed if emergency 
information is to be provided on [this] service.'').
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    25. Although the requirements related to the provision of 
accessible emergency information on a secondary audio stream have not 
yet gone into effect,\79\ the experiences of consumers who use the 
secondary audio stream for video description are illustrative in 
showing how difficult it is for consumers to access any kind of 
programming on the secondary audio stream. Currently, the process for 
activating the secondary audio stream is often arduous and time-
consuming.\80\ In the User Interfaces Further Notice, the Commission 
observed that individuals who are blind or visually impaired have 
experienced difficulty with accessing the secondary audio stream 
because the mechanism for switching to the secondary audio stream from 
the main program audio is buried in several layers of on-screen 
menus.\81\ Likewise, in a CVAA-required report to Congress on video 
description, the Commission noted that numerous individual commenters 
who are blind or visually impaired contend that activating the 
secondary audio stream on televisions and set-top boxes is challenging, 
and sometimes impossible for individuals who are blind or visually 
impaired, due to the complexities of navigating through multiple on-
screen menus to select this feature.\82\ While it is important that 
consumers who are blind or visually impaired are able to access the 
secondary audio stream for video description services, it is even more 
critical that consumers who are blind or visually impaired are able to 
access the secondary audio stream for audible emergency information, 
and that they are able to do so in a timely manner.\83\ In an emergency 
situation, every second counts. Thus, to ensure that emergency 
information is made readily accessible, we conclude that individuals 
who are blind or visually impaired must be able to activate the 
secondary audio stream in a simple and easy to use manner.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \79\ Compliance with the accessible emergency information rules 
adopted in the First Report and Order is required by May 26, 2015, 
subject to certain exceptions. See 47 CFR 79.2(b)(2)(ii), 79.105(a), 
79.106(a). See also First Report and Order, paras. 37-45, paras. 76-
77.
    \80\ See AFB/ACB User Interfaces Reply Comments at 2 (noting 
that AFB, ACB, and individual consumers ``have commented on the 
current difficulty, and frequently virtual impossibility, of 
locating [video] description controls and turning [video] 
description on''); Video Description: Implementation of the Twenty-
First Century Communications and Video Accessibility Act of 2010, MB 
Docket No. 11-43, Report to Congress, DA 14-945, para. 32, nn.102-05 
(MB rel. Jun. 30, 2014) (``Video Description Report to Congress'').
    \81\ User Interfaces Further Notice, para. 9.
    \82\ Video Description Report to Congress, para. 32.
    \83\ See VPAAC Second Report: Access to Emergency Information at 
7 (``The effective use of video description by the blind or visually 
impaired for any purpose requires convenient, reliable and readily 
available access to the video description service [on the secondary 
audio stream]. If this service is to convey emergency information, 
the convenience of such access is all the more important.'').
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    26. Requiring a simple and easy to use mechanism for activating the 
secondary audio stream for emergency information will provide a 
substantial benefit for consumers who are blind or visually impaired by 
providing an easy and quick method to switch to the secondary audio 
stream to hear critical emergency information. According to AFB and 
ACB, ``the importance of a streamlined and obvious means for accessing 
emergency information is indispensable,'' given that the information 
being accessed ``may very well save lives.'' \84\ Indeed, as the 
Commission has consistently recognized, ``providing all viewers with 
accurate information regarding emergencies is of great importance.'' 
\85\ Emergency information is of unique significance given its 
potential impact on public safety, and it is essential that persons 
with disabilities have access to the same time-sensitive emergency 
information to which other viewers have access. Our emergency 
information requirements, including the activation mechanism 
requirement we adopt here, will ensure that critical information that 
is conveyed on television to further the protection of life, health, 
safety, and property in an emergency is available to every viewer in a 
timely manner, including persons with visual disabilities.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \84\ AFB/ACB User Interfaces Reply Comments at 2. See also 
Wireless RERC User Interfaces Reply Comments at 9 (strongly urging 
the Commission to adopt a requirement for a mechanism reasonably 
comparable to a button, key, or icon for accessing the secondary 
audio stream for audible emergency information because ``[t]his can 
be a life and death scenario where people with vision disabilities 
would miss information that affects their immediate safety'').
    \85\ Implementation of Section 305 of the Telecommunications Act 
of 1996, Closed Captioning and Video Description of Video 
Programming: Accessibility of Emergency Programming, MM Docket No. 
95-176, Second Report and Order, FCC 00-136, 65 FR 26757 (2000).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    27. We find that requiring the provision of a simple and easy to 
use activation mechanism for audible emergency information on the 
secondary audio stream is necessary to fulfill the statute's mandate 
that emergency information be made accessible to individuals who are 
blind or visually impaired. This is particularly true given the time-
sensitive nature of emergency information. At the same time, however, 
we believe it is important that the industry has flexibility in 
choosing the precise means for activating the secondary audio 
stream.\86\ Accordingly, we do not mandate a particular means of 
compliance. For example, we note that the VPAAC stated that covered 
entities could provide a dedicated button on a remote control to 
activate the secondary audio stream, a mechanism it singled out as 
useful.\87\ However, we believe the better path is to give industry the 
flexibility to develop simple and easy to use activation methods, 
similar to the approach we adopted to implement the requirements of 
sections 204 and 205 of the CVAA.\88\ Some industry commenters have 
indicated that they have already begun developing innovative approaches 
to comply with the activation mechanism rules adopted in the User 
Interfaces Order. For example, NCTA states that activation methods now 
in development include programmable buttons on remote controls and that 
voice and gesture controls will likely be offered in addition to these 
methods.\89\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \86\ See User Interfaces Order, para. 81 (stating that the 
requirement to provide an activation mechanism reasonably comparable 
to a button, key, or icon ``is consistent with Congress's intent `to 
ensure ready access to [closed captioning and video description] 
features by persons with disabilities,' while still giving covered 
entities the flexibility contemplated by the statute'').
    \87\ See VPAAC Second Report: Access to Emergency Information at 
8-9 (``In the event that . . . the crawl or scroll is made auditory 
in the secondary audio channel, several other methods could possibly 
be used to assist visually impaired consumers in gaining access to 
this audio service. For example, physical buttons on the remote 
control may help individuals with visual disabilities enable the 
second audio channel.'').
    \88\ User Interfaces Order, para. 81.
    \89\ See National Cable & Telecommunications Association, 
Opposition to Petition for Reconsideration, MB Docket Nos. 12-108, 
12-07, at 7 (filed Feb. 18, 2014). See also Letter from James R. 
Coltharp, Chief Policy Advisor, FCC & Regulatory Policy, Comcast 
Corporation, to Marlene H. Dortch, Secretary, FCC, at 1 (Mar. 20, 
2015) (detailing a demonstration of how consumers can activate and 
use the talking guide, closed captioning, and video description on 
Comcast's X1 platform).

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[[Page 39706]]

