Before the FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION Washington, DC 20554

In the Matter of ) ) IB Docket No. 20-205 International Bureau Releases List of ) Incumbent Earth Stations in the 3.7-4.2 GHZ ) SES-LIC-20081203-01527 Band in the Contiguous ) ) E850092

To: Chief, International Bureau

PETITION FOR RECONSIDERATION

Good Karma Brands , LLC (“GKBM”), by counsel and pursuant to Section

1.106 of the Commission’s Rules, hereby respectfully submits this Petition for Reconsideration

(“Petition”) of the Commission’s August 3, 2020 Public Notice announcing the list of C-Band earth stations that the International Bureau found satisfied the criteria to be classified as incumbent earth stations for purposes of the C-band transition.1 Reconsideration is warranted because the Public Notice, and in particular the list of earth station registrations appended thereto

(the “Final Incumbent List”), omitted the above-referenced earth station registration, thereby precluding GKBM from participation in the C-Band transition process. Grant of this Petition will serve the public interest.

1 See International Bureau Releases List of Incumbent Earth Stations in the 3.7-4.2 GHZ Band in the Contiguous United States, Public Notice, DA 20-823 (Aug. 3, 2020) (“Public Notice”).

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Background

On July 6, 2020, the Commission released a preliminary list (the “Preliminary Incumbent

List”) of earth stations it said “may satisfy the criteria to be classified as incumbent earth stations for purposes of the C-band band transition.”2 The Bureau invited earth station registrants to submit e-mails and comments on the Preliminary Incumbent List in order to provide corrections.3

On July 16, 2020, in accordance with the Commission’s instructions, GKBM sent an email requesting that the above-referenced registration be added to the Preliminary Incumbent

List.4 As GKBM explained, fixed earth station E850092 was licensed and has been in use since well before the April 19, 2018 deadline. Fixed earth station E850092 is used in connection with broadcast Station WTMJ(AM), Milwaukee, WI (FCC Facility ID No. 74096) (“WTMJ”).

WTMJ has been in operation for more than 90 years and provides essential news, weather and information, as well as professional sports team programming, to listeners in the greater

Milwaukee area. E850092 is essential to WTMJ’s operations, as it is used to downlink such programming. GKBM’s requested update was not included in the Final Incumbent List.

Discussion

Under Section 1.106 of the Commission’s Rules, the Bureau may grant a Petition for

Reconsideration when doing so is in the public interest.5 Given the compelling circumstances

2 Id. at 1, citing International Bureau Releases Preliminary List of Incumbent Earth Stations in the 3.7-4.2 GHz Band in the Contiguous United States, Public Notice, DA 20-703 (rel. July 6, 2020).

3 Id.

4 See Attachment A hereto.

5 47 C.F.R. § 1.106(c)(2).

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involved here – namely, the earth station’s use as a conduit through which C-Band delivered programming flows to WTMJ’s listeners – grant would clearly serve the public interest. Earth station E850092 is vital to fulfilling WTMJ’s public service mission. The earth station has been in continuous use since 2009, well before the Commission’s C-Band transition initiative.6

When the Commission released a public notice on April 11, 2018 (the “90-Day Window

Public Notice”) explaining that the International Bureau was “open[ing] a 90-day window during which entities that own or operate existing FSS earth stations in the 3.7-4.2 GHz band may file an application to register or license the earth station if it is currently not registered or licensed,”7

GKBM was not yet the licensee of earth station E850092.8

The 90-Day Window Public Notice stated:

This [90-day] filing window provides a limited opportunity to operators with constructed and operational, but currently unregistered or unlicensed, earth stations to file applications to be licensed or registered for interference protection….9

Because the prior licensee of earth station E850092 had licensed and certified the earth station well before the 90-day window, it presumably would be afforded all the same future benefits that would be granted to entities that registered their earth stations during the 90-day window, including, but not limited to, all applicable interference protection. Nothing in the 90-Day

Window Public Notice indicated otherwise. Certainly, there was no indication that GKBM

6 The license was granted on January 12, 2009. See Attachment A hereto.

7 Temporary Freeze on Applications for New or Modified Fixed Satellite Service Earth Stations and Fixed Microwave Stations in the 3.7-4.2 GHz Band, 90-Day Window to File Applications for Earth Stations Currently Operating in 3.7-4.2 GHz Band, Public Notice, DA 18-398 at 3 (April 19, 2018)(“90-Day Window Public Notice”).

