[Federal Register Volume 88, Number 170 (Tuesday, September 5, 2023)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Page 60612]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2023-18955]



[[Page 60612]]

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FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION

47 CFR Part 73

[MB Docket No. 23-287; RM-11961; DA 23-750; FR ID 166960]


Television Broadcasting Services Idaho Falls, Idaho

AGENCY: Federal Communications Commission.

ACTION: Proposed rule.

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SUMMARY: The Commission has before it a petition for rulemaking filed 
by NPG of Idaho, Inc. (Petitioner), the licensee of KIFI-TV, channel 8, 
Idaho Falls, Idaho. The Petitioner requests the substitution of channel 
18 for channel 8 at Idaho Falls in the Table of Allotments.

DATES: Comments must be filed on or before October 5, 2023 and reply 
comments on or before October 20, 2023.

ADDRESSES: Federal Communications Commission, Office of the Secretary, 
45 L Street NE, Washington, DC 20554. In addition to filing comments 
with the FCC, interested parties should serve counsel for the 
Petitioner as follows: Patrick Cross, Esq., Brooks, Pierce, McLendon, 
Humphrey & Leonard, L.L.P, Wells Fargo Capitol Center, Suite 1700, 
Raleigh, NC 27601.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Joyce Bernstein, Media Bureau, at 
(202) 418-1647; or Joyce Bernstein, Media Bureau, at 
[email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: In support, the Petitioner states that its 
proposed channel substitution would serve the public interest by 
resolving reception issues currently experienced by a meaningful cross-
section of viewers in KIFI-TV's service area, thereby expanding the 
availability of reliable, free over-the-air network television service 
within the market. According to the Petitioner, KIFI-TV has received 
numerous complaints about reception of its channel 8 facility since the 
end of the DTV transition in 2009, a common difficulty shared by other 
stations with VHF channel assignments in the Idaho Falls market. The 
Petitioner further states that the Commission has recognized that VHF 
channels pose challenges for their use in providing digital television 
service, including propagation characteristics of these channels that 
allow undesired signals and noise to be receivable at relatively 
farther distances and that nearby electrical devices tend to emit noise 
that can cause interference in this band and reception of VHF signal 
require physically larger antennas relative to UHF channel antennas. 
Moreover, when compared to the Station's current channel 8 facility, 
the proposed channel 18 facility will create a predicted service loss 
of only 327 persons using the Commission's TVStudy software tool, a 
number which the Petitioner asserts is de minimis. The Petitioner also 
points out that this loss prediction fails to account for the longtime 
and ongoing service challenges many KIFI-TV viewers experience due to 
channel 8's inferior propagation characteristics, which it expects will 
be remedied by switching to a UHF channel.
    This is a synopsis of the Commission's Notice of Proposed 
Rulemaking, MB Docket No. 23-287; RM-11961; DA 23-750, adopted August 
23, 2023, and released August 23, 2023. The full text of this document 
is available for download at https://www.fcc.gov/edocs. To request 
materials in accessible formats (braille, large print, computer 
diskettes, or audio recordings), please send an email to [email protected] 
or call the Consumer & Government Affairs Bureau at (202) 418-0530 
(VOICE), (202) 418-0432 (TTY). This document does not contain 
information collection requirements subject to the Paperwork Reduction 
Act of 1995, Public Law 104-13. In addition, therefore, it does not 
contain any proposed information collection burden ``for small business 
concerns with fewer than 25 employees,'' pursuant to the Small Business 
Paperwork Relief Act of 2002, Public Law 107-198, see 44 U.S.C. 
3506(c)(4). Provisions of the Regulatory Flexibility Act of 1980, 5 
U.S.C. 601-612, do not apply to this proceeding.
    Members of the public should note that all ex parte contacts are 
prohibited from the time a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking is issued to 
the time the matter is no longer subject to Commission consideration or 
court review, see 47 CFR 1.1208. There are, however, exceptions to this 
prohibition, which can be found in Section 1.1204(a) of the 
Commission's rules, 47 CFR 1.1204(a).
    See Sections 1.415 and 1.420 of the Commission's rules for 
information regarding the proper filing procedures for comments, 47 CFR 
1.415 and 1.420.

List of Subjects in 47 CFR Part 73

    Television.

Federal Communications Commission.
Thomas Horan,
Chief of Staff, Media Bureau.

Proposed Rule

    For the reasons discussed in the preamble, the Federal 
Communications Commission proposes to amend 47 CFR part 73 as follows:

PART 73--RADIO BROADCAST SERVICE

0
1. The authority citation for part 73 continues to read as follows:

    Authority:  47 U.S.C. 154, 155, 301, 303, 307, 309, 310, 334, 
336, 339.

0
2. In Sec.  73.622, in the table in paragraph (j), under Idaho, revise 
the entry for Idaho Falls to read as follows:


Sec.  73.622  Digital television table of allotments.

* * * * *
    (j) * * *

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                 Community                           Channel No.
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                                * * * * *
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                                  Idaho
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                                * * * * *
Idaho Falls...............................  18, 20, 36.
 
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[FR Doc. 2023-18955 Filed 9-1-23; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6712-01-P