Federal Register / Vol. 65, No. 195 / Friday, October 6, 2000 / Rules and Regulations 59751

Federal Communications Commission.

William F. Caton,

Deputy Secretary.

[FR Doc. 00–25740 Filed 10–5–00; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 6712–01–U

FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS

COMMISSION

47 CFR Part 73

[MM Docket No. 87–267; FCC 00–291]

Implementation of the AM Expanded

Band Allotment Plan

AGENCY: Federal Communications

Commission.

ACTION: Final rule; on remand from U.S.

Court of Appeals for D.C. Circuit; record

supplemented.

SUMMARY: After undertaking a

hypothetical computer re-analysis of the

allotment plan for the migration of AM

radio stations to the expanded band, i.e.,

1605–1705 kHz, deleting protections for

federal Traveler Information Service

(‘‘TIS’’), the Federal Communications

Commission (‘‘FCC’’) concluded that

WGNY(AM), Newburgh, New York,

would not have been granted an AM

expanded band allotment even if TIS

station protection was deleted. This

action was taken in response to WGNY’s

argument that it would have been

granted an expanded band allotment if

the expanded band plan did not include

TIS protections. The FCC also declined

to consider WGNY’s objections to

several fundamental aspects of the

allotment methodology which were

resolved earlier in this proceeding but

about which WGNY did not object

previously.

DATES: Effective August 10, 2000.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Peter H. Doyle, Audio Services Division,

Mass Media Bureau (202) 418–2789.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: In

Implementation of the AM Expanded

Band Allotment Plan, MM Bureau

Docket No. 87–267, FCC 00–291,

adopted August 3, 2000, released

August 10, 2000 (‘‘Memorandum

Opinion and Order’’), on remand from

the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District

of Columbia Circuit (the ‘‘Court’’), the

Federal Communications Commission

concluded that a computer reanalysis

performed by the FCC staff establishes

that Station WGNY(AM), Newburgh,

New York, would not receive an AM

expanded band allotment even if the

FCC were to adopt the technical change

to the allotment methodology that the

licensee of WGNY(AM) advocated. On

June 25, 1997, Sunrise Broadcasting of

New York, Inc., sought review by the

Court of the FCC’s March 17, 1997

Order in Implementation of the AM

Expanded Band Allotment Plan, FCC

97–68, 12 FCC Rcd 3361, 62 FR 23176

(Apr. 29, 1997) (‘‘Order’’), which had

denied, inter alia, Sunrise’s Petition for

Reconsideration of Non-Inclusion in

Expanded AM Band Allotment Plan.

Note: 62 FR 23176 inadvertently

omitted the Final Regulatory Flexibility

Analysis for the Order, FCC 97–68; that

analysis is located at 62 FR 28369 (May

23, 1997). Also on March 17, 1997, the

Mass Media Bureau issued a Public

Notice, Mass Media Bureau Announces

Revised AM Expanded Band Allotment

Plan and Filing Window for Eligible

Stations, 12 FCC Rcd 3185 (MM Bureau

1997) (‘‘Third Allotment Plan’’) which

did not include an expanded band

allotment for WGNY. Sunrise argued to

the Court of Appeals that the staff’s

granting certain Traveler Information

Service (‘‘TIS’’) stations co-primary

status (thus according them some

interference protection) was an

unexplained change of agency policy

and resulted in WGNY being precluded

from obtaining an expanded band

allotment. The Mass Media Bureau

responded to the Court with a computer

analysis that eliminated TIS Station

consideration but still resulted in

WGNY not having an allotment. After

the Court remanded the matter to the

FCC on this point, on March 31, 1998,

the Mass Media Bureau supplemented

the record with the computer reanalysis. On October 19, 1998, Sunrise

conceded this point, but in Comments

filed with the FCC it sought

consideration, for the first time, of

issues not previously raised in this

proceeding. Specifically, Sunrise

objected to the 1995 FCC decision to

change the co-channel distance

separation requirements for AM

expanded band stations from 400 to 800

kilometers (see Reconsideration of

Implementation of the AM Expanded

Band Allotment Plan, 10 FCC Rcd

12143, 12149 (1995)), and to the

calculation of the improvement factors

for two of the 710 potential expanded

band stations listed in a 1996 Mass

Media Bureau Public Notice (see Public

Notice, Mass Media Bureau Announces

Revised Experimental AM Broadcast

Band Implementation Factors and

Allotment Plan, 11 FCC Rcd 11419

(MMB 1996). In the Memorandum

Opinion and Order, the FCC denied as

untimely Sunrise’s request to reexamine

any aspects of the AM expanded band

proceeding other than those relating

directly to the interference protection

afforded TIS stations, and ordered that

the Mass Media Bureau’s computer reanalysis be made a part of the record in

this proceeding. The full text of the

Memorandum Opinion and Order

issued in Implementation of the AM

Expanded Band Allotment Plan, FCC

00–291, adopted August 3, 2000 and

released on August 10, 2000 is available

for inspection and copying during

normal business hours in the FCC

Dockets Branch (Room TW–A306), 445

12th Street, SW, Washington, D.C. The

complete text of this MO&O may also be

purchased from the FCC’s copy

contractor, International Transcription

Services (202) 857–3800, 1231 20th

Street, NW, Washington, D.C.

List of Subjects in 47 CFR Part 73

Radio broadcasting.

Federal Communications Commission.

William F. Caton,

Deputy Secretary.

[FR Doc. 00–25734 Filed 10–5–00; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 6712–01–P

FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS

COMMISSION

47 CFR Part 73

[DA 00–2148; MM Docket No. 99–75; RM–

9446]

Radio Broadcasting Services; Grants,

Milan, NM

AGENCY: Federal Communications

Commission.

ACTION: Final rule.

SUMMARY: The Commission, at the

request of Don Davis, former licensee of

Station KQEO(FM), now Station

KXXQ(FM), Grants, New Mexico,

reallots Channel 264A from Grants to

Milan, New Mexico as the community’s

second local aural transmisson service.

See 64 FR 14423 (March 25, 1999).

Channel 264A at Grants was

downgraded from 264C2 by one-step

application (File No. BMPH–

19960226IB) granted on June 13, 1996.

Channel 264A can be allotted to Milan

in compliance with the Commission’s

minimum distance separation

requirements, with respect to domestic

allotments, at petitioner’s site 5.7

kilometers (3.6 miles) south, at

coordinates 35–07–09 North Latitude

and 107–54–08 West Longitude.

DATES: Effective November 6, 2000.

ADDRESSES: Federal Communications

Commission, Washington, DC 20554.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Victoria M. McCauley, Mass Media

Bureau, (202) 418–2180.