    28. Industry commenters raise a number of legal arguments as to why 
they believe the Commission should not require an activation mechanism 
for audible emergency information on section 203 apparatus, but we find 
each of them to be unpersuasive. As we explain below, we require 
covered entities to provide a simple and easy to use activation 
mechanism and find that a mechanism reasonably comparable to a button, 
key, or icon would satisfy this standard. We disagree with commenters 
who contend that the Commission should not require covered entities to 
provide a simple means for accessing the secondary audio stream for 
emergency information because section 203 does not contain such a 
mandate.\90\ As explained above, section 303(u)(1)(C) of the Act 
requires generally that covered apparatus have the capability to make 
available emergency information in an accessible manner, and section 
203 of the CVAA grants the Commission authority to adopt regulations 
that are necessary to implement this requirement.\91\ Thus, the 
Commission has latitude to adopt requirements that will ensure that 
emergency information is made available in an accessible manner.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \90\ Comments of the Consumer Electronics Association, MB Docket 
Nos. 12-108, 12-107, at 8 (Feb. 18, 2014) (``CEA User Interfaces 
Comments''). See also Comments of DISH Network L.L.C. and EchoStar 
Technologies L.L.C., MB Docket Nos. 12-108, 12-107, at 6 (Feb. 18, 
2014) (``DISH/EchoStar User Interfaces Comments'') (``The absence of 
a `reasonably comparable' mechanism requirement in Section 203 
precludes the Commission from imposing such a requirement in that 
context.''); Reply Comments of the Consumer Electronics Association, 
MB Docket Nos. 12-108, 12-107, at 5 (Mar. 20, 2014) (``CEA User 
Interfaces Reply Comments'').
    \91\ 47 U.S.C. 303(u)(1)(C); Public Law 111-260, sec. 203(d).
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    29. For similar reasons, we reject industry commenters' argument 
that the Commission has no authority to require an activation mechanism 
for audible emergency information because Congress specifically 
required an activation mechanism reasonably comparable to a button, 
key, or icon in sections 204 and 205 of the CVAA, but not in section 
203 of the CVAA.\92\ CEA opines that ``[i]f Congress had meant for such 
a specific requirement to apply to emergency information, it surely 
would have said so in section 203.'' \93\ However, this argument also 
fails to recognize that Congress gave the Commission authority to 
identify methods to convey emergency information in a manner accessible 
to individuals who are blind or visually impaired, and to promulgate 
regulations (i) requiring covered video programming providers and 
distributors to convey emergency information in an accessible manner, 
and (ii) requiring covered apparatus to have the capability to make 
emergency information available in an accessible manner.\94\ In other 
words, as discussed above, when Congress enacted the CVAA, it did not 
specify the particular requirements for making emergency information 
available in a manner accessible to individuals who are blind or 
visually impaired. Rather, it gave the Commission authority and 
discretion to adopt implementing regulations. Moreover, as Congress did 
not specify in the statute that covered entities must use a secondary 
audio stream to convey audible emergency information to individuals who 
are blind or visually impaired, there was no reason for Congress to 
mandate a simple and easy to use mechanism to access that stream. 
Indeed, had the Commission chosen instead to implement section 203 by 
requiring all emergency information to be audible on the primary audio 
stream, there would have been no need for an activation mechanism for 
the secondary audio stream that is reasonably comparable to a button, 
key, or icon. Thus, even though the ``reasonably comparable to a 
button, key, or icon'' language is included in other sections of the 
CVAA, we do not believe its omission from section 203 is indicative of 
Congress' intent to bar the Commission from requiring an activation 
mechanism in the emergency information context. We find this argument 
fails to recognize the rulemaking authority Congress granted the 
Commission in section 203 to ensure that covered apparatus have the 
capability to make available emergency information in an accessible 
manner. As explained above, the record demonstrates that such a 
mechanism is necessary to carry out the statutory directive.\95\
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    \92\ See CEA User Interfaces Comments at 9; DISH/EchoStar User 
Interfaces Comments at 5-7; Comments of the National Cable & 
Telecommunications Association, MB Docket Nos. 12-108, 12-107, at 6 
(Feb. 18, 2014) (``NCTA User Interfaces Comments'').
    \93\ CEA User Interfaces Comments at 9. See also DISH/EchoStar 
User Interfaces Comments at 6 (``If Congress had intended for the 
Commission to require that access to the secondary audio stream for 
audible emergency information on apparatus covered by section 203 be 
available via a mechanism `reasonably comparable to a button, key, 
or icon,' or any other specified mechanism, Congress would have 
stated so.''); NCTA User Interfaces Comments at 6 (noting that 
section 205 specifically references a mechanism for activating 
closed captioning, but ``section 203 . . . does not reference a 
mechanism at all. Under these circumstances, no additional authority 
to impose such a requirement can be inferred.''); CEA User 
Interfaces Reply Comments at 6. See also Letter from Diane B. 
Burstein, Vice President and Deputy General Counsel, NCTA, to 
Marlene H. Dortch, Secretary, FCC, at 1 (Feb. 18, 2015) (``NCTA Feb. 
18, 2015 Ex Parte Letter'').
    \94\ See 47 U.S.C. 613(g)(1) through (2), 303(u)(1)(C).
    \95\ Commissioner Pai dissents ``from the requirement that 
manufacturers of televisions, set-top boxes, and other covered 
devices include in those apparatuses a mechanism for activating the 
secondary audio stream for emergency information that is reasonably 
comparable to a button, key, or icon.'' He objects to what he 
describes as importing into the rules implementing section 203 of 
the CVAA specific mandates set forth in sections 204 and 205 of the 
CVAA. See Statement of Commissioner Ajit Pai, Approving in Part and 
Dissenting in Part. The rule we adopt today, however, does no such 
thing. Rather, it requires only that ``all apparatus subject to this 
section must provide a simple and easy to use mechanism for 
activating the secondary audio stream for audible emergency 
information.'' See 47 CFR 79.105(d). While the dissent distinguishes 
between ``the capabilities that devices must have'' and ``the means 
of activating those capabilities,'' id., the Commission finds that 
distinction artificial. In directing the Commission to ensure that 
covered apparatus ``have the capability to decode and make available 
emergency information . . . in a manner that is accessible to 
individuals who are blind or visually impaired,'' the majority does 
not believe that Congress intended that such apparatus have 
capabilities such as an audio stream of emergency information that 
are impossible for individuals who are blind or vision impaired to 
activate quickly when they are needed--in an emergency. Such a 
distinction would be self-defeating. As discussed in the order, the 
statutory directive that the Commission adopt rules ensuring that 
emergency information is accessible to individuals who are blind or 
visually impaired grants the Commission ample authority for the 
rules we adopt today.
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    30. NCTA and CEA point out that the Commission adopted rules 
pursuant to sections 204 and 205 of the CVAA requiring the 
accessibility of appropriate built-in apparatus functions on digital 
apparatus and the audible accessibility of on-screen text menus and 
guides used for the display or selection of multichannel video 
programming on navigation devices for individuals who are blind or 
visually impaired.\96\ According to NCTA and CEA, because individuals 
who are blind or visually impaired will have audible access to the on-
screen menus used to locate the secondary audio stream, ``no additional 
dedicated `mechanism' will be needed for blind or visually impaired 
customers to be able to readily locate'' the secondary audio stream for 
emergency information.\97\ Although we believe that these new 
regulations will make it easier for individuals who are blind or

[[Page 39707]]

visually impaired to access the secondary audio stream for video 
description, they will not fully alleviate accessibility issues with 
regard to audible emergency information. In particular, if the 
activation mechanism for the secondary audio stream is buried in 
multiple levels of menus, it will still be a time-consuming process for 
individuals who are blind or visually impaired to navigate through 
those menus, even if the menus are made audible, and such individuals 
will not have ready and immediate access to time-sensitive emergency 
information. As AFB and ACB emphasize, ``it is imperative that the 
Commission . . . ensure ease of use so that consumers are not 
confounded by avoidable technological barriers at the very time when 
time is of the essence.'' \98\ We find that, as part of their 
obligation to make emergency information available in a manner that is 
accessible to individuals who are blind or visually impaired, 
manufacturers of covered apparatus must ensure that these individuals 
are provided with a mechanism to quickly activate the secondary audio 
stream to hear audible emergency information.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \96\ See NCTA User Interfaces Comments at 7; CEA User Interfaces 
Reply Comments at 6.
    \97\ Id. See also NCTA Feb. 18, 2015 Ex Parte Letter at 1, n.2 
(``We further explained that audibly-accessible guides and menus 
will assist blind or visually impaired individuals in locating [the] 
secondary audio stream that will contain emergency information as 
well as video description.'').
    \98\ AFB/ACB User Interfaces Reply Comments at 2.
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2. Apparatus Manufacturer Obligations
    31. Manufacturers of apparatus covered by section 79.105 of the 
Commission's rules must provide a simple and easy to use mechanism for 
activating the secondary audio stream for audible emergency 
information.\99\ As described above, to provide some guidance to 
industry, we find that providing a mechanism reasonably comparable to a 
button, key, or icon--as is required for activating closed captioning 
and video description on section 204 digital apparatus, and for 
activating closed captioning on section 205 navigation devices--would 
comply with the requirement to provide a simple and easy to use 
mechanism for activating the secondary audio stream for audible 
emergency information. The Commission will consider the simplicity and 
ease of use of the mechanism in determining whether the statutory 
requirement has been met, i.e., that the covered apparatus has the 
capability to make available emergency information in an accessible 
manner. Consistent with our approach in the User Interfaces Order,\100\ 
we will consider examples of compliant mechanisms to include, but not 
be limited to, a dedicated button, key, or icon; voice commands; 
gestures; and a single step activation from the same location as the 
volume controls.\101\ This approach will ensure ready access to the 
secondary audio stream by persons who are blind and visually impaired, 
while still giving covered manufacturers the flexibility to determine 
the appropriate activation mechanism, as long as it is simple and easy 
to use in accordance with our rules.
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    \99\ We emphasize that manufacturers will need to ensure that 
set-top boxes include a simple and easy to use activation mechanism 
for emergency information on the secondary audio stream. We seek 
comment in the Second Further Notice on whether we should require 
MVPDs to provide their customers with set-top boxes that contain the 
simple and easy to use activation mechanism for the secondary audio 
stream. We also note that manufacturers of televisions and other 
digital apparatus covered by section 204 of the CVAA are already 
required to provide a mechanism reasonably comparable to a button, 
key, or icon for activating the secondary audio stream for video 
description by December 20, 2016 and thus, as a practical matter, 
they should not need to take additional steps to comply with the 
rule we adopt here. See 47 CFR 79.109(a)(2), (c).
    \100\ User Interfaces Order, para. 81.
    \101\ Id. at para. 81. The Commission is considering a Petition 
for Reconsideration filed by the National Association of the Deaf 
along with other consumer and academic groups which asks the 
Commission to reconsider allowing voice commands as compliant 
mechanisms for activating closed captioning, and to reconsider 
allowing gestures as compliant mechanisms for activating closed 
captioning and video description. See Petition for Reconsideration 
of the National Association of the Deaf, Telecommunications for the 
Deaf and Hard of Hearing, Inc., Deaf and Hard of Hearing Consumer 
Advocacy Network, Association of Late-Deafened Adults, Inc., Hearing 
Loss Association of America, California Coalition of Agencies 
Serving the Deaf and Hard of Hearing, Cerebral Palsy and Deaf 
Organization, and Technology Access Program Gallaudet University, MB 
Docket Nos. 12-107, 12-108 (Jan. 20, 2014).
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    32. We find that manufacturers are not responsible for providing a 
simple and easy to use mechanism to activate the secondary audio stream 
for emergency information on third-party MVPD applications and plug-ins 
that are downloaded by consumers to view linear programming on mobile 
and other devices. As noted above, manufacturers typically do not 
control such applications and, in particular, they do not control the 
ability of consumers to select and receive the secondary audio stream 
for linear programming provided through an MVPD application on mobile 
and other devices. In the Second Further Notice, we seek comment on 
whether we should impose an obligation on MVPDs to provide a simple and 
easy to use activation mechanism for the secondary audio stream to 
access emergency information with respect to the applications and plug-
ins they provide to consumers to access linear programming on mobile 
and other devices. In the meantime, we strongly encourage MVPDs to 
design their applications and plug-ins such in a way that access to the 
secondary audio stream is simple and easy to use for individuals who 
are blind or visually impaired. In this regard, we urge MVPDs to 
consult with the disability community when designing and developing 
these features.
    33. We note that the provisions for achievability determinations, 
purpose-based waivers, and exemptions that apply to devices covered by 
Section 79.105 of the Commission's rules will apply equally to the 
requirement that covered apparatus provide an activation mechanism that 
is simple and easy to use for accessing the secondary audio 
stream.\102\ In addition, apparatus designed to receive and play back 
video programming transmitted simultaneously with sound must comply 
with Section 203 requirements only to the extent they are ``technically 
feasible.'' \103\ Thus, we permit covered manufacturers to raise 
technical infeasibility as a defense when faced with a complaint 
alleging a violation of the apparatus requirements adopted herein, or 
to file a request for a ruling under Section 1.41 of the Commission's 
rules as to technical feasibility before manufacturing or importing the 
product, consistent with our approach in the First Report and 
Order.\104\ Although we note that apparatus manufacturers may use 
alternate means of compliance with the rules adopted pursuant to 
section 203, consistent with our approach in the First Report and 
Order,\105\ we believe that few, if any, manufacturers will need to 
request an alternate means of compliance with the requirement to make 
the secondary audio stream accessible by providing a simple and easy to 
use activation mechanism because we do not prescribe the precise means 
for compliance.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \102\ See 47 CFR 79.105(b)(1) through (2) (exempt apparatus), 
79.105(b)(3) (achievability), 79.105(b)(4) (purpose-based waivers). 
See also First Report and Order, paras. 67-74.
    \103\ See 47 U.S.C. 303(u).
    \104\ See First Report and Order, para. 66.
    \105\ See id. at para. 75; Public Law 111-260, sec. 203(e). 
Under this approach, an entity that seeks to use an alternate means 
to comply with the apparatus requirements must file a request 
pursuant to section 1.41 of the Commission's rules for a 
determination that the proposed alternative satisfies the statutory 
requirements. See First Report and Order, para. 75 (``We will not 
permit an entity to claim in defense to a complaint or enforcement 
action that the Commission should determine that the party's actions 
were a permissible alternate means of compliance.''). We will 
consider such requests on a case-by-case basis. See id.
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3. Compliance Deadline
    34. In the User Interfaces Further Notice, the Commission sought 
comment on the appropriate time frame

