**Before the**

**Federal Communications Commission**

**Washington, D.C. 20554**

In the Matter of )

)

Amendment of Section 73.622(b), ) MM Docket No. 01-208

Table of Allotments, ) RM-10205

Digital Television Broadcast Stations. )

(Harrisburg, Pennsylvania) )

**[REPORT AND ORDER]{.underline}**

**(Proceeding Terminated)**

**Adopted: November 7, 2002 Released: November 15, 2002**

By the Chief, Video Division:

1\. At the request of Harrisburg Television, Inc. (\"Harrisburg\"),
licensee of station WHTM-TV, NTSC channel 27, Harrisburg, Pennsylvania,
the Commission has before it the [Notice of Proposed Rule
Making]{.underline}, 16 FCC Rcd 16168 (2001), proposing the substitution
of DTV channel 10 for station WHTM-TV\'s assigned DTV channel 57. NBC
Subsidiary (\"WCAU\"),[^1] licensee of station WCAU(TV), Philadelphia,
Pennsylvania, and Harrisburg filed comments.[^2] Harrisburg filed reply
comments.

2\. We believe the public interest would be served by substituting DTV
channel 10 for DTV channel 57 since it would enable station WHTM-DT to
operate on an in-core channel, while improving the signal coverage for
viewers in the Harrisburg DMA. DTV channel 10 can be allotted to
Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, as proposed, in compliance with the principle
community coverage requirement of Section 73.625(a) at coordinates
40-18-57 N. and 76-57-02 W. Since the community of Harrisburg is located
within 400 kilometers of the U.S.-Canadian border, concurrence from the
Canadian government has been obtained for this allotment. In addition,
we find that this channel is acceptable under the 2 percent criterion
for *de minimis* impact that is applied in evaluating requests for
modification of initial DTV allotments under Section 73.623(c)(2) for
Station WHTM-DT with the following specifications:

DTV DTV power Antenna DTV Service

[State & City]{.underline} [Channel]{.underline} [(kW)]{.underline}
[HAAT (m)]{.underline} [Pop. (thous.)]{.underline}

PA Harrisburg 10 14 346 1793

3\. Accordingly, pursuant to the authority contained in Sections 4(i),
5(c)(1), 303(g) and (r) and 307(b) of the Communications Act of 1934, as
amended, and Sections 0.61, 0.204(b) and 0.283 of the Commission\'s
Rules, IT IS ORDERED, That effective December 30, 2002, the DTV Table of
Allotments, Section 73.622(b) of the Commission\'s Rules, IS AMENDED,
with respect to the community listed below, to read as follows:

[City]{.underline} [Channel No.]{.underline}

Harrisburg, Pennsylvania 4, 10, \*36

4\. IT IS FURTHER ORDERED, That within 45 days of the effective date of
this *[Order]{.underline}*, Harrisburg Television, Inc. shall submit to
the Commission a minor change application for a construction permit (FCC
Form 301) specifying DTV Channel 10 in lieu of DTV Channel 57 for
station WHTM-DT.

5\. IT IS FURTHER ORDERED, That this proceeding IS TERMINATED.

6\. For further information concerning this proceeding, contact Pam
Blumenthal, Media Bureau, (202) 418-1600.

FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION

Barbara A. Kreisman

Chief, Video Division

Media Bureau

[^1]: WCAU requests that the Commission condition Harrisburg\'s channel
    change to provide protection from any separate or cumulative
    interference that may be caused by a maximized WCAU-DT operation. We
    do not believe that it is necessary to impose a condition on the
    channel substitution at Harrisburg. There is nothing in the record
    or in our review to suggest that such a condition is warranted since
    Harrisburg\'s request meets all the technical requirements
    prescribed by the Commission\'s rules.

[^2]: Counsel for SJL Northeast License Subsidiary, LLC (\"SJL\"),
    licensee of station WTAJ-TV, Altoona, Pennsylvania, filed a Motion
    to Accept Late Filed Comments. SJL claims that the one-day delay in
    filing comments was due to confusion, in part, to the Commission\'s
    new paper filing procedures and the availability of the Electronic
    Comment Filing System. We deny SJL\'s request to accept late filed
    comments. We find that SJL\'s counsel has not provided a sufficient
    justification as to why he could not have filed SJL\'s comments in a
    timely fashion. SJL\'s counsel claims confusion because of changes
    in the Commission's filing procedures due to new security measures.
    However, the Commission issued three Public Notices: two on October
    17, 2001, (DA 01-2430 and DA 01-2436) and a clarification on October
    18, 2001, (DA 01-2451) which clearly delineated the new filing
    procedures. These public notices were released more than ten days
    before comments were due in this proceeding, providing ample time
    for counsel to seek clarification from the Commission\'s Secretary.
    Further, the Electronic Comment Filing System has never been an
    option for parties participating in broadcast allotment proceedings.
    *See Electronic Filing of Documents in Rulemaking Proceedings*, 13
    FCC Rcd 11322 (1998) and Section 1.49(f) of the Commission\'s Rules.
    In any case, even if we allowed SJL's late comments, it had
    presented no basis for denial of the proposed channel change.