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Graham Brock, Inc. |
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Broadcast Technical Consultants |
| Vol. XII, No. 5 |
R. Stuart Graham, Jr. |
| May 2005 |
Jefferson G. Brock |
Shortly after the publication of our April
newsletter, the FCC issued a Public Notice announcing a
new FM auction window. The auction is scheduled to begin
on November 1, 2005. This time around there are 173
vacant allotments which will be auctioned to the highest
bidder. The FCC has not established, as of yet, the
schedules for pre-auction workshops, initial expressions
of interest in channels, use of a preferred site for a
potential bidder, or when minimum payments are due. This
will be announced in a subsequent notice. Of the 173
channels, 30 are repeats from the last auction. We would
also expect a freeze on Petitions for Rule Making at
some point before the auction to protect the channels
from possible conflicts.
Posted on the Graham Brock website at
www.grahambrock.com are coverage maps, with population
data, for each of the channels to be auctioned. The maps
are standard FCC coverage maps, assuming a maximum class
station from the allocation reference site, for each
channel to be auctioned. Should you be interested in
bidding for one or more of these channels, we recommend
a technical due diligence on the channels (i.e.
upgrades, relocation options, tower sites, etc.) before
bidding. We make no representations on a channel’s
ability to cover a particular market, based on the
prepared maps. A more detailed review would be needed.
We are happy to review the technical issues of any
channel on a non-exclusive basis. Don’t wait until the
last minute to review the list of channels to be
auctioned to decide if you are interested. |
| License Renewal Revisited |
| Last month we reminded licensees not to wait
until the last minute to review their RF
certifications for license renewal. This is ever
more important for those multi-user sites which
contain a large number of AM, FM and or TV stations.
For these sites, the use of the worksheet associated
with the renewal application package to certify
compliance is not possible. In some cases, even a
thorough review of each user, and a calculation of
the contributions of each, is not sufficient to show
compliance. In these cases, an on-site series of
measurements may be necessary. Usually, this can be
accomplished through contacting the site owners, or
the stations which share the site. Allow enough time
to have someone come to the site, take the
measurements, determine if, and where, any RF hot
spots might be, and prepare a report of the findings
and remedial measures taken to address the issues.
This report should be filed with each station’s
renewal. Measurements taken for the last renewal may
not be usable for this round, if any changes of
antenna systems have been made, or if new stations
have been added to the site since the last renewal
cycle. While radio and TV stations do not renew at
the same time, if no changes have taken place
between the renewal dates for stations sharing the
site, a single series of measurements could be used
for both services. |
Tower Proposals Will Now
Require More Research |
| The FCC has instituted a procedure for
notifying Indian tribes of proposed new tower
sites, which may have an impact on sensitive
Indian land. The pre-coordination can be done
electronically through the Commission’s website.
However, this coordination along with the
coordination of towers located near historic
locations, or that have other environmental
issues, lengthens the process of obtaining a
permit. There is no national Historic Locations
database or clearing house. Each station has
organizations that must be contacted, depending
on the location of the tower. The notification
processes can be quite confusing, so if you are
proposing a new tower, keep these new processes
in mind, and add sufficient time for the
additional reviews. |
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