[[Page 39708]]

for requiring covered entities to provide a simple and easy to use 
mechanism for accessing the secondary audio stream for audible 
emergency information.\106\ The Commission also inquired whether the 
deadline should be consistent with the deadline for compliance with 
section 203 apparatus requirements that were adopted in the First 
Report and Order (May 26, 2015) \107\ or whether device manufacturers 
would need additional time to come into compliance.\108\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \106\ User Interfaces Further Notice, para. 11.
    \107\ 47 CFR 79.105(a).
    \108\ User Interfaces Further Notice, para. 11.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    35. The Wireless RERC, the only party to comment on this issue, 
argues that the deadline for a requirement to provide a simple and easy 
to use mechanism for accessing the secondary audio stream for audible 
emergency information should be consistent with the deadlines for 
apparatus that the Commission adopted in the First Report and 
Order.\109\ The Wireless RERC strongly recommends that the Commission 
not go beyond the deadlines adopted in that Order because delays in 
implementation of the new requirements could place persons who are 
blind or visually impaired in a potentially ``perilous position[ ].'' 
\110\ Further, the Wireless RERC asserts that any extensions of the 
deadline or waivers of the newly adopted regulations ``should be 
granted very judiciously.'' \111\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \109\ See Wireless RERC User Interfaces Reply Comments at 10.
    \110\ Id.
    \111\ Id.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    36. We conclude that it is reasonable to apply the same compliance 
deadline that we adopted in the User Interfaces Order for digital 
apparatus and navigation devices to comply with the accessible user 
interfaces rules, including the requirement to provide an activation 
mechanism reasonably comparable to a button, key, or icon for certain 
accessibility features, to the requirement adopted here. Thus, 
consistent with the deadline in section 79.109(c) of our rules, covered 
manufacturers must provide a simple and easy to use mechanism for 
accessing the secondary audio stream for audible emergency information 
no later than December 20, 2016.\112\ Although apparatus manufacturers 
were silent in the record with regard to this issue, we believe that 
they will need some time for the design, testing, and implementation of 
a simple and easy to use activation mechanism for the secondary audio 
stream on covered apparatus. We believe that making the deadline 
consistent with that imposed in the User Interfaces Order will provide 
sufficient time for apparatus manufacturers to achieve these steps. In 
addition, we find that requiring manufacturers of such devices to 
incorporate the required accessibility features at the same time will 
ensure that the devices are updated on a uniform timetable. Such a 
uniform timeframe will prevent any consumer confusion as to the 
capabilities of their devices.\113\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \112\ 47 CFR 79.109(c).
    \113\ This will also reduce any consumer confusion that could 
arise from different deadlines relating to access to the secondary 
audio stream applying depending upon whether a particular device is 
covered by Section 203, 204, or 205 of the CVAA. We find that 
Wireless RERC's proposed timeframe of May 26, 2015 has been rendered 
moot by the passage of time.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

IV. Procedural Matters

A. Final Regulatory Flexibility Act

    37. As required by the Regulatory Flexibility Act of 1980, as 
amended (``RFA''),\114\ an Initial Regulatory Flexibility Analysis 
(``IRFA'') was incorporated into each of the Further Notices of 
Proposed Rulemaking (``-NPRM'') in this proceeding.\115\ The Federal 
Communications Commission (``Commission'') sought written public 
comment on the proposals in the Further Notices, including comment on 
the IRFA. The Commission received no comments on the IRFA. This present 
Final Regulatory Flexibility Analysis (``FRFA'') conforms to the 
RFA.\116\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \114\ See 5 U.S.C. 603. The RFA, see 5 U.S.C. 601 et seq., has 
been amended by the Small Business Regulatory Enforcement Fairness 
Act of 1996 (``SBREFA''), Public Law 104-121, Title II, 110 Stat. 
857 (1996). The SBREFA was enacted as Title II of the Contract with 
America Advancement Act of 1996 (``CWAAA'').
    \115\ See Further Notice, para. 9; User Interfaces Further 
Notice, para. 17.
    \116\ See 5 U.S.C. 604.
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1. Need for, and Objectives of, the Second Report and Order
    38. In the Second Report and Order, we take additional steps under 
the authority of sections 202 and 203 of the CVAA \117\ to make 
emergency information in video programming accessible to individuals 
who are blind or visually impaired.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \117\ Twenty-First Century Communications and Video 
Accessibility Act of 2010, Public Law 111-260, 124 Stat. 2751 
(2010); Amendment of Twenty-First Century Communications and Video 
Accessibility Act of 2010, Public Law 111-265, 124 Stat. 2795 (2010) 
(making technical corrections to the CVAA).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    39. First, the Second Report and Order concludes that multichannel 
video programming distributors (``MVPDs'') must pass through a 
secondary audio stream containing audible emergency information in 
accordance with section 79.2 of the Commission's rules \118\ when they 
permit consumers to access linear programming on tablets, smartphones, 
laptops, and similar devices over the MVPD's network as part of their 
MVPD services. Increasingly, Americans are utilizing a wide range of 
devices in addition to the television to view video programming, and a 
number of MVPDs now allow customers to view linear programming on 
second screen devices using applications or other technologies. The 
conclusion we make in the Second Report and Order ensures that 
individuals who are blind or visually impaired will be provided with 
accessible emergency information when they are watching linear 
programming over the MVPD's network as part of their MVPD services, 
regardless of whether they are viewing the programming on their 
television or on their tablet, smartphone, or similar device.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \118\ 47 CFR 79.2.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    40. Second, the Second Report and Order requires manufacturers of 
apparatus subject to Section 79.105 of the Commission's rules \119\ to 
provide a mechanism that is simple and easy to use for activating the 
secondary audio stream to access audible emergency information. 
Individuals who are blind or visually impaired should not have to 
navigate through multiple levels of menus or take other time-consuming 
actions to activate the secondary audio stream when they hear the aural 
tone signaling that emergency information is being provided visually on 
the screen. In emergency situations, every second counts. Thus, we 
believe that in order for emergency information to be made fully 
accessible to individuals who are blind or visually impaired in 
accordance with Section 203 of the CVAA, manufacturers of covered 
apparatus must ensure that such individuals have a simple, easy to use 
mechanism to activate the secondary audio stream in order to hear 
emergency information.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \119\ 47 CFR 79.105.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

