PUBLIC LAW 104-104—FEB. 8, 1996 110 STAT. 121 "(A) the cable system serves no more than 17,000 cable subscribers, of which no less than 8,000 live within an urban area, and no less than 6,000 live within a nonurbanized area as of June 1, 1995; "(B) the cable system is not owned by, or under common ownership or control with, any of the 50 largest cable system operators in existence on June 1, 1995; and "(C) the cable system operates in a television market that was not in the top 100 television markets as of June 1, 1995. " (5) SMALL CABLE SYSTEMS IN NONURBAN AREAS.— Notwithstanding subsections (a) and (c), a local exchange carrier with less than $100,000,000 in annual operating revenues (or any affiliate of such carrier owned by, operated by, controlled by, or under common control with such carrier) may purchase or otherwise acquire more than a 10 percent financial interest in, or any management interest in, or enter into a joint venture or partnership with, any cable system within the local exchange carrier's telephone service area that serves no more than 20,000 cable subscribers, if no more than 12,000 of those subscribers live within an urbanized area, as defined by the Bureau of the Census. "(6) WAIVERS. —The Commission may waive the restrictions of subsections (a), (b), or (c) only if— "(A) the Commission determines that, because of the nature of the market served by the affected cable system or facilities used to provide telephone exchange service— "(i) the affected cable operator or local exchange carrier would be subjected to undue economic distress by the enforcement of such provisions; "(ii) the system or facilities would not be economically viable if such provisions were enforced; or "(iii) the anticompetitive effects of the proposed transaction are clearly outweighed in the public interest by the probable effect of the transaction in meeting the convenience and needs of the community to be served; and "(B) the local franchising authority approves of such waiver, "(e) DEFINITION OF TELEPHONE SERVICE AREA. —For purposes of this section, the term 'telephone service area' when used in connection with a common carrier subject in whole or in part to title II of this Act means the area within which such carrier provided telephone exchange service as of January 1, 1993, but if any common carrier after such date transfers its telephone exchange service facilities to another common carrier, the area to which such facilities provide telephone exchange service shall be treated as part of the telephone service area of the acquiring common carrier and not of the selling common carrier. "SEC. 653. ESTABLISHMENT OF OPEN VIDEO SYSTEMS. 47 USC 573 "(a) OPEN VIDEO SYSTEMS.— "(1) CERTIFICATES OF COMPLIANCE. —A local exchange carrier may provide cable service to its cable service subscribers in its telephone ser\dce area through an open video system that complies with this section. To the extent permitted by such regulations as the Commission may prescribe consistent
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