Community Broadcasters Protection Act of 1999

Enacted November 29, 1999

New Class A TV Service

Measure of primary status for qualifying LPTV licensees

Statutory Qualifications Criteria for Class A Status

During 90-day period before 11/29/99, the LPTV station must have:(1) operated at least 18 hours each day(2) broadcast, on average, at least 3

hours per week of programming produced within the market area served by the station

(3) complied with FCC’s LPTV rules

FCC Class A TV Report & Order in MM Docket No. 00-10

Adopted March 28, 2000Available at

http://www.fcc.gov/Bureaus/Mass_Media/Orders/2000/fcc00115.txt (.doc or .pfd)

Published in Federal Register May 10, 2000 at 65 FR 29985

Who may apply for an initial Class A authorization?

Only an LPTV licensee granted a Certification of Eligibility for Class A status

Who Will Be Granted a Certificate of Eligibility for Class A Status?

LPTV licensees who filed a “Statement of Eligibility for Class A LPTV Status” by January 28, 2000 and

Certified “yes” to the 3 statutory qualifications criteria or

Could not meet these qualifications due to compelling circumstances

Service Area Preservation of “Certified Class A” LPTV Stations

From date of receipt of a certification of eligibility that is ultimately granted until final resolution of a Class A application

Service area to be preserved is LPTV protected signal contour

If LPTV operator holds both license and modified construction permit, contour of permit facilities will be preserved

What is “Locally Produced” Programming?

Programming produced within the LPTV “market area”, defined as the station’s predicted Grade B signal contour

Or within the Grade B contours of a group of commonly controlled stations

For example, programming may be produced at the LPTV main studio within the Grade B contour or at a “grandfathered” studio outside the Grade B contour

Class A Operating Requirements

Per statute, LPTV station must meet full-power TV operating requirements upon filing of Class A application

Exceptions are TV broadcast rules that cannot be met for technical reasons (e.g., no community coverage requirement)

Class A stations must operate within effective radiated power limits of the LPTV service

Example of Other Exceptions to Class A Compliance with Full-Service TV Rules Grandfather use of LPTV station main

studios located outside of Grade B contour

Grandfather use of LPTV transmitters (no proof of performance required)

Class A stations operate on frequencies not included in the TV or DTV allotment tables

Initial Class A facilities may operate without a carrier frequency offset

Examples of Required Compliance with Full-service TV Rules

Must operate a main studioMust maintain a public fileMust comply with children’s

programming requirementsMust comply with all equipment and

operational requirements of Emergency Alert System

Apply on FCC Form 302-CA

Certifications of compliance Eligibility qualifications TV broadcast operating rules Interference protection requirements

No facilities changes permitted in initial Class A applications

Uses of Form 302-CA

Direct conversion of LPTV license to Class A license

Conversion of construction permit of licensed LPTV station to Class A status, followed by another filing of Form 302-CA for license once construction completed

What if Your LPTV Station Doesn’t Meet All Interference Protection Requirements for Class A status?

May file Form 346 as LPTV displacement application, requesting channel or other facilities changes to provide necessary interference protections

Simultaneously file Form 302-CA, basing interference protection certifications on the facilities proposed in the displacement relief application

Summary of Stations Protected Against Interference From Class A Stations

Analog (NTSC) TV Stations (Grade B contour protection)

LPTV and Translator Stations (Contour protection) DTV Facilities (Protect Service Population)

Facilities of DTV allotment table Authorized DTV facilities DTV Facilities proposed in “maximization”

applications filed by May 1, 2000, where a “statement of intent” to file the application was filed by Dec. 1, 1999

Land Mobile Radio Operations on Channels 14-20 and Channel 16 in New York (field strength limits at protected 50-mile circle about land mobile city)

Class A TV Protection to NTSC TVProtect Grade B contours of facilities

authorized as of November 29, 1999Protect Grade B contours of facilities

proposed in “change” applications on file as of November 29, 1999

Protect facilities in applications for new TV stations that had completed all processing short of grant by November 29, 1999 for which the identity of successful applicant was known as of that date

Protected Applications for New NTSC Stations - As of 11/29/99 these applications were either:

Auction winnersProposed for grant in settlements

among competing applicantsSingleton applications cutoff from

competing applications

NTSC TV Protection from Class A TV

Protection based on the desired-to-undesired (D/U) signal strength ratios and minimum distance separation requirements in Section 74.705 of the LPTV rules

Waivers may be requested based on terrain shielding and alternative propagation methods (e.g., Longely-Rice model and OET Bulletin #69 methods)

Applicants may negotiate interference agreements with affected parties

Frequency Offset Operation

Co-channel D/U ratio is 45 dB where Class A station operates without 10 kHz offset or on same offset as other NTSC station

Ratio of 28 dB between stations operating on different offsets

Class A licensees required to specify carrier offset when seeking facilities increases

DTV ProtectionsClass A TV applicants must authorized

DTV service and also service of allotted facilities that have yet to be authorized or applied for

Class A stations must not interfere with modified DTV allotments to fix technical problems

Class A Stations Must Protect DTV Service on Post-transition Channels

Class A stations must protect service on DTV station’s final in-core DTV channel at the end of the DTV transition period

A DTV station’s maximized service area may be carried to the station’s final DTV channel provided the station: can meet the FCC’s DTV interference protection rules met the maximization notification and filing deadlines

on its assigned DTV channel and meets station construction deadlines on the channel

for which maximization requested

DTV Protection Method

Protect the population within the DTV noise-limited service area, not already predicted to receive interference from other sources, based on the criteria in Sections 73.622 and 73.623 of the FCC rules and OET Bulletin # 69 (with a population reduction rounding allowance of 0.5%

Class A Protection to DTV

DTV Noise-limited Contour; Comparable to NTSC Grade B

DTV Interference-Free Reception Area

Class A station interference cannot decrease population in the DTV service area (shaded) by more than 0.5% (rounding error)

Class A Must Protect Service Contours of TV Translators and non Class A LPTV Stations

Protect LPTV and TV translator stations authorized licenses or construction permits before the filing of the Class A application

Protect facilities proposed in LPTV & translator applications filed earlier than the Class A application

Example of Class A Protection of LPTV Station

74dBu protected contour for UHF LPTV station

Class A

LPTV

Interference-limited Contour (46 dBu for co-channel station operating on a frequency offset basis)

Class A Protection of TV Translators and LPTV Stations

Contour protection based on the D/U ratios in § 74.707 of the LPTV rules

“Grandfather” predicted interference to later-authorized stations LPTV & translator stations

Waivers of protection standards may be supported by alternative methods such as terrain shielding and “Longley-Rice” propagation model

Parties may negotiate interference agreements

Class A Protection to Land Mobile Radio

Must protect land mobile use of channels 14-20 in several metropolitan areas and also channel 16 use in the New York City area

Protection to 80-mile circle around the reference coordinates of these metropolitan areas

Protection criteria limits predicted field strengths of co-channel and adjacent channel Class A stations at the 80 mile circle (See § 74.709 of LPTV rules)

The Following Entities Must Protect the Initial Service Contours of Class A Designated LPTV Stations

Most applicants and allotment petitioners for new TV stations, except as noted above

Full-service TV minor change applicants filing applications after 11/29/99

DTV maximization applicants filing applications after May 1, 2000 (continued)

Protection to Initial Class A Service Contours By

Petitioners for DTV allotments other than those necessary to fix technical problems; e.g., petitions for new DTV channel by new entrants

Applicants for new or modified LPTV or TV translator stations filing applications after the date the Class A designated LPTV station has been granted a “certification of eligibility”

Class A TV Protected Contours

(Same as the LPTV protected contours defined in § 74.707 of FCC rules)

62 dBu Channels 2 - 668 dBu Channels 7 - 1374 dBu Channels 14 - 51

Methods of Protecting Class A Stations

NTSC TV - contour protection (D/U ratios and distance separations of Section 74.705)

LPTV and TV translators - contour protection (D/U ratios of Section 74.707)

Class A to Class A - LPTV contour protection (D/U ratios of Section 74.707)

DTV - contour protection (D/U ratios of Section 73.623 for “digital into analog”)

Alternative Methods of Meeting Requirements to Protect Class A Stations

Waiver requests supported by Terrain shielding Longely-Rice propagation model OET Bulletin 69 method with a 0.5%

population reduction rounding tolerance

Interference agreements among affected parties

Class A TV Displacement Relief

Generally, existing LPTV displacement relief policies apply to displaced Class A stations

