*Pages 1--2 from Microsoft Word - 25842.doc* Federal Communications Commission DA 03- 588 Before the Federal Communications Commission Washington, D. C. 20554 In the Matter of Amendment of Section 73. 202( b), Table of Allotments, FM Broadcast Stations. (Junction, Texas) ) ) ) ) ) ) MM Docket No. 01- 132 RM- 10149 REPORT AND ORDER (Proceeding Terminated) Adopted: March 12, 2003 Released: March 14, 2003 By the Assistant Chief, Audio Division: 1. The Audio Division has before it the Notice of Proposed Rule Making in this proceeding 1 proposing to allot Channel 297A to Junction, Texas. First Broadcasting Company, L. P., Next Media Licensing, Inc., Rawhide Radio, L. L. C., Capstar TX Limited Partnership, and Clear Channel Broadcasting Licenses, Inc. (“ Joint Parties”) filed Comments. Charles Crawford filed Comments and Reply Comments. In his Comments, Crawford expresses his continuing interest in filing an application for authority to construct and operate an FM station in Junction, utilizing Channel 297A, if that channel is allotted to Junction, Texas. For the reasons discussed below, we are granting the proposal to allot Channel 297A to Junction, Texas, and terminating this proceeding. 2. In a separate proceeding in MM Docket No. 00- 148, we issued a Notice of Proposed Rule Making proposing the allotment of Channel 233C3 to Quanah, Texas. 2 The comment date in that proceeding was October 10, 2000. The Joint Parties filed a timely Counterproposal in that proceeding. Included in that Counterproposal was a proposal to allot Channel 297A to Llano, Texas. In this proceeding, Charles Crawford filed his Petition for Rule Making proposing the allotment of Channel 297A at Junction on May 18, 2001. As the Joint Parties observe, that proposal is mutually exclusive with the pending Channel 297A proposal at Llano, Texas in MM Docket No. 00- 148. Given the foregoing mutual exclusivity, the Junction proposal would ordinarily have to be filed by the October 10, 2000, comment date in MM Docket No. 00- 148 in order to receive consideration. Charles Crawford did not file his proposal by that date. Accordingly, we would ordinarily dismiss the Junction proposal as untimely. See Section 1. 420( d) of the Commission’s Rules; 3 see also Pinewood, South Carolina. 4 Nevertheless, our engineering staff has found a transmitter site for Crawford’s proposed allotment of Channel 297A to Junction that would not be mutually exclusive with the Joint Parties’ proposal for Channel 297A in Llano 1 Junction, Texas, 16 FCC Rcd 12680 (MMB 2001). 2 Quanah, Texas, 15 FCC Rcd 15809 (MMB 2000). 3 At the time the Notice of Proposed Rule Making in this proceeding (MM Docket No. 01- 132) was issued, the staff was unaware of the mutual exclusivity between Crawford’s proposal in this proceeding and the Llano proposal for Channel 297A that was included in the Counterproposal in MM Docket No. 00- 148, because the Llano proposal had not yet been entered into our data base. 4 Pinewood, South Carolina, 5 FCC Rcd 7609 (1990). 1 Federal Communications Commission DA 03- 588 2 included in their Counterproposal in MM Docket No. 00- 148. In these circumstances, the public interest is better served by not requiring the refiling of this proposal merely to specify new coordinates. 5 We also note that our action allotting Channel 297A at a different site does not prejudice any party in MM Docket No. 00- 148 or MM Docket No. 01- 132 and that the filing of Crawford’s proposal was precipitated by the fact that we did not promptly enter the Joint Parties’ Counterproposal into our data base. Therefore, we allot Crawford’s proposal for Channel 297A at the site found by our engineering staff. 6 3. We believe that the public interest would be served by the allotment of Channel 297A at Junction, Texas, since it will provide a third local aural transmission service and a first competing local FM service to that community. Channel 297A can be allotted to Junction, Texas, consistent with the requirements of Sections 73.207( b)( 1) and 73.315( a) of the Commission’s Rules at coordinates 30- 27- 27 NL and 99- 46- 07 WL, with a site restriction of 3.5 kilometers (2. 2 miles) south of Junction. We have received Mexican concurrence in this allotment. 4. 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 April 28, 2003, the FM Table of Allotments, Section 73.202( b) of the Commission’s rules IS AMENDED for the community listed below, as follows: Community Channel Number Junction, Texas 297A 5. A filing window for Channel 297A, Junction, will not be opened at this time. Instead, the issue of opening this allotment for auction will be addressed by the Commission in a subsequent order. 6. IT IS FURTHER ORDERED, That this proceeding IS TERMINATED. 7. For further information concerning this proceeding, contact R. Barthen Gorman, Media Bureau, (202) 418- 2180. Questions related to the application filing process for Channel 297A at Junction, Texas, should be addressed to the Audio Division, Media Bureau, (202) 418- 2700. FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION John A. Karousos Assistant Chief, Audio Division Media Bureau 5 See Winslow, Camp Verde, Mayer and Sun City West, Arizona, 17 FCC Rcd 14688 (MB 2002). 6 See Star Development Group, Inc., 17 FCC Rcd 13127 (2002) (Commission will waive procedural rules to avoid harm arising from database error). 2