Price Survey 2009 Instructions for Filing Web-based Form 333

2009 Cable Industry Price Survey

INSTRUCTIONS FOR ACCESSING, COMPLETING, AND SUBMITTING THE WEB-BASED SURVEY

FCC Form 333

Features of the Web-Based Survey: Some of the features of the web-based survey that you should be aware of before entering data are summarized below. More complete instructions pertaining to each of these features are provided under the relevant headings in the following sections.

• After You Login: The Main Menu allows you to create a new cable price survey, edit an existing saved survey, submit a completed survey, or revise a survey that you have already submitted.

• Copying Data from one Survey to Another: The application allows you to copy data from one survey to another. If you use this feature, please review the copied data carefully to ensure that any entries that should be different from the survey you copied are corrected.

• Entering Data: Many fields have internal checks, or “error messages”, associated with them. If you receive an error message, please check to ensure that the data you have entered are correct. Also, please note that the web-based application can only accept numeric values in fields where numeric answers are expected. Text and special characters such as dollar signs, percent signs, commas, and letters (such as N/A) may not be used when answering questions where numeric values are required.

• Print View Function: The application provides a “print view” version of your survey. This feature allows you to review your entire survey at one time. (The normal view goes through the survey one section at a time.) The web application does not prevent the submission of incomplete surveys so we strongly recommend that that you review all of the entries you plan to submit before you submit a completed survey by using this print view mode. This mode also allows you to print a hard copy, or save a copy of your submission in your computer, for your records.

• Returning a Completed Survey to the Commission: The web-based application requires that you complete and file your survey directly on the Commission’s Internet site. Once you have entered, and reviewed, all data for a particular submission, you must officially “submit” that completed survey to the Commission to complete that filing.

• Reopening a Completed Survey to Make Changes: Even after you have submitted a survey as complete, you can reopen that survey to make changes until the cutoff date for filing completed surveys (which is June 8, 2009). If it becomes necessary to reopen a survey after that date, please contact the cable price survey team at [email protected] or 202-418-2330.

Login Instructions: In order to access the 2009 Cable Price Survey (FCC Form 333), you will need Internet access and an FCC Registration Number (FRN) with an associated password. If you already have an FRN and password, you can access FCC Form 333 through the Commission’s Internet site, http://www.fcc.gov/mb/2009, or directly at, https://specialreports.fcc.gov/mb/Form333/.

If you do not have an FRN, you will need to visit the FCC's Registration page. You can access the FRN Registration page through the Commission’s Internet sites identified above or at https://fjallfoss.fcc.gov/coresWeb/publicHome.do. The instructions for obtaining an FRN are fairly self-explanatory. Be sure to select a password when registering, and we recommend that you print the page you get after registering so that you can retain a copy of both your FRN and the associated password you have selected. That page also contains your personal security question and answer, which you may need if you forget your password.

If you have an FRN but have forgotten your password, and you have previously provided us with a personal security question and answer, then you may use the online password reset feature to create a new password for your FRN. If you have forgotten your password and have not previously provided a personal security question and answer, you can request a password reset through the Registration Update page. If you need immediate assistance regarding an FRN or password, please call FCC Technical Support at 1-877-480-3201 (please select Option #1 from the menu), and assistance with password resets will be provided.

After You Login: The Main Menu will allow you to create a new “Cable Price Survey Submission.” At the top of the screen will be a header with your FRN and company name. To create a new Cable Price Survey Submission, select your state from the drop-down list, then select the CUID for which you are completing a survey. It is critical that you select the correct CUID so please do so carefully.

The next step is to click the “Create New” button in the “Create New Cable Price Survey Submission” section. Once you have clicked “Create New,” the first data screen of the survey will be displayed (it is entitled, “Section A. Community”). The answers for questions number 2, “Name of the community associated with this CUID,” and number 3, “Name of the county in which the community is situated,” will be filled in automatically by the application. Please check to be sure that they are entered correctly. If they are incorrect, ensure that you have selected the proper CUID. If the CUID is correct, you may edit the pre-filled information as necessary.

To complete the survey, click on each section name, one at a time, and enter the appropriate information for each question. After entering data for each section, click on the section heading again at the Main Menu to ensure that all values you have entered have been saved. Note that when you have completed a survey, all sections will display the status: “Data Entered.”

If You Are Completing Surveys for More Than One CUID: At the Main Menu, create a new submission for your next CUID. Note that if you select the same state as your first CUID, the CUID for which you have already created a response no longer appears in the drop-down list. Click “Create New” to create a new CUID response. Section A will be displayed as it was with your first CUID. Once you have checked your information for Section A, click “Save and Return to Submission Menu.” Proceed to complete that survey by going through the sections one at a time as with your first submission.

Entering Data: Many fields have internal checks associated with them. If you receive an error message, please check to ensure that the correct data are entered in the fields that are identified by the checks. In some instances the check only refers to the current entry, in others it cross-references data from the current field with data found in another field. If you receive an error message for an entry in a field that has a cross-check with another field, it may be that the entry in the other field is in error, rather than the field associated with the current question. These error messages are included in the application to help you identify typos and unintentional errors. They will not prevent you from making an entry that you want to make.