2. Summary of Significant Issues Raised By Public Comments in Response 
to the IRFA
    41. No public comments were filed in response to the IRFA.
    42. Pursuant to the Small Business Jobs Act of 2010, the Commission 
is required to respond to any comments filed by the Chief Counsel for 
Advocacy of the Small Business Administration (SBA), and to provide a 
detailed statement of any change made to the proposed rules as a result 
of those

[[Page 39709]]

comments. The Chief Counsel did not file any comments in response to 
the proposed rules in this proceeding.
3. Description and Estimate of the Number of Small Entities to Which 
the Rules Will Apply
    43. The RFA directs the Commission to provide a description of and, 
where feasible, an estimate of the number of small entities that will 
be affected by the rules adopted in the Second Report and Order.\120\ 
The RFA generally defines the term ``small entity'' as having the same 
meaning as the terms ``small business,'' ``small organization,'' and 
``small governmental jurisdiction.'' \121\ In addition, the term 
``small business'' has the same meaning as the term ``small business 
concern'' under the Small Business Act.\122\ A ``small business 
concern'' is one which: (1) Is independently owned and operated; (2) is 
not dominant in its field of operation; and (3) satisfies any 
additional criteria established by the SBA.\123\ Small entities that 
are directly affected by the rules adopted in the Second Report and 
Order include MVPDs and manufacturers of apparatus covered by Section 
79.105 of the Commission's rules.
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    \120\ 5 U.S.C. 603(b)(3).
    \121\ Id. 601(6).
    \122\ Id. 601(3) (incorporating by reference the definition of 
``small-business concern'' in the Small Business Act, 15 U.S.C. 
632). Pursuant to 5 U.S.C. 601(3), the statutory definition of a 
small business applies ``unless an agency, after consultation with 
the Office of Advocacy of the Small Business Administration and 
after opportunity for public comment, establishes one or more 
definitions of such term which are appropriate to the activities of 
the agency and publishes such definition(s) in the Federal 
Register.''
    \123\ 15 U.S.C. 632.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    44. Cable Television Distribution Services. Since 2007, these 
services have been defined within the broad economic census category of 
Wired Telecommunications Carriers, which was developed for small 
wireline businesses. This category is defined as follows: ``This 
industry comprises establishments primarily engaged in operating and/or 
providing access to transmission facilities and infrastructure that 
they own and/or lease for the transmission of voice, data, text, sound, 
and video using wired telecommunications networks. Transmission 
facilities may be based on a single technology or a combination of 
technologies. Establishments in this industry use the wired 
telecommunications network facilities that they operate to provide a 
variety of services, such as wired telephony services, including VoIP 
services; wired (cable) audio and video programming distribution; and 
wired broadband Internet services.'' \124\ The SBA has developed a 
small business size standard for this category, which is: All such 
businesses having 1,500 or fewer employees.\125\ Census data for 2007 
shows that there were 31,996 establishments that operated that 
year.\126\ Of this total, 30,178 establishments had fewer than 100 
employees, and 1,818 establishments had 100 or more employees.\127\ 
Therefore, under this size standard, we estimate that the majority of 
businesses can be considered small entities.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \124\ U.S. Census Bureau, 2012 NAICS Definitions, ``517110 Wired 
Telecommunications Carriers'' (partial definition) at http://www.census.gov/cgi-bin/sssd/naics/naicsrch. Examples of this 
category are: Broadband Internet service providers (e.g., cable, 
DSL); local telephone carriers (wired); cable television 
distribution services; long-distance telephone carriers (wired); 
closed circuit television (``CCTV'') services; VoIP service 
providers, using own operated wired telecommunications 
infrastructure; direct-to-home satellite system (``DTH'') services; 
telecommunications carriers (wired); satellite television 
distribution systems; and multichannel multipoint distribution 
services (``MMDS'').
    \125\ 13 CFR 121.201; 2012 NAICS code 517110.
    \126\ U.S. Census Bureau, 2007 Economic Census. See U.S. Census 
Bureau, American FactFinder, ``Information: Subject Series--Estab 
and Firm Size: Employment Size of Establishments for the United 
States: 2007--2007 Economic Census,'' NAICS code 517110, Table 
EC0751SSSZ2; available at http://factfinder2.census.gov/faces/nav/jsf/pages/index.xhtml.
    \127\ Id.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    45. Cable Companies and Systems. The Commission has also developed 
its own small business size standards for the purpose of cable rate 
regulation. Under the Commission's rules, a ``small cable company'' is 
one serving 400,000 or fewer subscribers nationwide.\128\ Industry data 
shows that there were 1,141 cable companies at the end of June 
2012.\129\ Of this total, all but 10 incumbent cable companies are 
small under this size standard.\130\ In addition, under the 
Commission's rate regulation rules, a ``small system'' is a cable 
system serving 15,000 or fewer subscribers.\131\ Current Commission 
records show 4,945 cable systems nationwide.\132\ Of this total, 4,380 
cable systems have less than 20,000 subscribers, and 565 systems have 
20,000 subscribers or more, based on the same records. Thus, under this 
standard, we estimate that most cable systems are small.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \128\ 47 CFR 76.901(e). The Commission determined that this size 
standard equates approximately to a size standard of $100 million or 
less in annual revenues. Implementation of Sections of the Cable 
Television Consumer Protection And Competition Act of 1992: Rate 
Regulation, MM Docket No. 92-266, MM Docket No. 93-215, Sixth Report 
and Order and Eleventh Order on Reconsideration, FCC 95-196, 60 FR 
35854 (1995).
    \129\ NCTA, Industry Data, Number of Cable Operating Companies 
(June 2012), http://www.ncta.com/Statistics.aspx (visited Sept. 28, 
2012). Depending upon the number of homes and the size of the 
geographic area served, cable operators use one or more cable 
systems to provide video service. See Annual Assessment of the 
Status of Competition in the Market for Delivery of Video 
Programming, MB Docket No. 12-203, Fifteenth Report, FCC 13-99 at 
para. 24 (rel. July 22, 2013) (``15th Annual Competition Report'').
    \130\ See SNL Kagan, ``Top Cable MSOs--12/12 Q''; available at 
http://www.snl.com/InteractiveX/TopCableMSOs.aspx?period=2012Q4&sortcol=subscribersbasic&sortorder=desc. We note that, when applied to an MVPD operator, under this size 
standard (i.e., 400,000 or fewer subscribers) all but 14 MVPD 
operators would be considered small. See NCTA, Industry Data, Top 25 
Multichannel Video Service Customers (2012), http://www.ncta.com/industry-data (visited Aug. 30, 2013). The Commission applied this 
size standard to MVPD operators in its implementation of the CALM 
Act. See Implementation of the Commercial Advertisement Loudness 
Mitigation (CALM) Act, MB Docket No. 11-93, Report and Order, FCC 
11-182, 77 FR 40276, para. 37 (2011) (``CALM Act Report and Order'') 
(defining a smaller MVPD operator as one serving 400,000 or fewer 
subscribers nationwide, as of December 31, 2011).
    \131\ 47 CFR 76.901(c).
    \132\ The number of active, registered cable systems comes from 
the Commission's Cable Operations and Licensing System (COALS) 
database on Aug. 28, 2013. A cable system is a physical system 
integrated to a principal headend.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    46. Cable System Operators (Telecom Act Standard). The 
Communications Act of 1934, as amended, 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.'' \133\ There are approximately 56.4 
million incumbent cable video subscribers in the United States 
today.\134\ Accordingly, an operator serving fewer than 564,000 
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.\135\ Based on available data, 
we find that all but 10 incumbent cable operators are small under this 
size standard.\136\ 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

[[Page 39710]]

