[Federal Register Volume 88, Number 170 (Tuesday, September 5, 2023)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Page 60611]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2023-19110]


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FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION

47 CFR Part 73

[MB Docket No. 23-296; RM-11964; DA 23-774; FR ID 168460]


Television Broadcasting Services Des Moines, Iowa

AGENCY: Federal Communications Commission.

ACTION: Proposed rule.

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SUMMARY: The Commission has before it a petition for rulemaking 
(Petition) filed by Iowa Public Broadcasting Board (Petitioner or IPB), 
the licensee of noncommercial educational television PBS member station 
KDIN-TV (KDIN-TV or Station), channel *11, Des Moines, Iowa. The 
Petitioner requests the substitution of channel *34 in place of channel 
*11 at Des Moines, Iowa in the Table of TV Allotments, and requests 
that we delete vacant channel *34, Ames, Iowa and substitute it with 
the allotment of vacant channel *21 to Ames, Iowa.

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: Derek Teslik, Gray Miller Persh LLP, 2233 
Wisconsin Ave. NW, Suite 226, Washington, DC 20007.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Emily Harrison, Media Bureau, at (202) 
418-1665; or Emily Harrison, Media Bureau, at [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: In support, the Petitioner asserts that 
allowing the Station to move from a VHF to a UHF channel would serve 
the public interest by resolving viewer reception challenges and 
significantly improving the Station's over-the-air-service to the 
viewers in its existing service area. Petitioner includes with its 
Petition a number of viewer complaints highlighting current reception 
problems. Petitioner states that the Commission has recognized that VHF 
channels pose challenges for their use in providing digital television 
service, including propagation characteristics that allow undesired 
signals and noise to be receivable at relatively far distances and 
large variability in the performance of indoor antennas available to 
viewers, with most antennas performing very poorly on high VHF 
channels. An engineering statement provided by the Petitioner confirms 
that the proposed channel *34 contour would provide full principal 
community coverage to Des Moines, Iowa. The proposed move from channel 
*11 to channel *34 is also not predicted to create a loss of service to 
any viewers and according to the engineering statement will actually 
increase the area covered while serving the population with higher 
signal levels.
    Petitioner acknowledges that the proposed channel substitution 
would not meet the distance separation requirements regarding the 
vacant channel *34 allotment at Ames, Iowa. As a result, Petitioner 
requests that simultaneously with the substitution of channel *34 at 
Des Moines, Iowa, we delete the vacant channel *34 allotment at Ames, 
Iowa and substitute it with the allotment of vacant channel *21 to 
Ames, Iowa. As stated in its supplemental engineering statement, the 
proposed channel *21 is described as meeting the distance criteria 
found in section 73.623(d) of the Commission's rules, and an analysis 
using the Commission's TVStudy software is provided showing no 
interference to any other station or allotment.
    This is a synopsis of the Commission's Notice of Proposed 
Rulemaking, MB Docket No. 23-296; RM-11964; DA 23-774, adopted August 
29, 2023, and released August 29, 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 Iowa, revise 
the entry for Ames and Des Moines 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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                                  Iowa
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                                * * * * *
Ames......................................  5, *21, 23.
Des Moines................................  8, 13, 16, 19, *34.
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[FR Doc. 2023-19110 Filed 9-1-23; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6712-01-P