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 Federal  Communications  Commission  DA  02-  2075 
 Before  the  Federal  Communications  Commission 
 Washington,  D.  C.  20554 


 In  the  matter  of 
 Request  for  Extension  of  Time  to  Construct  Digital  Facilities 
 WWAY-  DT,  Wilmington,  North  Carolina 


 )  ) 
 )  ) 
 )  )  File  No.  BEPCDT-  20020301ADJ  ID  No.  12033 


 MEMORANDUM  OPINION  AND  ORDER 
 Adopted:  August  22,  2002  Released:  August  26,  2002 
 By  the  Chief,  Media  Bureau: 
 1.  The  Media  Bureau  (the  “Bureau”)  has  before  it  a  petition  filed  by  LibCo,  Inc.  (“  LibCo”)  seeking  reconsideration  of  the  Bureau’s  June  3,  2002,  letter  denying  its  request  for  an  extension  of  time  to 
 construct  the  digital  facilities  for  WWAY-  DT  and  admonishing  LibCo  for  failing  to  meet  the  May  1,  2002,  construction  deadline  for  DTV  facilities.  For  the  reasons  stated  below,  we  deny  the  petition. 


 2.  In  its  petition,  LibCo  argues  that  the  Bureau  erred  in  concluding  that  LibCo’s  showing  contained  no  reasonable  plan  or  projected  date  by  which  any  DTV  facility  might  be  constructed  or  placed 
 in  operation.  LibCo  contends  that  it  had  specific  objectives  and  plans  to  implement  its  DTV  conversion,  which  it  claims  to  have  outlined  and  supported  in  its  request  for  extension.  Review  of  its  petition  and 
 extension  request  casts  doubt,  however,  on  the  cogency  of  those  plans.  LibCo  admits  that  it  has  known  since  1999  that  its  current  tower  would  not  support  its  DTV  antenna  without  clearing  the  tower  of 
 transmitting  equipment  owned  and  operated  by  its  tenant.  Although  LibCo  does  not  give  a  specific  date  in  its  filings,  it  apparently  knew  that  its  original  proposal  to  build  a  new  “community  tower,”  which 
 would  carry  its  antenna  and  those  of  other  stations,  would  not  come  to  fruition  for  up  to  two  years.  In  its  petition,  LibCo  states  that  it  is  now  undertaking  a  multi-  station  solution  that  will  involve  reinforcing  its 
 existing  tower,  but  it  has  not  reached  agreement  with  at  least  one  of  the  potential  tenants.  Although  LibCo  does  include  a  “Construction  Report  and  Action  Plan”  in  its  petition,  elsewhere  in  its  petition  it  refers  to 
 its  timeline  as  a  “best  guess.”  Requests  for  extensions  of  time  to  construct  a  facility  cannot  be  grounded  in  guesswork,  but  must  be  supported  by  reasonable  projections  which  rely  on  known  facts.  Based  on  the 
 representations  in  LibCo’s  petition  and  its  extension  request,  therefore,  the  Bureau’s  original  conclusions  were  justified. 


 3.  ACCORDINGLY,  IT  IS  ORDERED,  THAT  the  petition  filed  by  LibCo,  Inc.  seeking  reconsideration  of  the  Bureau’s  June  3,  2002,  letter  denying  its  request  for  an  extension  of  time  to 
 construct  the  digital  facilities  for  WWAY-  DT  and  admonishing  LibCo  for  failing  to  meet  the  May  1,  2002,  construction  deadline  for  DTV  facilities  IS  DENIED. 


 FEDERAL  COMMUNICATIONS  COMMISSION 


 W.  Kenneth  Ferree  Chief,  Media  Bureau 
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