million.\137\ 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 system operators that would 
qualify as small cable operators under the definition in the 
Communications Act.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \133\ 47 U.S.C. 543(m)(2); see 47 CFR 76.901(f) & nn. 1-3.
    \134\ See NCTA, Industry Data, Cable Video Customers (2012), 
http://www.ncta.com/industry-data (visited Aug. 30, 2013).
    \135\ 47 CFR 76.901(f); see Public Notice, FCC Announces New 
Subscriber Count for the Definition of Small Cable Operator, DA 01-
158 (Cable Services Bureau, Jan. 24, 2001).
    \136\ See NCTA, Industry Data, Top 25 Multichannel Video Service 
Customers (2012), http://www.ncta.com/industry-data (visited Aug. 
30, 2013).
    \137\ 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 47 CFR 76.901(f).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    47. Direct Broadcast Satellite (DBS) Service. DBS service is a 
nationally distributed subscription service that delivers video and 
audio programming via satellite to a small parabolic ``dish'' antenna 
at the subscriber's location. DBS, by exception, is now included in the 
SBA's broad economic census category, Wired Telecommunications 
Carriers,\138\ which was developed for small wireline businesses. In 
this category, the SBA deems a wired telecommunications carrier to be 
small if it has 1,500 or fewer employees.\139\ Census data for 2007 
shows 3,188 firms in this category.\140\ Of these 3,188 firms, only 44 
had 1,000 or more employees. While we could not find precise Census 
data on the number of firms with in the group with 1,500 or fewer 
employees, it is clear that at least 3,144 firms with fewer than 1,000 
employees would be in that group. Therefore, under this size standard, 
the majority of such businesses can be considered small. However, the 
data we have available as a basis for estimating the number of such 
small entities were gathered under a superseded SBA small business size 
standard formerly titled ``Cable and Other Program Distribution.'' The 
definition of Cable and Other Program Distribution provided that a 
small entity is one with $12.5 million or less in annual receipts.\141\ 
Currently, only two entities provide DBS service, which requires a 
great investment of capital for operation: DIRECTV and DISH 
Network.\142\ Each currently offer subscription services. DIRECTV and 
DISH Network each report annual revenues that are in excess of the 
threshold for a small business. Because DBS service requires 
significant capital, we believe it is unlikely that a small entity as 
defined by the SBA would have the financial wherewithal to become a DBS 
service provider.
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    \138\ See 13 CFR 121.201; 2012 NAICS code 517110. This category 
of Wired Telecommunications Carriers is defined as follows: ``This 
industry comprises establishments primarily engaged in operating 
and/or providing access to transmission facilities and 
infrastructure that they own and/or lease for the transmission of 
voice, data, text, sound, and video using wired telecommunications 
networks. Transmission facilities may be based on a single 
technology or a combination of technologies. Establishments in this 
industry use the wired telecommunications network facilities that 
they operate to provide a variety of services, such as wired 
telephony services, including VoIP services; wired (cable) audio and 
video programming distribution; and wired broadband Internet 
services. By exception, establishments providing satellite 
television distribution services using facilities and infrastructure 
that they operate are included in this industry.'' (Emphasis added 
to text relevant to satellite services.) U.S. Census Bureau, 2012 
NAICS Definitions, ``517110 Wired Telecommunications Carriers'' at 
http://www.census.gov/cgi-bin/sssd/naics/naicsrch.
    \139\ 13 CFR 121.201; NAICS Code 517110.
    \140\ http://factfinder.census.gov/servlet/IBQTable?_bm=y&-geo_id=&-_skip=600&-ds_name=EC0751SSSZ5&-_lang=en.
    \141\ 13 CFR 121.201; NAICS code 517510 (2002).
    \142\ See 15th Annual Competition Report, at para. 27. As of 
June 2012, DIRECTV is the largest DBS operator and the second 
largest MVPD in the United States, serving approximately 19.9 
million subscribers. DISH Network is the second largest DBS operator 
and the third largest MVPD, serving approximately 14.1 million 
subscribers. Id. para. 27, 110-11.
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    48. Satellite Master Antenna Television (SMATV) Systems, also known 
as Private Cable Operators (PCOs). SMATV systems or PCOs are video 
distribution facilities that use closed transmission paths without 
using any public right-of-way. They acquire video programming and 
distribute it via terrestrial wiring in urban and suburban multiple 
dwelling units such as apartments and condominiums, and commercial 
multiple tenant units such as hotels and office buildings. SMATV 
systems or PCOs are now included in the SBA's broad economic census 
category, Wired Telecommunications Carriers,\143\ which was developed 
for small wireline businesses. In this category, the SBA deems a wired 
telecommunications carrier to be small if it has 1,500 or fewer 
employees.\144\ Census data for 2007 shows 3,188 firms in this 
category.\145\ Of these 3,188 firms, only 44 had 1,000 or more 
employees. While we could not find precise Census data on the number of 
firms with in the group with 1,500 or fewer employees, it is clear that 
at least 3,144 firms with fewer than 1,000 employees would be in that 
group. Therefore, under this size standard, the majority of such 
businesses can be considered small.
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    \143\ See 13 CFR 121.201; 2012 NAICS code 517110. This category 
of Wired Telecommunications Carriers is defined as follows: ``This 
industry comprises establishments primarily engaged in operating 
and/or providing access to transmission facilities and 
infrastructure that they own and/or lease for the transmission of 
voice, data, text, sound, and video using wired telecommunications 
networks. Transmission facilities may be based on a single 
technology or a combination of technologies. Establishments in this 
industry use the wired telecommunications network facilities that 
they operate to provide a variety of services, such as wired 
telephony services, including VoIP services; wired (cable) audio and 
video programming distribution; and wired broadband Internet 
services. By exception, establishments providing satellite 
television distribution services using facilities and infrastructure 
that they operate are included in this industry.'' (Emphasis added 
to text relevant to satellite services.) U.S. Census Bureau, 2012 
NAICS Definitions, ``517110 Wired Telecommunications Carriers'' at 
http://www.census.gov/cgi-bin/sssd/naics/naicsrch.
    \144\ 13 CFR 121.201; NAICS Code 517110.
    \145\ http://factfinder.census.gov/servlet/IBQTable?_bm=y&-geo_id=&-_skip=600&-ds_name=EC0751SSSZ5&-_lang=en.
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    49. Home Satellite Dish (HSD) Service. HSD or the large dish 
segment of the satellite industry is the original satellite-to-home 
service offered to consumers, and involves the home reception of 
signals transmitted by satellites operating generally in the C-band 
frequency. Unlike DBS, which uses small dishes, HSD antennas are 
between four and eight feet in diameter and can receive a wide range of 
unscrambled (free) programming and scrambled programming purchased from 
program packagers that are licensed to facilitate subscribers' receipt 
of video programming. Because HSD provides subscription services, HSD 
falls within the SBA-recognized definition of Wired Telecommunications 
Carriers.\146\ In this category, the SBA deems a wired 
telecommunications carrier to be small if it has 1,500 or fewer 
employees.\147\ Census data for 2007 shows 3,188 firms in this 
category.\148\ Of these 3,188 firms, only 44 had 1,000 or more 
employees. While we could not find precise Census data on the number of 
firms with in the group with 1,500 or fewer employees, it is clear that 
at least 3,144 firms with fewer than 1,000 employees would be in that 
group. Therefore, under this size standard, we estimate that the 
majority of businesses can be considered small entities.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \146\ See 13 CFR 121.201; 2012 NAICS code 517110. This category 
of Wired Telecommunications Carriers is defined in part as follows: 
``This industry comprises establishments primarily engaged in 
operating and/or providing access to transmission facilities and 
infrastructure that they own and/or lease for the transmission of 
voice, data, text, sound, and video using wired telecommunications 
networks. Transmission facilities may be based on a single 
technology or a combination of technologies. Establishments in this 
industry use the wired telecommunications network facilities that 
they operate to provide a variety of services, such as wired 
telephony services, including VoIP services; wired (cable) audio and 
video programming distribution; and wired broadband Internet 
services.'' U.S. Census Bureau, 2012 NAICS Definitions, ``517110 
Wired Telecommunications Carriers'' at http://www.census.gov/cgi-bin/sssd/naics/naicsrch.
    \147\ 13 CFR 121.201; NAICS Code 517110.
    \148\ http://factfinder.census.gov/servlet/IBQTable?_bm=y&-geo_id=&-_skip=600&-ds_name=EC0751SSSZ5&-_lang=en.

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[[Page 39711]]

