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 Federal  Communications  Commission  DA  02-  3090 
 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  (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,  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 
 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. 
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 Federal  Communications  Commission  DA  02-  3090 
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 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  Channel  (kW)  HAAT  (m)  Pop.  (thous.) 
 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  Channel  No. 
 Harrisburg,  Pennsylvania  4,  10,  *36 
 4.  IT  IS  FURTHER  ORDERED,  That  within  45  days  of  the  effective  date  of  this  Order,  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 
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