When entering data into the web-based form, please note that the web application can only store numeric values in fields where numeric answers are expected. Text and special characters such as dollar signs, percent signs, commas, and letters (such as N/A) may not be used when answering questions where numeric values are required. If the data that we are asking for are not applicable or not available (for example the CUID was recently purchased and historical data are not available), then leave the field blank. In some instances this may create an “error” message at the top of your submission in red.

If you wish to provide us with an explanation for, or elaborate on, any of your answers, or would like to comment on any of the questions, you may do so by sending an e-mail to [email protected] with “Comment on CUID or Question Number (enter the relevant CUID or question number)” in the “Subject” line of your e-mail.

How to Copy Data from One Form to Another: The application provides a feature that allows you to copy data from a previously completed survey. If you choose to use this feature, be certain to change all fields that require different answers from those in the previously completed CUID. Click the “Cable Price Survey Home” link. This link appears in two places on the Submission Menu, at the top left in the header and at the bottom of the page. This will return you to the Main Menu.

At the Main Menu, create a new submission for another CUID. Click “Create New” to create a new CUID submission. Section A will be displayed. Once you have checked your entries for Section A, click “Save and Return to Submission Menu.” Click the link “Copy Data from Another Survey to this Survey” at the bottom of the Submission Menu. In the “Select a Source CUID for Copy Process” section of the copy page, there is a drop-down list titled “Source CUID.” This will contain all the CUIDs for your FRN that have a record in the system (other than the current CUID; it cannot be copied onto itself). If you have completed only one CUID at this point, the list will contain only one item.

Next, click the link “Copy Selected CUID Data to this Survey.” The application will report “Data Has Been Copied from (source CUID).” Click the link “Return to Cable Price Survey Submission Menu for CUID (current CUID)” to return to the Submission Menu. Note that now all sections are displayed with the status “Data Entered.” Make certain that you change all fields that are different for the selected CUID from the copied CUID. To confirm that the copy and editing was successful, use the “Print View” link described in the following paragraph. Note that the values that are automatically entered from the COALS database are not copied in this function, but are re-entered from COALS.

Print View Function: Click the link “View the Entire Survey on One Page (Print View)” at the bottom of the Submission Menu. A new page (or tab, depending on your browser) should open with the entire survey in a single “print view” page with no header. You may then send the document to the printer or save it to your desktop as a file. The web application does not prevent the submission of incomplete surveys so we strongly recommend that you review all of the data as displayed in the print view mode. This will help to ensure that there are no unintended blank fields or blank sections.

How to Complete a Survey in Multiple Sessions: You may enter data into the survey over multiple work sessions. The Main Menu screen will generally show the submission’s status as “Original – In Progress” during those sessions. To save data entered in order to complete the survey at a later session, select the “Save and Return to Edit Menu” link prior to logging out of a work session. If you close the browser or leave the application without saving, the data entered for the section that you are currently in will not be saved.

How To Log Out of a Session: To log out of a session before you have completed a survey, after saving your work as indicated above, select the “Log Out” link at the bottom of the screen.

To Return to a Work-in-Progress: To return to an in-progress submission, from the Main Menu, use the “View/Edit” link in the “View/Edit By Part” column to open the Submission Menu.

How to Return the Survey to the Commission: Responses must be completed and filed directly on the Commission’s Internet site. Once all data for a particular submission have been entered and reviewed, you must officially “submit” the data to the Commission to complete that filing. To do this, use either (a) the Submit link in the Revise/Submit column in the Main Menu or (b) the “Submit this Submission as Complete” link that appears at the bottom of the Submission Menu. Either link will take you to the “Change Status of Current Form” submission screen where you must click the option button and then select “Change Status.”

Once the system accepts a submission, that submission will be locked and you will not be able to edit it unless you reopen it for revision. The application allows revisions to be made to completed and/or submitted surveys so you may re-enter and revise your submission for a particular CUID at any point in the process, even after you have submitted it as a completed survey. You can re-enter your survey by using the “Revise” link in the Main Menu or the “Revise this Submission” link at the bottom of the Submission Menu.

How to Reopen a Completed Survey to Make Edits: The web-based filing system will allow you to reopen a submitted survey to make changes until the filing deadline, which is June 8, 2009. If you wish to amend a submitted survey after that date, please contact the cable price survey team at [email protected] or 202-418-2330. To reopen a completed survey, click the link “Return to Cable Price Survey Submission Menu for CUID (enter the CUID to which you wish to return).” Note that the status will be described as “Submitted.” Click the link for the section or sections that you wish to edit. Note that the data fields will be displayed but cannot be modified. Once you have observed the protected status of these data fields, click the link “Revise this Survey,” which you can find at the bottom of the menu. Click the button “Re-open this Survey for Revision” in the “Change Status of Survey Submission” section. The new status will be noted, and you can make edits. You should then re-submit the edited survey as complete using the “Submit this Survey as Complete” link. When the note “This Survey Has Been Submitted as Complete” is displayed, click the link “Cable Price Survey Home” to return to the Main Menu.

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