    50. 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.\149\ The OVS framework provides opportunities for the 
distribution of video programming other than through cable systems. 
Because OVS operators provide subscription services,\150\ OVS falls 
within the SBA small business size standard covering cable services, 
which is Wired Telecommunications Carriers.\151\ In this category, the 
SBA deems a wired telecommunications carrier to be small if it has 
1,500 or fewer employees.\152\ Census data for 2007 shows 3,188 firms 
in this category.\153\ Of these 3,188 firms, only 44 had 1,000 or more 
employees. While we could not find precise Census data on the number of 
firms with in the group with 1,500 or fewer employees, it is clear that 
at least 3,144 firms with fewer than 1,000 employees would be in that 
group. Therefore, under this size standard, we estimate that the 
majority of businesses can be considered small entities. In addition, 
we note that the Commission has certified some OVS operators, with some 
now providing service.\154\ Broadband service providers (``BSPs'') are 
currently the only significant holders of OVS certifications or local 
OVS franchises.\155\ The Commission does not have financial or 
employment information regarding the entities authorized to provide 
OVS, some of which may not yet be operational. Thus, again, at least 
some of the OVS operators may qualify as small entities.
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    \149\ 47 U.S.C. 571(a)(3) through (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, FCC 07-
206, 74 FR 11102, para. 135 (2009) (``Thirteenth Annual Cable 
Competition Report'').
    \150\ See 47 U.S.C. 573.
    \151\ See 13 CFR 121.201; 2012 NAICS code 517110. This category 
of Wired Telecommunications Carriers is defined in part as follows: 
``This industry comprises establishments primarily engaged in 
operating and/or providing access to transmission facilities and 
infrastructure that they own and/or lease for the transmission of 
voice, data, text, sound, and video using wired telecommunications 
networks. Transmission facilities may be based on a single 
technology or a combination of technologies. Establishments in this 
industry use the wired telecommunications network facilities that 
they operate to provide a variety of services, such as wired 
telephony services, including VoIP services; wired (cable) audio and 
video programming distribution; and wired broadband Internet 
services.'' U.S. Census Bureau, 2012 NAICS Definitions, ``517110 
Wired Telecommunications Carriers'' at http://www.census.gov/cgi-bin/sssd/naics/naicsrch.
    \152\ 13 CFR 121.201; NAICS Code 517110.
    \153\ http://factfinder.census.gov/servlet/IBQTable?_bm=y&-geo_id=&-_skip=600&-ds_name=EC0751SSSZ5&-_lang=en.
    \154\ A list of OVS certifications may be found at http://www.fcc.gov/mb/ovs/csovscer.html.
    \155\ See Thirteenth Annual Cable Competition Report, para. 135. 
BSPs are newer businesses that are building state-of-the-art, 
facilities-based networks to provide video, voice, and data services 
over a single network.
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    51. Wireless cable systems--Broadband Radio Service and Educational 
Broadband Service. Wireless cable systems use the Broadband Radio 
Service (BRS) \156\ and Educational Broadband Service (EBS) \157\ to 
transmit video programming to subscribers. In connection with the 1996 
BRS auction, the Commission established a small business size standard 
as an entity that had annual average gross revenues of no more than $40 
million in the previous three calendar years.\158\ The BRS auctions 
resulted in 67 successful bidders obtaining licensing opportunities for 
493 Basic Trading Areas (BTAs). Of the 67 auction winners, 61 met the 
definition of a small business. BRS also includes licensees of stations 
authorized prior to the auction. At this time, we estimate that of the 
61 small business BRS auction winners, 48 remain small business 
licensees. In addition to the 48 small businesses that hold BTA 
authorizations, there are approximately 392 incumbent BRS licensees 
that are considered small entities.\159\ After adding the number of 
small business auction licensees to the number of incumbent licensees 
not already counted, we find that there are currently approximately 440 
BRS licensees that are defined as small businesses under either the SBA 
or the Commission's rules. In 2009, the Commission conducted Auction 
86, the sale of 78 licenses in the BRS areas.\160\ The Commission 
offered three levels of bidding credits: (i) A bidder with attributed 
average annual gross revenues that exceed $15 million and do not exceed 
$40 million for the preceding three years (small business) received a 
15 percent discount on its winning bid; (ii) a bidder with attributed 
average annual gross revenues that exceed $3 million and do not exceed 
$15 million for the preceding three years (very small business) 
received a 25 percent discount on its winning bid; and (iii) a bidder 
with attributed average annual gross revenues that do not exceed $3 
million for the preceding three years (entrepreneur) received a 35 
percent discount on its winning bid.\161\ Auction 86 concluded in 2009 
with the sale of 61 licenses.\162\ Of the 10 winning bidders, two 
bidders that claimed small business status won four licenses; one 
bidder that claimed very small business status won three licenses; and 
two bidders that claimed entrepreneur status won six licenses.
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    \156\ BRS was previously referred to as Multipoint Distribution 
Service (MDS) and Multichannel Multipoint Distribution Service 
(MMDS). See Amendment of Parts 21 and 74 of the Commission's Rules 
with Regard to Filing Procedures in the Multipoint Distribution 
Service and in the Instructional Television Fixed Service and 
Implementation of Section 309(j) of the Communications Act--
Competitive Bidding, MM Docket No. 94-131, PP Docket No. 93-253, 
Report and Order, FCC 95-230, 60 FR 36524, para. 7 (1995).
    \157\ EBS was previously referred to as the Instructional 
Television Fixed Service (ITFS). See id.
    \158\ 47 CFR 21.961(b)(1).
    \159\ 47 U.S.C. 309(j). Hundreds of stations were licensed to 
incumbent MDS licensees prior to implementation of Section 309(j) of 
the Communications Act of 1934, 47 U.S.C. 309(j). For these pre-
auction licenses, the applicable standard is SBA's small business 
size standard of 1,500 or fewer employees.
    \160\ Auction of Broadband Radio Service (BRS) Licenses, 
Scheduled for October 27, 2009, Notice and Filing Requirements, 
Minimum Opening Bids, Upfront Payments, and Other Procedures for 
Auction 86, Public Notice, DA 09-1376 (WTB rel. Jun. 26, 2009).
    \161\ Id. at 8296.
    \162\ Auction of Broadband Radio Service Licenses Closes, 
Winning Bidders Announced for Auction 86, Down Payments Due November 
23, 2009, Final Payments Due December 8, 2009, Ten-Day Petition to 
Deny Period, Public Notice, DA 09-2378 (WTB rel. Nov. 6, 2009).
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    52. In addition, the SBA's placement of Cable Television 
Distribution Services in the category of Wired Telecommunications 
Carriers is applicable to cable-based Educational Broadcasting 
Services. Since 2007, these services have been defined within the broad 
economic census category of Wired Telecommunications Carriers, which 
was developed for small wireline businesses. This category is defined 
as follows: ``This industry comprises establishments primarily engaged 
in operating and/or providing access to transmission facilities and 
infrastructure that they own and/or lease for the transmission of 
voice, data, text, sound, and video using wired telecommunications 
networks. Transmission facilities may be based on a single technology 
or a combination of technologies. Establishments in this industry use 
the wired telecommunications network facilities that they operate to 
provide a variety of services, such as wired telephony services, 
including VoIP services; wired (cable) audio and video programming 
distribution; and wired broadband Internet services.'' \163\ In this 
category,

[[Page 39712]]

the SBA deems a wired telecommunications carrier to be small if it has 
1,500 or fewer employees.\164\ Census data for 2007 shows 3,188 firms 
in this category.\165\ Of these 3,188 firms, only 44 had 1,000 or more 
employees. While we could not find precise Census data on the number of 
firms with in the group with 1,500 or fewer employees, it is clear that 
at least 3,144 firms with fewer than 1,000 employees would be in that 
group. Therefore, under this size standard, we estimate that the 
majority of businesses can be considered small entities. In addition to 
Census data, the Commission's internal records indicate that as of 
September 2012, there are 2,241 active EBS licenses.\166\ The 
Commission estimates that of these 2,241 licenses, the majority are 
held by non-profit educational institutions and school districts, which 
are by statute defined as small businesses.\167\
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    \163\ U.S. Census Bureau, 2012 NAICS Definitions, ``517110 Wired 
Telecommunications Carriers'' (partial definition) at http://www.census.gov/cgi-bin/sssd/naics/naicsrch. Examples of this 
category are: broadband Internet service providers (e.g., cable, 
DSL); local telephone carriers (wired); cable television 
distribution services; long-distance telephone carriers (wired); 
closed circuit television (``CCTV'') services; VoIP service 
providers, using own operated wired telecommunications 
infrastructure; direct-to-home satellite system (``DTH'') services; 
telecommunications carriers (wired); satellite television 
distribution systems; and multichannel multipoint distribution 
services (``MMDS'').
    \164\ 13 CFR 121.201; NAICS Code 517110.
    \165\ http://factfinder.census.gov/servlet/IBQTable?_bm=y&-geo_id=&-_skip=600&-ds_name=EC0751SSSZ5&-_lang=en.
    \166\ http://wireless2.fcc.gov/UlsApp/UlsSearch/results.jsp.
    \167\ The term ``small entity'' within SBREFA applies to small 
organizations (non-profits) and to small governmental jurisdictions 
(cities, counties, towns, townships, villages, school districts, and 
special districts with populations of less than 50,000). 5 U.S.C. 
601(4) through (6).
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    53. Incumbent Local Exchange Carriers (ILECs). Neither the 
Commission nor the SBA has developed a small business size standard 
specifically for incumbent local exchange services. ILECs are included 
in the SBA's economic census category, Wired Telecommunications 
Carriers.\168\ In this category, the SBA deems a wired 
telecommunications carrier to be small if it has 1,500 or fewer 
employees.\169\ Census data for 2007 shows 3,188 firms in this 
category.\170\ Of these 3,188 firms, only 44 had 1,000 or more 
employees. While we could not find precise Census data on the number of 
firms with in the group with 1,500 or fewer employees, it is clear that 
at least 3,144 firms with fewer than 1,000 employees would be in that 
group. Therefore, under this size standard, the majority of such 
businesses can be considered small.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \168\ See 13 CFR 121.201; 2012 NAICS code 517110. This category 
of Wired Telecommunications Carriers is defined as follows: ``This 
industry comprises establishments primarily engaged in operating 
and/or providing access to transmission facilities and 
infrastructure that they own and/or lease for the transmission of 
voice, data, text, sound, and video using wired telecommunications 
networks. Transmission facilities may be based on a single 
technology or a combination of technologies. Establishments in this 
industry use the wired telecommunications network facilities that 
they operate to provide a variety of services, such as wired 
telephony services, including VoIP services; wired (cable) audio and 
video programming distribution; and wired broadband Internet 
services. By exception, establishments providing satellite 
television distribution services using facilities and infrastructure 
that they operate are included in this industry.'' (Emphasis added 
to text relevant to satellite services.) U.S. Census Bureau, 2012 
NAICS Definitions, ``517110 Wired Telecommunications Carriers'' at 
http://www.census.gov/cgi-bin/sssd/naics/naicsrch.
    \169\ 13 CFR 121.201; NAICS Code 517110.
    \170\ http://factfinder.census.gov/servlet/IBQTable?_bm=y&-geo_id=&-_skip=600&-ds_name=EC0751SSSZ5&-_lang=en.
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    54. Small Incumbent Local Exchange Carriers. We have included small 
incumbent local exchange carriers in this present RFA analysis. A 
``small business'' under the RFA is one that, inter alia, meets the 
pertinent small business size standard (e.g., a telephone 
communications business having 1,500 or fewer employees), and ``is not 
dominant in its field of operation.'' \171\ The SBA's Office of 
Advocacy contends that, for RFA purposes, small incumbent local 
exchange carriers are not dominant in their field of operation because 
any such dominance is not ``national'' in scope.\172\ We have therefore 
included small incumbent local exchange carriers in this RFA analysis, 
although we emphasize that this RFA action has no effect on Commission 
analyses and determinations in other, non-RFA contexts.
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    \171\ 15 U.S.C. 632.
    \172\ Letter from Jere W. Glover, Chief Counsel for Advocacy, 
SBA, to William E. Kennard, Chairman, FCC (May 27, 1999). The Small 
Business Act contains a definition of ``small-business concern,'' 
which the RFA incorporates into its own definition of ``small 
business.'' See 15 U.S.C. 632(a) (Small Business Act); 5 U.S.C. 
601(3) (RFA). SBA regulations interpret ``small business concern'' 
to include the concept of dominance on a national basis. See 13 CFR 
121.102(b).
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    55. Competitive Local Exchange Carriers (CLECs), Competitive Access 
Providers (CAPs), Shared-Tenant Service Providers, and Other Local 
Service Providers. Neither the Commission nor the SBA has developed a 
small business size standard specifically for these service providers. 
These entities are included in the SBA's economic census category, 
Wired Telecommunications Carriers.\173\ In this category, the SBA deems 
a wired telecommunications carrier to be small if it has 1,500 or fewer 
employees.\174\ Census data for 2007 shows 3,188 firms in this 
category.\175\ Of these 3,188 firms, only 44 had 1,000 or more 
employees. While we could not find precise Census data on the number of 
firms with in the group with 1,500 or fewer employees, it is clear that 
at least 3,144 firms with fewer than 1,000 employees would be in that 
group. Therefore, under this size standard, the majority of such 
businesses can be considered small.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \173\ See 13 CFR 121.201; 2012 NAICS code 517110. This category 
of Wired Telecommunications Carriers is defined as follows: ``This 
industry comprises establishments primarily engaged in operating 
and/or providing access to transmission facilities and 
infrastructure that they own and/or lease for the transmission of 
voice, data, text, sound, and video using wired telecommunications 
networks. Transmission facilities may be based on a single 
technology or a combination of technologies. Establishments in this 
industry use the wired telecommunications network facilities that 
they operate to provide a variety of services, such as wired 
telephony services, including VoIP services; wired (cable) audio and 
video programming distribution; and wired broadband Internet 
services. By exception, establishments providing satellite 
television distribution services using facilities and infrastructure 
that they operate are included in this industry.'' (Emphasis added 
to text relevant to satellite services.) U.S. Census Bureau, 2012 
NAICS Definitions, ``517110 Wired Telecommunications Carriers'' at 
http://www.census.gov/cgi-bin/sssd/naics/naicsrch.
    \174\ 13 CFR 121.201; NAICS Code 517110.
    \175\ http://factfinder.census.gov/servlet/IBQTable?_bm=y&-geo_id=&-_skip=600&-ds_name=EC0751SSSZ5&-_lang=en.
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    56. Radio and Television Broadcasting and Wireless Communications 
Equipment Manufacturing. The Census Bureau defines this category as 
follows: ``This industry comprises establishments primarily engaged in 
manufacturing radio and television broadcast and wireless 
communications equipment. Examples of products made by these 
establishments are: Transmitting and receiving antennas, cable 
television equipment, GPS equipment, pagers, cellular phones, mobile 
communications equipment, and radio and television studio and 
broadcasting equipment.'' \176\ The SBA has developed a small business 
size standard for this category, which is: all such businesses having 
750 or fewer employees.\177\ Census data for 2007 shows that there were 
939 establishments that operated for part or all of the entire 
year.\178\ Of those, 912 operated with fewer than 500 employees, and 27 
operated with 500 or