Displacement could be due to actual or predicted interference caused or received by a Class A station

May file for replacement channels and/or other related facilities changes on a “first-come” basis outside of filing windows

Application is styled as a major change

Class A, TV Translator and LPTV Displacement Applications Generally, displacement applications,

whether Class A, LPTV or TV translator, have higher priority than earlier-filed non displacement applications for new or modified facilities in these services

Among displacement applications, the earliest filed has priority

Displacement applications filed on the same day are subject to competitive bidding procedures

LPTV and TV Translator Stations With Licenses or Construction Permits for Channels 52-69

Presumption of channel displacement extended to channels 52-59

Licensees and permittees may file displacement application requesting replacement channel at any time after effective date of Class A Report & Order

LPTV Stations Licensed on Channels 52-69

Class A TV may be authorized only on channels 2-51 (“core” channels)

Service contours of LPTV stations on channels 52-69 are not afforded Class A interference protections

To attain a Class A authorization, LPTV licensees must have been granted a certificate of eligibility and a channel below 52

Class A Eligible LPTV Stations Licensed on Channels 52-69

Must simultaneously file Forms 346, requesting channel below 52, and Form 302-CA

Per the Class A statute, a Class A authorization will be granted simultaneously with the grant of the LPTV displacement application

Not required to file applications within the 6-month window for filing initial Class A applications

LPTV Displacement Relief Applications of Class A Certified-Eligible Stations

May file displacement application as mutually exclusive “counter proposal” to petition for modified NTSC TV channel allotment

Do do so, application must be filed before the end of the initial comment period in the Notice of Proposed Rule Making of the allotment proceeding

LPTV Displacement Relief Applications of Class A Certified-Eligible Stations

Full power TV permittees and licensees may file petitions for modified NTSC channel allotments that would be mutually exclusive with an LPTV displacement application

Petitions must be filed within 30 days of issuance of the Public Notice proposing grant of the displacement application

“Minor” Facilities Changes for Class A TV, LPTV and TV Translators

Under the new, more inclusive definition, all facilities changes other than channel changes may be filed as “minor changes” and at any time provided,

Proposals to relocate antenna sites must result in some overlap of the modified and original protected contours

Minor Change Applications

A “first-come/first-served” rule will apply among minor change applications filed by Class A stations and among applications of Class A, LPTV and TV translator stations

TV translator and non Class A LPTV minor change applications must protect earlier and later-filed NTSC TV minor change applicatons

Minor Change Applications

Class A and full-power NTSC TV minor change applications may become mutually exclusive (can’t grant both due to interference conflict) until the grant date of the Class A or NTSC minor change application

Example: Final processing check shows no predicted interference overlap with NTSC minor change application - therefore, ok to grant Class A minor change application

Minor Change Applications

The filing of minor change applications under the more inclusive definition is deferred until October 1, 2000

Until then, minor change applications may continue to be filed under the current definition (that is, facility changes producing modified protected signal contours falling within the existing protected contour)

Additional Digital TV Licenses for Class A and TV Translator StationsPer the CBPA, the FCC is not required

to issue additional licenses, but shall accept applications for such service that will not cause interference to the service area of any broadcast facility applied for, protected, permitted or authorized on the date of filing of the digital application

Additional Licenses for Digital Class A and TV Translator Stations

Must await a future rulemaking to develop rules, policies and procedures

A Class A TV station may seek on-channel conversion to DTV at any time by filing a minor change application

Digital Class A stations subject to DTV transmission standard

Class A Application Filing PeriodBegins 30 days after Report &

Order published in Federal Register, which occurred May 10, 2000

Ends 6 months from that date No time limit for filing initial Class A

application for certified-eligible LPTV stations now authorized on channels 52-69

Fee Information for FCC Form 302-CA

Fee amount: $220Fee type code: MJT

Processing of Applications for Initial Class A Authorizations

Per CBPA, FCC must act on acceptable applications within 30 days after receipt

A “substantially complete” application acceptance standard will apply

Informal objections may be filed against the applications

What Happens Next

FCC to announce availability of Class A application Form 302-CA

FCC to announce LPTV licensees granted certificate of eligibility to apply for Class A authorization