8 Earth station E850092 was assigned to GKBM in connection with its acquisition of radio broadcast stations WTMJ(AM), Milwaukee, WI (Facility ID No. 74096) and WKTI(FM), Milwaukee, WI (Facility ID No. 74095) from Scripps Broadcasting Holdings LLC (FCC File Nos. BALH-20180806ABK-ABL). This acquisition was consummated on November 1, 2018.

9 Id. at 3 (emphasis added). 3

would need to take any additional action after it acquired earth station E850092 on November 1,

2018 to secure these same protections and benefits.

The Commission only explained that registrants that had secured registrations prior to the

90-day filing window did, in fact, need to take additional action, almost one year after the 90-

Day Window Public Notice. On April 11, 2019, the Commission announced that such registrants needed to file a certification in order to receive the same protection as registrants who had filed during the 90-day filing window. GKBM did not realize that this additional requirement applied to its recently-acquired earth station.

GKBM should not be denied participation in the Commission’s C-Band transition program with respect to earth station E850092 because of administrative oversight, especially given that its earth station was operational well before the filing freeze and its parameters have remained constant since then. Absent grant of this Petition, GKBM will not be able recover substantial costs such as those for retuning, repointing, and filtering its earth station, through either the Commission’s lump-sum or cost-based reimbursement programs.

The Commission’s C-band freeze and filing window was intended to secure interference protection for existing earth station operators, and to grant them the ability to transition their existing operations outside the 3.7-4.0 GHz band – not to deprive them of participation in the reimbursement process due to simple administrative oversights. The goal should be to compensate earth station registrants and licensees that operate earth stations that have long been in operation and that continue to be used for activities that serve the public interest.

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Conclusion

GKBM respectfully requests that the Bureau update the Final List to include the above- noted registration. Grant of this Petition will serve the public interest for the reasons noted above.

Respectfully submitted,

GOOD KARMA BRANDS MILWAUKEE, LLC

By: /s/ Nancy A. Ory Nancy A. Ory Lerman Senter PLLC 2001 L Street, NW, Suite 400 Washington, DC 20036 (202) 429-8970

September 2, 2020 Its Attorney

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ATTACHMENT A Ory, Nancy A.

From: Ory, Nancy A. Sent: Thursday, July 16, 2020 11:40 AM To: [email protected] Subject: IB Docket No. 20-205 IBFS File No. SES-LIC-20081203-01527 Attachments: E850092 Good Karma Milwaukee Lic.pdf

This email is written on behalf of Good Karma Brands Milwaukee, LLC (“GKBM”), the licensee of fixed earth station E850092. Fixed earth station E850092 was licensed and has been in use since well before the April 19, 2018 deadline. A copy of its license is attached. A certification for E850092 was filed well in advance of the completion of processing of the 2018 registration filings.

Fixed earth station E850092 is used in connection with broadcast Station WTMJ(AM), Milwaukee, WI. WTMJ has been in operation for more than 90 years and provides essential news, weather and information, as well as professional sports team programming, to listeners in the greater Milwaukee area. E850092 is essential to WTMJ’s operations, as it is used to downlink such programming.

GKBM respectfully requests that E850092 be added to the list of eligible stations in IB Docket No. 20- 205. Should there be any questions, please do not hesitate to contact undersigned counsel. Thank you for your consideration.

Nancy A. Ory Lerman Senter PLLC | 2001 L Street NW Suite 400 | Washington, DC 20036 202-416-6791 (d) | 703-862-7972 (m) | [email protected]

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