[Federal Register Volume 82, Number 139 (Friday, July 21, 2017)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 33825-33827]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2017-15327]


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FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION

47 CFR Parts 1, 73 and 74

[AU Docket No. 17-143; DA 17-533; DA 17-668]


Filing Instructions for Cross-Service FM Translator Auction 
Filing Window for AM Broadcasters To Be Open July 26-August 2, 2017; 
Freeze on FM Translator and Low-Power FM Station Minor Change 
Applications and FM Booster Applications July 19-August 2, 2017; 
Availability of Online Tutorial; Clarification of Eligible Applicants

AGENCY: Federal Communications Commission.

ACTION: Final rule.

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SUMMARY: In the document released June 6, 2017, the Media Bureau and 
the Wireless Telecommunications Bureau released instructions for filing 
applications in a filing window to be open from July 26, 2017, through 
August 2, 2017, in which certain AM station licensees and proposed 
assignees may seek new FM translator construction permits to retransmit 
the signals of the primary AM stations. In addition, the Media Bureau 
announced that it will not accept low-power FM and FM translator minor 
change construction permit applications and FM booster construction 
permit applications between July 19 and August 2, 2017. In the document 
released July 13, 2017, Commission staff announced that an online 
tutorial would be available for this auction, which is designated as 
Auction 99, and addressed a petition for clarification on an issue of 
applicant eligibility for this filing window opportunity.

DATES: From 12:01 a.m. Eastern Time (ET) on July 19, 2017, until 
midnight ET on August 2, 2017, there is a filing freeze for low-power 
FM and FM translator minor change construction permit applications and 
for FM booster construction permit applications. Starting at 12:01 a.m. 
ET on July 26, 2017, and prior to 6:00 p.m. on August 2, 2017, an 
eligible applicant may file its FCC Form 349. Starting at 9:00 a.m. ET 
on July 26, 2017, and prior to 6:00 p.m. ET on August 2, 2017, an 
eligible applicant may file its FCC Form 175.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: About broadcast radio or FCC Form 349, 
James Bradshaw, Lisa Scanlan or Tom Nessinger in the Media Bureau's 
Audio Division at (202) 418-2700. About FCC Form 175 and competitive 
bidding rules, Lynne Milne in the Wireless Telecommunications Bureau's 
Auctions and Spectrum Access Division at (202) 418-0660. About general 
auction procedures, the Auctions Hotline at (717) 338-2868.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: This is a summary of a public notice 
released on June 6, 2017, supplemented by a related public notice 
released on July 13, 2017. The complete texts of these documents are 
available for public inspection and copying from 8:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. 
ET Monday through Thursday or from 8:00 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. ET on 
Fridays in the FCC Reference Information Center, 445 12th St. SW., Room 
CY-A257, Washington, DC 20554. The complete texts also are available on 
the Commission's Web site at http://wireless.fcc.gov. Alternative 
formats are available for persons with disabilities by sending an email 
to [email protected] or by calling the Consumer & Governmental Affairs 
Bureau at (202) 418-0530 (voice), (202) 418-0432 (TTY).
    1. The Media Bureau will institute a freeze on the acceptance of FM 
booster construction permit applications, as well as minor change 
construction permit applications for FM translators or Low Power FM 
stations on all channels (channels 201-300) starting at 12:01 a.m. ET 
on July 19, 2017 until midnight ET on August 2, 2017. Any such 
applications filed during this freeze will be dismissed.
    2. On June 6, 2017, the Media Bureau and the Wireless 
Telecommunications Bureau announced in a public notice (Filing 
Instructions Public Notice) details and filing instructions for certain 
AM broadcasters to apply for cross-service FM translator station 
construction permits in Auction 99. Eligibility for this filing 
opportunity is limited to any Class C or D AM station licensee or 
permittee, or the proposed assignee of such an AM station, wishing to 
file an application to establish a new cross-service FM translator to 
retransmit its AM station signal full time, provided that the AM 
primary station was not listed as the AM primary station in a FM 
translator modification application filed in either of the 2016 
modification windows.
    3. During this upcoming filing window, an applicant may propose 
only one cross-service FM translator for each Class C or D AM primary 
station to be rebroadcast. Any FM translator awarded through this 
filing window will only be authorized to rebroadcast the AM primary 
station identified in the applicant's FCC Form 349 Tech Box (or to 
originate nighttime programming during periods when a daytime-only AM 
primary station is not operating), on a permanent basis. The 
authorization for any FM translator station awarded through this filing 
window will be subject to a condition that it may not be assigned or 
transferred except in conjunction with the AM primary station that it 
rebroadcasts and with which it is commonly owned.
    4. An eligible licensee or permittee, or proposed assignee if 
applicable, seeking a new cross-service FM translator for its AM 
station(s) must file electronically in the Media Bureau's Consolidated 
Database System (CDBS) prior to 6:00

