[Federal Register Volume 87, Number 217 (Thursday, November 10, 2022)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 67827-67829]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2022-24350]


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FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION

47 CFR Part 73

[MB Docket No. 21-422; FCC 22-38; FR ID 112477]


FM Broadcast Radio Service Directional Antenna Performance 
Verification

AGENCY: Federal Communications Commission.

ACTION: Final rule; announcement of effective date.

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SUMMARY: In this document, the Commission announces that the Office of 
Management and Budget has approved revisions to the information 
collection requirements under OMB Control Numbers 3060-0506 and 3060-
0938, as associated with the amended rules adopted in the Federal 
Communications Commission's FM Broadcast Directional Antenna 
Performance Verification Order, FCC 22-38. This Order governs the 
Commission's revised FM broadcast rules to allow for FM antenna 
directional pattern verification by computer modeling, and the 
procedures for submitting the required modeling information on the 
appropriate FCC 2100, Schedule 302-FM (FM Station License Application) 
or FCC Form 2100, Schedule 319 (Low Power FM (LPFM) License 
Application). This document is consistent with the FM Broadcast 
Directional Antenna Performance Verification Order, which states that 
the Commission will publish a document in the Federal Register 
announcing the effective date for these amended rule sections and 
revise the rules accordingly.

[[Page 67828]]


DATES: The amendments to 47 CFR 73.316 and 73.1690, published at 87 FR 
35426 on June 10, 2022, are effective November 10, 2022.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Cathy Williams, Office of the Managing 
Director, Federal Communications Commission, at (202) 418-2918 or 
[email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: This document announces that the Office of 
Management and Budget (OMB) approved the information collection 
requirements in 47 CFR 73.316 and 73.1690 on October 13, 2022. These 
rule sections were adopted in the FM Broadcast Directional Antenna 
Performance Verification Order, FCC 22-38 (87 FR 35426 (June 10, 
2022)). The Commission publishes this document as an announcement of 
the effective date for these amended rules.
    If you have any comments on the burden estimates listed below, or 
how the Commission can improve the collections and reduce any burdens 
caused thereby, please contact Cathy Williams, Federal Communications 
Commission, Room 3.317, 45 L Street NE, Washington, DC 20554, regarding 
OMB Control Numbers 3060-0506 and 3060-0938. Please include the OMB 
Control Number in your correspondence. The Commission will also accept 
your comments via email at [email protected].
    To request materials in accessible formats for people with 
disabilities (Braille, large print, electronic files, audio format), 
send an email to [email protected] or call the Consumer and Governmental 
Affairs Bureau at (202) 418-0530 (voice), (202) 418-0432 (TTY).

Synopsis

    As required by the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (44 U.S.C. 
3507), the Commission is notifying the public that it received final 
OMB approval on October 13, 2022, for the information collection 
requirements contained in 47 CFR 73.316 and 73.1690. Under 5 CFR part 
1320, an agency may not conduct or sponsor a collection of information 
unless it displays a current, valid OMB Control Number.
    No person shall be subject to any penalty for failing to comply 
with a collection of information subject to the Paperwork Reduction Act 
that does not display a current, valid OMB Control Number. The OMB 
Control Numbers for the information collection requirements in 47 CFR 
73.316 and 73.1690 are 3060-0506 and 3060-0938.
    The foregoing notice is required by the Paperwork Reduction Act of 
1995, Public Law 104-13, October 1, 1995, and 44 U.S.C. 3507.
    The total annual reporting burdens and costs for the respondents 
are as follows:

    OMB Control Number: 3060-0506.
    Title: FCC Form 2100, Schedule 302-FM--FM Station License 
Application.
    Form Number: FCC Form 2100, Schedule 302-FM.
    Respondents: Business or other for-profit entities; Not-for-profit 
institutions.
    Number of Respondents and Responses: 925 respondents; 925 
responses.
    Estimated Time per Response: 1-2 hours.
    Frequency of Response: On occasion reporting requirement.
    Total Annual Burden: 3,135 hours.
    Total Annual Costs: $801,500.
    Obligation To Respond: Required to obtain or retain benefits. The 
statutory authority for this collection of information is contained in 
Sections 154(i), 303 and 308 of the Communications Act of 1934, as 
amended.
    Needs and Uses: In the FM Broadcast Directional Antenna Performance 
Verification Order, FCC 22-38, adopted May 19, 2022, and released on 
May 19, 2022, the Commission revised its FM broadcast rules and 
procedures to allow for FM antenna directional pattern verification by 
computer modeling. This represents an update from the previous 
requirement that an FM or LPFM directional antenna's performance be 
verified by the ``measured relative field pattern'' and brings our 
rules for those services into regulatory conformity with our rules 
governing AM and digital TV (DTV) directional antennas. The Commission 
expects that this change in how the antenna manufacturer may validate 
its FM directional antenna studies will provide an FM license applicant 
with greater flexibility in antenna siting and reduce the overall costs 
of designing and building an FM directional antenna, and station 
construction.
    Specifically, pertaining to this Information Collection and full-
service FM stations, the Commission revises the relevant rules, 47 CFR 
73.316 and 73.1690, and corresponding instructions to the FM license 
application, as follows:
    Gives an FM license applicant that employs a directional antenna 
the option of submitting computer-generated proofs of the FM 
directional antenna pattern prepared by the antenna's manufacturer, in 
lieu of measured pattern plots and tabulations derived from physical 
full-size or scale model antenna mockups.
    In Sec.  73.316, specifies the information required in a license 
application filed for a station using an FM directional antenna, which 
opts to use computer modeling pattern verification. For example, the 
license application must include a statement from the engineer 
responsible for designing the antenna, performing the modeling, and 
preparing the antenna manufacturer's instructions for installation of 
the antenna, that identifies and describes the software used to create 
the computer model, the software tool(s) used in the modeling and the 
procedures applied in using the software. The statement should describe 
all radiating structures included in the model. It must also include a 
certification that the software executed normally without generating 
error messages or warnings.
    Requires that, the first time the directional pattern of a 
particular model of antenna is verified using computer results, the 
broadcast station must submit to the Commission both the results of the 
computer modelling and the measurements of either a full-size or scale 
model of the antenna or elements thereof, demonstrating a reasonable 
correlation between the measurements achieved and the computer model 
results. Once a particular antenna model or series of elements has been 
verified, subsequent applicants using the same antenna model number or 
elements and the same modeling software may cross-reference the 
original submission by providing the application file number.
    The revisions to the relevant rules and corresponding Schedule 302-
FM instructions listed above may potentially affect the substance, 
burden hours, and costs of completing the Schedule 302-FM. Therefore, 
this submission was made to OMB for approval of the revised Information 
Collection requirements.

    OMB Control Number: 3060-0938.
    Title: Form 2100, Schedule 319--Low Power FM Station License 
Application.
    Form Number: FCC Form 2100, Schedule 319.
    Respondents: Not-for-profit institutions, State, local, or Tribal 
Government.
    Number of Respondents and Responses: 200 respondents and 200 
responses.
    Estimated Time per Response: 1 hour.
    Frequency of Response: On occasion reporting requirement.
    Total Annual Burden: 200 hours.
    Total Annual Cost: $27,500.
    Obligation to Respond: Required to obtain or retain benefits. The 
statutory

[[Page 67829]]

authority for this collection of information is contained in Sections 
154(i), 303 and 308 of the Communications Act of 1934, as amended.
    Needs and Uses: In the FM Broadcast Directional Antenna Performance 
Verification Order, FCC 22-38, adopted May 19, 2022, and released on 
May 19, 2022, the Commission revised its FM broadcast rules and 
procedures to allow for LPFM antenna directional pattern verification 
by computer modeling. This represents an update from the previous 
requirement that an FM or LPFM directional antenna's performance be 
verified by the ``measured relative field pattern'' and brings our 
rules for those services into regulatory conformity with our rules 
governing AM and DTV directional antennas. The Commission expects that 
this change in how the antenna manufacturer may validate its LPFM 
directional antenna studies will provide an LPFM license applicant with 
greater flexibility in antenna siting and reduce the overall costs of 
designing and building an LPFM directional antenna, and station 
construction.
    Specifically, pertaining to this Information Collection and LPFM 
stations, the Commission is revising the relevant rules, 47 CFR 73.316 
and 73.1690, and corresponding instructions to the LPFM license 
application, as follows:
    Gives an LPFM license applicant that employs a directional antenna 
the option of submitting computer-generated proofs of the LPFM 
directional antenna pattern prepared by the antenna's manufacturer, in 
lieu of measured pattern plots and tabulations derived from physical 
full-size or scale model antenna mockups.
    In Sec.  73.316, specifies the information required in a license 
application filed for a station using an LPFM directional antenna, 
which opts to use computer modeling pattern verification. For example, 
the license application must include a statement from the engineer 
responsible for designing the antenna, performing the modeling, and 
preparing the antenna manufacturer's instructions for installation of 
the antenna, that identifies and describes the software used to create 
the computer model, the software tool(s) used in the modeling and the 
procedures applied in using the software. The statement should describe 
all radiating structures included in the model. It must also include a 
certification that the software executed normally without generating 
error messages or warnings.
    Requires that, the first time the directional pattern of a 
particular model of antenna is verified using computer results, the 
broadcast station must submit to the Commission both the results of the 
computer modelling and the measurements of either a full-size or scale 
model of the antenna or elements thereof, demonstrating a reasonable 
correlation between the measurements achieved and the computer model 
results. Once a particular antenna model or series of elements has been 
verified, subsequent applicants using the same antenna model number or 
elements and the same modeling software may cross-reference the 
original submission by providing the application file number.
    The revisions to the relevant rules and corresponding Form 2100, 
Schedule 319 (LPFM License Application) instructions listed above may 
potentially affect the substance, hours, and costs of completing the 
Schedule 319 (LPFM License Application). Therefore, this submission was 
made to OMB for approval of the revised Information Collection 
requirements.

Federal Communications Commission.
Marlene Dortch,
Secretary.
[FR Doc. 2022-24350 Filed 11-9-22; 8:45 am]
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