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Federal Communications Commission DA 21-694 Before the Federal Communications Commission Washington, D.C. 20554 In the Matter of ) ) Amendment of Section 73.622(i), Post-Transition ) MB Docket No. 21-248 Table of DTV Allotments, Television Broadcast ) RM-11910 Stations (Staunton, Virginia) ) NOTICE OF PROPOSED RULEMAKING Adopted: June 15, 2021 Released: June 15, 2021 Comment Date: [30 days after date of publication in the Federal Register] Reply Comment Date: [45 days after date of publication in the Federal Register] By the Chief, Video Division, Media Bureau: I. INTRODUCTION 1. The Video Division, Media Bureau (Bureau), has before it a petition for rulemaking filed May 27, 2021, by VPM Media Corporation (Petitioner), the licensee of noncommercial educational television station WVPT, channel *11 (PBS), Staunton, Virginia.1 The Petitioner requests the substitution of channel *15 for channel *11 at Staunton, Virginia, in the DTV Table of Allotments.2 II. BACKGROUND 2. In support of its channel substitution request, the Petitioner states that the proposed channel substitution will serve the public interest in two ways. First, it would resolve significant over- the-air reception problems in the WVPT service area.3 The Petitioner states that the challenges of digital reception are well-documented, and that the Commission has recognized the deleterious effects of manmade noise on the reception of digital VHF signals, including VHF channel propagation characteristics that allow undesired signals and noise to be receivable at relatively far distances and 1 Petition of VPM Media Corporation for Rulemaking (filed May 27, 2021), LMS File No. 0000149712 (Petition). The Petitioner amended its Petition on June 4, 2021 (Amended Engineering Statement) at the staff’s request to provide additional information regarding predicted loss areas. 2 On April 13, 2017, the Commission completed the incentive auction and broadcast television spectrum repacking authorized by the Spectrum Act. See Middle Class Tax Relief and Job Creation Act of 2012, Pub. L. No. 112-96, §§ 6402 (codified at 47 U.S.C. § 309(j)(8)(G)), 6403 (codified at 47 U.S.C. § 1452), 126 Stat. 156 (2012) (Spectrum Act); Incentive Auction Closing and Channel Reassignment Public Notice: The Broadcast Television Incentive Auction Closes; Reverse Auction and Forward Auction Results Announced; Final Television Band Channel Assignments Announced; Post-Auction Deadlines Announced, GN Docket No. 12-268, Public Notice, 32 FCC Rcd 2786 (2017). The post-incentive auction transition period ended on July 13, 2020, and the Bureau will amend the rules to reflect all new full power channel assignments in a revised Table of Allotments. WVPT was repacked to channel *12 and has not yet constructed or licensed that facility. See Petition at 4 and n.2. Accordingly, for the purpose of this proceeding we will refer to the Petitioner’s licensed channel *11 facility. We also note that pursuant to the incentive auction bidding process, WVPT is sharing its facility with noncommercial educational station WVPY, Front Royal, Virginia, which relinquished its channel. See LMS File No. 0000055362. Because the two stations are commonly owned, the Petitioner is not required to provide the separate consent of WVPY to the proposed channel change. 3 Petition at 2. Federal Communications Commission DA 21-694 nearby electrical devices to cause interference.4 The Petitioner states that WVPT routinely receives calls from viewers with reception issues based on its VHF channel.5 Secondly, the Petitioner believes that the channel substitution will allow for more efficient construction of WVPT’s post-incentive auction facilities. The Petitioner explains that it initially planned to retune WVPT’s existing Distributed Transmission System (DTS) transmitters from channel *11 to channel *12. The transmitter manufacturer, however, declared bankruptcy, and that manufacturer, as well as the antenna manufacturer, were unable to support the planned retuning effort.6 Meanwhile, a structural analysis of WVPT’s existing tower revealed that it could not support a replacement antenna on VHF channel 12. According to the Petitioner, the tower can support a lighter weight UHF antenna, and thus, allowing WVPT to move to channel *15 will obviate the need to construct a new tower, saving both time and money.7 3. The Engineering Statement provided with the Petition states that WVPT has experienced a substantial loss of viewers in its service area due to the propagation characteristics of its VHF digital channel, exacerbated by rugged terrain.8 It further states that the proposed channel *15 facility will result in a net gain of 56,814 people.9 While there is a loss area of 27,033 people, the Petitioner asserts that most of the loss area is in the southwest portion of WVPT’s service area, where seven to ten television services will remain, including service from noncommercial educational station WBRA-TV (PBS),10 and that