[[Page 33826]]

p.m. ET on August 2, 2017, a separate FCC Form 349, Application for 
Authority to Construct or Make Changes in a FM Translator or FM Booster 
Station, for a construction permit for each such proposed FM 
translator. An applicant may designate in its FCC Form 349 Tech Box any 
non-reserved FM channel (Channels 221-300, 92.1-107.9 MHz) for its 
proposed cross-service translator. Only Section I, the Tech Box of 
Section III-A, and the Section VI Certification must be completed at 
this time. The applicant name entered in the FCC Form 349 must be 
identical with the name of the licensee or permittee on the AM primary 
station license or construction permit, unless it is the name of the 
assignee of a pending or granted assignment application for that 
eligible AM primary station.
    5. Applicants must review carefully each Form 349 Tech Box 
submission for compliance with section 74.1201(g) and all other 
Commission technical rules relating to FM translator stations, as well 
as insuring that only one Form 349 is submitted for each qualified AM 
station. At the end of the initial filing window, if an applicant has 
filed more than one FM translator proposal (Form 349 Tech Box) 
designating the same AM primary station, only the first-filed FM 
translator engineering proposal (Form 349 Tech Box) will be considered. 
To avoid staff consideration of an unintended proposal, each applicant 
must carefully review its Forms 349 before submission, and delete each 
undesired engineering proposal that specifies the identical AM primary 
station. Any request to delete an undesired proposal must be emailed 
before the initial filing window closes to [email protected].
    6. After the August 2, 2017, application deadline, an Auction 99 
applicant may only file a technical amendment during the settlement 
period to be specified in a future public notice. No amendment, 
technical or otherwise, to a cross-service FM translator Form 349 filed 
during this filing window will be accepted between the close of the 
application filing window on August 2, 2017, and the release of the 
public notice listing mutually exclusive (MX) FM translator engineering 
proposals (if the engineering proposal is MX) or the release of the 
public notice listing the non-mutually exclusive FM translator 
engineering proposals (if the engineering proposal is not MX). 
Additional instructions about the filing of a Form 349 in the upcoming 
filing window are provided in Attachment A of the Filing Instructions 
Public Notice.
    7. Each eligible AM station licensee or permittee applicant, or 
proposed assignee if applicable, for a new FM translator station must 
file electronically via the FCC Auction System one FCC Form 175, an 
Application to Participate in an Auction, in compliance with the 
Commission's rules and the instructions provided in the Filing 
Instructions Public Notice. A Form 175 must be submitted and confirmed 
prior to 6:00 p.m. ET on August 2, 2017. The applicant name entered in 
the FCC Form 175 must be identical with the name of the licensee or 
permittee on the AM primary station license or construction permit, 
unless the applicant name is identical with the name of a pending or 
granted assignment application assignee, if applicable.
    8. An individual or entity may not submit more than one FCC Form 
175 during this filing window, regardless of the number of Forms 349 it 
files. As explained in the Filing Instructions Public Notice, the 
Bureaus waived for Auction 99 the prohibition of section 1.2105(a)(3) 
on the filing of more than one FCC Form 175 by entities with any of the 
same controlling interests, but will continue to apply the prohibition 
against the filing of more than one FCC Form 175 by the same individual 
or entity.
    9. An applicant's one Form 175 must cover all proposed FM 
translator stations for which that applicant files a FCC Form 349 Tech 
Box. It is the applicant's responsibility to ensure that the CDBS-
assigned file number(s) and facility identification (ID) number(s) from 
its Form(s) 349 are entered accurately in the View/Edit Engineering 
Proposals section of the applicant's Form 175. Any inaccuracy in data 
entry in the Form 175 of the CDBS-assigned file number(s) or facility 
ID number(s) could result in the Form 349 being excluded from auction 
processing. Also, any Form 349 submitted during the initial filing 
window that is not referenced on that applicant's Form 175 will be 
dismissed in CDBS.
    10. Commission staff will not consider any proposal for which the 
required information is not on file by the close of the initial 
application filing window. No consideration will be given to the 
following: (a) Any application for which both a FCC Form 175 and a 
complete FCC Form 349 proposal are not on file by the close of the 
initial application filing window; (b) any proposal filed by an 
applicant that is not a licensee or permittee, or proposed assignee if 
applicable, of a Class C or D AM broadcast station (including but not 
limited to any proposal filed by the licensee or permittee of a Class A 
or B AM broadcast station); (c) any proposal designating an AM primary 
station that was designated as the primary station on any application 
filed in either of the 2016 modifications windows; or (d) any proposal 
that specifies a channel in the reserved FM broadcast band (Channels 
200-220, 88.1-91.9 MHz).
    11. Each prospective Auction 99 applicant must review carefully the 
instructions provided about completing and submitting a FCC Form 175 in 
the Filing Instructions Public Notice, including guidance in 
Attachments A and B to that document. This Filing Instructions Public 
Notice provided specific information about reporting authorized 
bidders, the disclosure of agreements relating to construction permits 
subject to Auction 99, disclosure requirements for applicant owners and 
controlling interests, and provisions regarding a current and former 
default or delinquency. For example, Commission rules prohibit an 
individual from serving as an authorized bidder for more than one 
auction applicant.
    12. Further, the interests of the applicant, and of any individual 
or entity with an attributable interest in the applicant, in other 
media of mass communications are considered as of the initial Form 175 
filing deadline when determining an applicant's eligibility for a new 
entrant bidding credit. Events occurring after this filing deadline, 
however, may cause diminishment or loss of bidding credit eligibility, 
and must be reported immediately.
    13. The description in the Filing Instructions Public Notice of the 
noncommercial education (NCE) status election included a warning that 
if an FCC Form 175 identifies the application's proposed FM translator 
as noncommercial educational and that NCE engineering proposal is 
mutually exclusive with any engineering proposal for a commercial 
station, the NCE engineering proposal (Form 349) will be returned as 
unacceptable for filing. Each prospective applicant should consider 
carefully if it wishes to propose NCE operation for any FM translator 
acquired in this auction. This NCE election cannot be reversed after 
the initial application filing deadline on August 2, 2017.
    14. After the initial application filing deadline, an applicant 
will be permitted to make only minor modifications to its FCC Form 175 
and major modifications are not permitted. For example, a claim of 
eligibility for a higher percentage of bidding credit will not be 
permitted after the initial application filing