[[Page 39713]]

more employees.\179\ Therefore, under this size standard, the majority 
of such establishments can be considered small.
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    \176\ U.S. Census Bureau, 2012 NAICS Definitions, ``334220 Radio 
and Television Broadcasting and Wireless Communications Equipment 
Manufacturing'' at http://www.census.gov/cgi-bin/sssd/naics/naicsrch.
    \177\ 13 CFR 121.201; 2012 NAICS code 334220.
    \178\ U.S. Census Bureau, 2007 Economic Census. See U.S. Census 
Bureau, American FactFinder, ``Manufacturing: Summary Series: 
General Summary: Industry Statistics for Subsectors and Industries 
by Employment Size: 2007--2007 Economic Census,'' NAICS code 334220, 
Table EC0731SG3; available at http://factfinder2.census.gov/faces/nav/jsf/pages/index.xhtml.
    \179\ Id.
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    57. Audio and Video Equipment Manufacturing. The Census Bureau 
defines this category as follows: ``This industry comprises 
establishments primarily engaged in manufacturing electronic audio and 
video equipment for home entertainment, motor vehicles, and public 
address and musical instrument amplification. Examples of products made 
by these establishments are video cassette recorders, televisions, 
stereo equipment, speaker systems, household-type video cameras, 
jukeboxes, and amplifiers for musical instruments and public address 
systems.'' \180\ The SBA has developed a small business size standard 
for this category, which is: all such businesses having 750 or fewer 
employees.\181\ Census data for 2007 shows that there were 492 
establishments in this category operated for part or all of the entire 
year.\182\ Of those, 488 operated with fewer than 500 employees, and 
four operated with 500 or more employees.\183\ Therefore, under this 
size standard, the majority of such establishments can be considered 
small.
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    \180\ U.S. Census Bureau, 2012 NAICS Definitions, ``334310 Audio 
and Video Equipment Manufacturing'' at http://www.census.gov/cgi-bin/sssd/naics/naicsrch.
    \181\ 13 CFR 121.201; 2012 NAICS code 334310.
    \182\ U.S. Census Bureau, 2007 Economic Census. See U.S. Census 
Bureau, American FactFinder, ``Manufacturing: Summary Series: 
General Summary: Industry Statistics for Subsectors and Industries 
by Employment Size: 2007--2007 Economic Census,'' NAICS code 334310, 
Table EC0731SG3; available at http://factfinder2.census.gov/faces/nav/jsf/pages/index.xhtml.
    \183\ Id.
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4. Description of Projected Reporting, Recordkeeping, and Other 
Compliance Requirements for Small Entities
    58. The Second Report and Order (i) concludes that MVPDs must pass 
through a secondary audio stream containing audible emergency 
information in accordance with Section 79.2 of the Commission's rules 
when they permit consumers to access linear programming on tablets, 
smartphones, laptops, and similar devices over the MVPD's network as 
part of their MVPD services, and (ii) adopts new requirements 
applicable to manufacturers of apparatus covered by Section 79.105 of 
the Commission's rules pursuant to the authority in Section 203 of the 
CVAA.
    59. With respect to the first issue, the Second Report and Order 
does not adopt a new regulatory regime, but rather finds that the 
existing emergency information requirements in Section 79.2 of the 
Commission's rules apply when an MVPD provides linear programming for 
viewing on mobile and other devices over the MVPD's network. 
Accordingly, there are no new reporting or recordkeeping requirements. 
There will, however, be compliance requirements for MPVDs, including 
small MVPDs. Specifically, MVPDs must pass through a secondary audio 
stream containing audible emergency information when they permit 
consumers to access linear programming on tablets, smartphones, 
laptops, and similar devices over the MVPD's network as part of their 
MVPD services. As part of this obligation, MVPDs must ensure that any 
application or plug-in that they provide to consumers to access such 
programming is capable of passing through audible emergency information 
on a secondary audio stream.
    60. With respect to the second issue, the Second Report and Order 
adopts new compliance requirements for manufacturers of covered 
apparatus, including small entities. Specifically, manufacturers of 
apparatus subject to Section 79.105 of the Commission's rules must 
provide a mechanism that is simple and easy to use for activating the 
secondary audio stream to access audible emergency information on 
covered apparatus. The provisions for achievability, purpose-based 
waiver, and exemptions in Section 79.105 of the Commission's rules 
apply to the requirement that covered apparatus provide a simple and 
easy to use activation mechanism for the secondary audio stream.\184\
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    \184\ See 47 CFR 79.105(b)(1) through (2) (exempt apparatus), 
79.105(b)(3) (achievability), 79.105(b)(4) (purpose-based waivers).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    61. No commenter provided specific information about the costs and 
administrative burdens associated with the rules adopted in the Second 
Report and Order. However, we note that the rule we adopt pursuant to 
Section 203 of the CVAA--which requires manufacturers of apparatus 
subject to Section 79.105 of the Commission's rules to provide a 
mechanism that is simple and easy to use for activating the secondary 
audio stream to access audible emergency information--affords covered 
entities flexibility in how they implement this requirement.
5. Steps Taken To Minimize the Significant Economic Impact on Small 
Entities and Significant Alternatives Considered
    62. The RFA requires an agency to describe the steps the agency has 
taken to minimize the significant economic impact on small entities 
consistent with the stated objectives of applicable statutes, including 
a statement of the factual, policy, and legal reasons for selecting the 
alternative adopted in the final rule and why each one of the other 
significant alternatives to the rule considered by the agency which 
affect the impact on small entities was rejected.\185\
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    \185\ 5 U.S.C. 604(a)(6).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    63. The rules adopted in the Second Report and Order may have an 
economic impact in some cases, and that impact may affect small 
entities. Although the Commission has considered alternatives where 
possible, as directed by the RFA, to minimize economic impact on small 
entities, we emphasize that our action is governed by the congressional 
mandate contained in Sections 202 and 203 of the CVAA.
    64. In crafting its new requirements, the Commission provided 
reasonable timeframes within which covered entities may come into 
compliance, as requested in the record.
    65. In addition, with regard to the accessibility requirements 
adopted pursuant to Section 203 of the CVAA, in certain instances, the 
Commission may grant exemptions to the rules where a petitioner has 
shown that compliance is not achievable (i.e., cannot be accomplished 
with reasonable effort or expense).\186\ We note that two of the four 
statutory factors that the Commission will consider in determining 
achievability are particularly relevant to small entities: The nature 
and cost of the steps needed to meet the requirements, and the 
technical and economic impact on the entity's operations. In addition, 
apparatus designed to receive and play back video programming 
transmitted simultaneously with sound must comply with Section 203 
requirements only to the extent they are ``technically feasible.'' 
\187\ Thus, covered manufactures, including small entities, may raise 
technical infeasibility as a defense when faced with a complaint 
alleging a violation of the apparatus requirements adopted herein, or 
to file a request for a ruling under Section 1.41 of the Commission's 
rules as to technical feasibility before manufacturing or importing the 
product.\188\ As an additional means of reducing the costs of 
compliance, apparatus manufacturers may use alternate means of 
compliance with the rules adopted pursuant to Section