the only areas that will receive fewer than five full power television services did not receive a terrain- limited signal from WVPT on channel *11.11 In its Amended Engineering Statement, the Petitioner’s engineering consultant clarified that only seven people would lose their only PBS noncommercial educational service.12 III. DISCUSSION 4. We believe that the Petitioner’s channel substitution proposal warrants consideration. Channel *15 can be substituted for channel *11 at Staunton, Virginia, as proposed, in compliance with the principal community coverage requirements of section 73.625(a) of the Commission’s rules (rules),13 at 4 Id. at 2, citing Innovation in the Broadcast Television Bands: Allocations, Channel Sharing and Improvements to VHF, ET Docket No. 10-235, Notice of Proposed Rulemaking, 25 FCC Rcd 16498, 16511, paras. 42, 44 (2010). 5 Petition at 3. These include viewers with antenna systems that can receive the UHF signals in the market, but not VHF signals, and interference from devices that use electricity, including LED and CF lighting, motors, and kitchen appliances. Id. at 3-4. The Petitioner also states that when there is lightning activity in the area, WVPT’s VHF signal can be unwatchable for hours at a time. Id. at 4. 6 Id. at 4. The Station’s construction permit currently expires on June 28, 2021. It has requested tolling of its post- auction construction permit through December 2021. See Petitioner’s Request for Tolling Waiver, LMS File No. 0000129932. 7 Petition at 4-5. 8 Engineering Statement at 1. 9 Id. 10 In this regard, the Petitioner cites to the Third Periodic Review of the Commission’s Rules and Policies Affecting the Conversion to Digital Television, MB Docket No. 07-91, Notice of Proposed Rulemaking, 22 FCC Rcd 9478, 9493-94, para. 38 (2007) (“The Commission is generally most concerned where there is a loss of an area’s only network or NCE TV service, or where the loss area results in an area becoming less than well-served, i.e., served by fewer than five full-power over-the-air signals.”). 11 Petition at 5-6; Engineering Statement at 1-2. The Petition also maintains that any losses resulting from the channel substitution are offset by WVPT’s increased coverage to the north, providing a second, third, fourth, and fifth service, and a first noncommercial educational service, to a number of viewers. Petition at 6; Engineering Statement at Exhibit 4. 12 Amended Engineering Statement at 2. 13 47 CFR § 73.625(a). 2 Federal Communications Commission DA 21-694 coordinates 38-09-54.4 N and 79-18-50.1 W. In addition, we find that this channel change meets the technical requirements set forth in sections 73.616 and 73.623 of the rules.14 While the Petitioner’s proposal would result in the loss of noncommercial educational television service (PBS) to seven people, the Commission considers that number to be de minimis.15 5. We propose to substitute channel *15 for channel *11 for WVPT with the following specifications:16 City and State DTV Channel DTV Power (kW) Antenna HAAT (m) Staunton, Virginia *15 263 689 6. Accordingly, we seek comment on the proposed amendment of the Post-Transition Table of DTV Allotments, section 73.622(i) of the rules,17 for the community listed below, to read as follows:18 Channel No. City and State Present Proposed Staunton, Virginia *11 *15 IV. PROCEDURAL MATTERS 7. Showings Required. Comments are invited on the proposal discussed in this Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM). The Petitioner or any proponent that expresses interest in the allotment will be expected to answer whatever questions are presented in initial comments. The petitioner of a proposed allotment is required to file comments even if it only resubmits or incorporates by reference its former pleadings. The petitioner must restate its present intention to apply for the channel if it is allotted and, if authorized, to build a station promptly.19 Failure to file may lead to denial of the request. Any requests by a proponent for withdrawal or dismissal of an allotment request must be filed with the Commission in accordance with section 1.420(j) of the rules.20 8. Cut-off Protection. The following procedures will govern the consideration of the filings in this proceeding: 14 47 CFR §§ 73.616, 73.623. 15 See WSET, Inc., 80 FCC Rcd 233, 246 (1980) (finding loss area population of 500 people to be de minimis.). 16 WVPT is located within the National Radio Quiet Zone, an area of approximately 13,000 square miles which was created to minimize possible harmful interference at the National Radio Astronomy Observation (NRAO) site located at Green Bank, West Virginia, and the Naval Radio Research Observatory site at Sugar Grove, West Virginia. Section 1.924(a) of the Commission’s rules, 47 CFR § 1.924(a), requires that the NRAO be notified, in writing, of any proposed construction and operation of a new or modified station at a permanent fixed location in the Quiet Zone, including the technical details of the proposed operation.