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If you need the complete document, download the WordPerfect version or Adobe Acrobat version, if available. ***************************************************************** Before the Federal Communications Commission Washington, D.C. 20554 In the Matter of ) ) Amendment of Section 73.202(b), ) MM Docket No. 99-207 Table of Allotments, ) RM-9626 FM Broadcast Stations. ) (Kuna, Idaho) ) REPORT AND ORDER (Proceeding Terminated) Adopted: March 1, 2000 Released: March 17, 2000 By the Chief, Allocations Branch: 1. Before the Commission for consideration is the Notice of Proposed Rule Making ("Notice"), 14 FCC Rcd 9043 (1999), issued in response to a petition for rule making filed by Mountain West Broadcasting ("petitioner") proposing the allotment of Channel 247C to Kuna, Idaho, as that locality's first local aural transmission service. Petitioner filed comments in response to the Notice. FM Idaho Co. ("FM Idaho") also filed responsive comments. No other comments were received. 2. As stated in the Notice, the proposed allotment of Channel 247C to Kuna requires a site restriction 66 kilometers (41 miles) southwest of the community at coordinates 43-04-26 NL and 116-59- 54 WL to comply with the minimum distance separation requirements set forth in Section 73.207(b) of the Commission's Rules. However, compliance with the site restriction would require the transmitter for Channel 247C to be located near the outer limits for a Class C station. Moreover, due to intervening terrain obstructions a tower of 656 meters at 1,568 meters above ground level at the referenced site would be required to comply with the coverage requirements of Section 73.315 of the Commission's Rules. Therefore, the Commission sought further engineering information from the petitioner to provide evidence that its proposal could comply with the technical requirements of the Commission's rules. 3. Petitioner's comments reiterate its intention to apply for Channel 247C at Kuna. In response to the Commission's request in the Notice for additional engineering showings, petitioner provided a predicted coverage map purportedly to demonstrate that based upon the use of a site at coordinates 42-50- 30 NL and 116-29-00 WL, unobstructed 70 dBu service would be provided to Kuna. Petitioner asserts that by employing 100 kW ERP, the use of a tower height of less than 500 feet at 1,981 meters AMSL at the referenced site, would fulfill the requirements of Section 73.315 of the Commission's Rules. While its configured facility is less than a full Class C equivalency, petitioner asserts that it would exceed that allowed by maximum Class C1 values. 4. FM Idaho reports that the transmitter site proposed for Kuna is technically unacceptable as it is located on land owned by the U.S. government and administered by the Bureau of Land Management ("BLM"). FM Idaho provided a letter from the Owyhee Area Realty Specialist of the Boise field office of the BLM, stating that the proposed referenced transmitter site is unavailable and unsuitable for an electronics site. According to the BLM, there is no electrical power to the site, and that the cost of providing it would be prohibitive. Additionally, BLM advises that as a prerequisite to consideration of an antenna site on land administered by the Department of the Interior, environmental studies and clearances must be requested before any decision could be rendered as to the suitability of establishing a communications site. 5. Further, FM Idaho disputes petitioner's findings by providing a terrain profile plot of the radial from the restricted site set forth in the Notice at coordinates 43-04-26 NL and 116-59-54 WL. FM Idaho's engineering demonstrates that due to terrain obstructions from the restricted site, line-of-sight coverage cannot be provided to Kuna. Moreover, FM Idaho's engineer reports that the Notice site is the closest location to Kuna from which the technical requirements of the Commission's rules can be met using the standard prediction method. Additionally, FM Idaho reports that neither the sources nor the methodology the petitioner utilized in generating its predicted coverage map was revealed, and no supporting data was supplied. FM Idaho urges denial of the proposal to allot Channel 247C to Kuna, Idaho, based upon the inadequacy of the petitioner's engineering study to demonstrate that there is an available site from which the technical requirements of the Commission's Rules could be met, in addition to the failure to take into account the BLM wilderness-area circumstances. 6. At the allotment stage the Commission assumes omnidirectional signals operating at maximum facilities for all classes of stations except Class C stations. A staff review of petitioner's predicted coverage map reveals that its analysis appears to be based on projected terrain effects on signal propagation rather than omnidirectional contours. Therefore, petitioner's study is not acceptable to demonstrate compliance with the requirements of Section 73.315 of the Commission's Rules. Moreover, had petitioner's predicted coverage map been acceptable, it failed to provide a frequency spectrum study to demonstrate that from its suggested coordinates 42-50-30 NL and 116-29-00 WL, compliance with the requirements of Section 73.207(b) could be met. On the basis of the foregoing, we find that it would not serve the public interest to allot Channel 247C to Kuna, Idaho. 7. In view of the above, IT IS ORDERED, That the petition of Mountain West Broadcasting proposing the allotment of Channel 247C to Kuna, Idaho (RM-9626), IS DENIED. 8. IT IS FURTHER ORDERED, That this proceeding IS TERMINATED. 9. For further information concerning the above, contact Nancy Joyner, Mass Media Bureau, (202) 418-2180. FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION John A. Karousos Chief, Allocations Branch Policy and Rules Division Mass Media Bureau