[[Page 39714]]

203.\189\ Under this approach, the Commission will permit an entity 
that seeks to use an alternate means to comply with the apparatus 
requirements to file a request pursuant to Section 1.41 of the 
Commission's rules for a determination that the proposed alternative 
satisfies the statutory requirements. The Commission will consider such 
requests on a case-by-case basis. Further, the rule also allows for 
certain purpose-based waivers and exemptions.\190\ These processes will 
allow the Commission to address the impact of the rules on individual 
entities, including smaller entities, on a case-by-case basis and to 
modify the application of the rules to accommodate individual 
circumstances, which can reduce the costs of compliance for these 
entities.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \186\ See 47 CFR 79.105(b)(3).
    \187\ See 47 U.S.C. 303(u).
    \188\ See First Report and Order, para. 66.
    \189\ See id., para. 75.
    \190\ See 47 CFR 79.105(b)(1) through (2), 79.105(b)(4).
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    66. Overall, we believe we have appropriately considered both the 
interests of individuals with disabilities and the interests of the 
entities who will be subject to the rules, including those that are 
smaller entities. The requirements adopted by the Commission today help 
ensure that the critical details of an emergency are made accessible to 
individuals who are blind or visually impaired, thus significantly 
benefiting consumers and serving the stated public interest goal of the 
CVAA.
6. Report to Congress
    67. The Commission will send a copy of the Second Report and Order, 
including this FRFA, in a report to be sent to Congress pursuant to the 
Congressional Review Act.\191\ In addition, the Commission will send a 
copy of the Second Report and Order, including this FRFA, to the Chief 
Counsel for Advocacy of the SBA. A copy of the Second Report Order and 
FRFA (or summaries thereof) will also be published in the Federal 
Register.\192\
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    \191\ See 5 U.S.C. 801(a)(1)(A).
    \192\ See id. 604(b).
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B. Paperwork Reduction Act

    68. The Second Report and Order does not contain any new or 
modified information collection requirements subject to the Paperwork 
Reduction Act of 1995 (PRA).\193\ In addition, therefore, it does not 
contain any information collection burden for small business concerns 
with fewer than 25 employees, pursuant to the Small Business Paperwork 
Relief Act of 2002.\194\
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    \193\ The Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (PRA), Public Law 104-
13, 109 Stat 163 (1995) (codified in Chapter 35 of title 44 U.S.C.).
    \194\ The Small Business Paperwork Relief Act of 2002 (SBPRA), 
Public Law 107-198, 116 Stat 729 (2002) (codified in Chapter 35 of 
title 44 U.S.C.); see 44 U.S.C. 3506(c)(4).
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C. Congressional Review Act

    69. The Commission will send a copy of the Second Report and Order 
in a report to be sent to Congress and the Government Accountability 
Office, pursuant to the Congressional Review Act.\195\
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    \195\ See 5 U.S.C. 801(a)(1)(A).
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D. Additional Information

    70. For additional information on this proceeding, contact Maria 
Mullarkey, [email protected], of the Media Bureau, Policy 
Division, (202) 418-2120.

V. Ordering Clauses

    71. Accordingly, it is ordered that, pursuant to the Twenty-First 
Century Communications and Video Accessibility Act of 2010, Public Law 
111-260, 124 Stat. 2751, and the authority found in Sections 4(i), 
4(j), 303, 330(b), 713, and 716 of the Communications Act of 1934, as 
amended, 47 U.S.C. 154(i), 154(j), 303, 330(b), 613, and 617, this 
Second Report and Order is adopted, effective August 10, 2015.
    72. It is ordered that, pursuant to the Twenty-First Century 
Communications and Video Accessibility Act of 2010, Public Law 111-260, 
124 Stat. 2751, and the authority found in Sections 4(i), 4(j), 303, 
330(b), 713, and 716 of the Communications Act of 1934, as amended, 47 
U.S.C. 154(i), 154(j), 303, 330(b), 613, and 617, the Commission's 
rules are hereby amended as set forth herein.
    73. It is further ordered that the Commission's Consumer and 
Governmental Affairs Bureau, Reference Information Center, shall send a 
copy of this Second Report and Order, including the Final Regulatory 
Flexibility Analysis, to the Chief Counsel for Advocacy of the Small 
Business Administration.
    74. It is further ordered that the Commission shall send a copy of 
this Second Report and Order in a report to be sent to Congress and the 
Government Accountability Office pursuant to the Congressional Review 
Act, see 5 U.S.C. 801(a)(1)(A).

List of Subjects in 47 CFR Part 79

    Cable television operators, Communications equipment, Multichannel 
video programming distributors (MVPDs), Satellite television service 
providers.

Federal Communications Commission.
Marlene H. Dortch,
Secretary.

Final Rules

    For the reasons discussed in the preamble, the Federal 
Communications Commission amends 47 CFR part 79 as follows:

PART 79--ACCESSIBILITY OF VIDEO PROGRAMMING

0
1. The authority citation for part 79 continues to read as follows:

    Authority: 47 U.S.C. 151, 152(a), 154(i), 303, 307, 309, 310, 
330, 544a, 613, 617.


0
2. Amend Sec.  79.2 by revising paragraph (b)(2)(ii) and adding 
paragraph (b)(6) to read as follows:


Sec.  79.2  Accessibility of programming providing emergency 
information.

* * * * *
    (b) * * *
    (2) * * *
    (ii) Emergency information that is provided visually during 
programming that is neither a regularly scheduled newscast, nor a 
newscast that interrupts regular programming, must be accompanied with 
an aural tone, and beginning May 26, 2015 except as provided in 
paragraph (b)(6) of this section, must be made accessible to 
individuals who are blind or visually impaired through the use of a 
secondary audio stream to provide the emergency information aurally. 
Emergency information provided aurally on the secondary audio stream 
must be preceded by an aural tone and must be conveyed in full at least 
twice. Emergency information provided through use of text-to-speech 
(``TTS'') technologies must be intelligible and must use the correct 
pronunciation of relevant information to allow consumers to learn about 
and respond to the emergency, including, but not limited to, the names 
of shelters, school districts, streets, districts, and proper names 
noted in the visual information. The video programming distributor or 
video programming provider that creates the visual emergency 
information content and adds it to the programming stream is 
responsible for providing an aural representation of the information on 
a secondary audio stream, accompanied by an aural tone. Video 
programming distributors are responsible for ensuring that the aural 
representation of the emergency information (including the

[[Page 39715]]

accompanying aural tone) gets passed through to consumers.
* * * * *
    (6) Beginning July 10, 2017, multichannel video programming 
distributors must ensure that any application or plug-in that they 
provide to consumers to access linear programming on tablets, 
smartphones, laptops, and similar devices over the MVPD's network as 
part of their multichannel video programming distributor services is 
capable of passing through to consumers an aural representation of the 
emergency information (including the accompanying aural tone) on a 
secondary audio stream.
* * * * *

0
3. Amend Sec.  79.105 by adding paragraph (d) and a note to paragraph 
(d) to read as follows:


Sec.  79.105  Video description and emergency information accessibility 
requirements for all apparatus.

* * * * *
    (d) Beginning December 20, 2016, all apparatus subject to this 
section must provide a simple and easy to use mechanism for activating 
the secondary audio stream for audible emergency information.

    Note To Paragraph (d):  This paragraph places no restrictions on 
the importing, shipping, or sale of navigation devices that were 
manufactured before December 20, 2016.

[FR Doc. 2015-16324 Filed 7-9-15; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6712-01-P