[[Page 33827]]

deadline. Further information is provided in the Filing Instructions 
Public Notice.
    15. Each applicant has a continuing obligation to maintain the 
accuracy and completeness of information furnished in its pending FCC 
Form 175, including any change that may cause a loss of or reduction in 
the percentage of bidding credit requested previously. An auction 
applicant must file additional or corrected information within five 
days after a significant occurrence or amend its FCC Form 175 no later 
than five days after the applicant becomes aware of the need for 
amendment. An applicant's obligation to make modifications to a pending 
FCC Form 175 continues after these five days. An applicant is obligated 
to amend its pending application even if a reported change is 
considered to be a major modification that may result in the dismissal 
of its application.
    16. Prospective applicants should study carefully the explanations 
in the Filing Instructions Public Notice concerning prohibited 
communication by an auction applicant contained in sections 1.2105(c) 
and 73.5002. For example, an applicant is defined in section 1.2105(c) 
for purposes of these prohibitions to include each officer and each 
director of the applicant, each controlling interest of the applicant, 
and each holder of an ownership interest in the applicant of 10 percent 
or more. The Filing Instructions Public Notice provided further details 
concerning an impermissible communication, including a reminder of the 
duty to report immediately a communication that appears to violate 
section 1.2105(c). If mutual exclusivity (MX) is determined to exist 
for any engineering proposals submitted during this filing window, the 
Bureaus will announce a subsequent period during which this prohibition 
will be suspended for the purpose of resolving MX conflicts. Until such 
time, however, these prohibited communication rules remain in effect 
for Auction 99 from 6:00 p.m. on August 2, 2017, until the down payment 
deadline which will be announced in a future public notice.
    17. If any FM translator engineering proposals filed during this 
announced window are determined to be MX and such MX is not resolved 
through a future opportunity for settlement or technical amendment, the 
Commission will resolve MX engineering proposals for commercial 
stations through competitive bidding.

Federal Communications Commission.
Sue McNeil,
Chief of Staff/Special Counsel, Wireless Telecommunications Bureau.
[FR Doc. 2017-15327 Filed 7-20-17; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 6712-01-P