Federal Communications Commission Washington, D.C. 20554 DA 06-2447 Released: December 1, 2006 1800E1-KRH Reading Broadcasting, Inc., D.I.P. WTVE(TV) 1729 North 11th Street Reading, PA 19604 In Re: Request for Special Temporary Authority to Operate a Distributed Transmission System on Channel 25 in Reading, Pennsylvania (BSDTS-20060407ACP) Fac Id: 55305 Dear Licensee: This refers to your above-captioned application requesting special temporary authority (STA) to operate a digital television facility on Channel 25 in Reading, Pennsylvania in connection with station WTVE-DT. Specifically, you propose to construct a distributed transmission system (DTS), utilizing eight transmitter locations contained within WTVE-DT’s maximized construction permit contour, pursuant to the Commission’s interim policy permitting authorization of DTS operations on an interim basis pending a final decision in MB Docket No. 05-312.1 You state that the purpose of your proposal is to increase the DTV population served inside WTVE-DT’s authorized contour, while decreasing interference to neighboring facilities. In support of your request, you indicate that your objective was to design a system that would provide optimum service to the viewers in Reading and the surrounding area. You assert that this objective can be achieved most effectively through the use of DTS for WTVE-DT. You indicate that with the implementation of DTS, WTVE-DT will be able to increase the population served by 177,015 persons inside the station’s authorized contour. With regard to potential for interference from the proposed operation, you have examined the appropriate co-channel and adjacent channel assignments in Reading and the surrounding area. 1 See Second Periodic Review of the Commission’s Rules and Policies Affecting the Conversion to Digital Television, MB Docket No. 03-15, Report and Order, 19 FCC Rcd 18279, 18356-57, ¶¶ 177-78 (2004). See also Digital Television Distributed Transmission System Technologies, MB Docket No. 05-312, Clarification Order and Notice of Proposed Rulemaking, FCC 05-192 (rel. Nov. 4, 2005) (the “Clarification Order”). You state that no co-channel or adjacent channel NTSC, DTV or Class A facility would receive interference in excess of 0.1% as required by the Commission. After a thorough review of your technical specifications, we are persuaded that no interference to any protected service is likely to occur from the proposed operation. We therefore conclude that the public interest would be served by the grant of this request, in part because the information obtained from your operation will be valuable to the Commission in its evaluation of the future use and deployment of DTS technology. If interference problems do arise, however, we expect you to resolve them expeditiously and the Bureau reserves the right to require the termination of the operation without prior hearing. We further note that your proposed construction may involve a substantial financial undertaking for temporary facilities that may require significant modifications upon the Commission’s completion of the proceeding in MB Docket 05-312. Our approval herein should not be construed in any manner as a prejudgment of that proceeding or relieving you of compliance with any final rules that may be adopted by the Commission. With respect to radio frequency radiation (RFR), we expect compliance with Section 1.1307(b) of the Commission’s rules to be achieved. Accordingly, the request for special temporary authority to broadcast DTV signals utilizing a DTS network on Channel 25 in Reading, Pennsylvania, IS GRANTED subject to the following conditions and technical parameters: 1. The grant of this permit is subject to the condition that, with ample time before commencing operation, you make a good-faith effort to identify and notify health- care facilities (e.g., hospitals and nursing homes, see 47 CFR 15.242(a)(1)) within your service area that potentially could be affected by your DTV operations. Contact with state and/or local hospital associations and local governmental health- care-licensing authorities may prove helpful in this process. During this pre- broadcast period, you must provide all notified entities with relevant technical details of your operation, such as DTV channel, targeted on-air date, effective radiated power, antenna location, and antenna height. You are required to place in the station’s public inspection file documentation of the notifications and contacts made and you may not commence operations until good-faith efforts have been made to notify affected health-care facilities. During this pre-broadcast period and for up to twenty (20) days after commencing operations, should you become aware of any instances of medical devices malfunctioning or that such devices are likely to malfunction due to your DTV operations, you must cooperate with the affected health-care facility or facilities so that they are afforded a reasonable opportunity to resolve the interference problem. At such time as all provisions of this condition have been fulfilled, and either upon the expiration of twenty (20) days following commencement of operations or when all known interference problems have been resolved, whichever is later, this condition lapses. 2. The grant of this application is subject to the condition that upon the conclusion of the DTS rulemaking proceeding, MB Docket No. 05-312, the licensee shall make all necessary filings to bring this facility into compliance with all Commission rules and regulations. The licensee is also advised that, while the rulemaking proceeding is pending, all service beyond the authorized maximized service contour for this station shall be considered secondary in nature, shall not cause interference to any other service and shall not receive any protection from interference. 3. This authority expires six months from the date of this letter. If appropriate, a timely renewal request must be filed before the end of this period. 4. Hours of operation of this facility will be in accordance with Section 73.624(b) of the Commission’s rules. Technical Parameters: DTS1 Channel: 25 Antenna Coordinates: N. Latitude: 40-21-16 W. Longitude: 75-53-57 Antenna Type: Radio Frequency Systems, Directional Model No. DX32B-25-0.7 Maximum Effective Radiated Power (average): 0.76 kW Transmitter: Type Accepted. See Section 73.1660, 73.1665 and 73.1670 of the FCC Rules. Antenna Height Above Mean Sea Level: 365.7 meters HAAT: 225.4 meters Tower Registration Number: 1254286 DTS2 Channel: 25 Antenna Coordinates: N. Latitude: 40-37-13 W. Longitude: 75-17-37 Antenna Type: Radio Frequency Systems, Directional Model No. DX32H-25-0.5 Maximum Effective Radiated Power (average): 2.8 kW Transmitter: Type Accepted. See Section 73.1660, 73.1665 and 73.1670 of the FCC Rules. Antenna Height Above Mean Sea Level: 282.1 meters HAAT: 155.4 meters Tower Registration Number: n/a DTS3 Channel: 25 Antenna Coordinates: N. Latitude: 39-33-42 W. Longitude: 75-55-48 Antenna Type: Radio Frequency Systems, Directional Model No. DX32H-25-0.3 Maximum Effective Radiated Power (average): 0.11 kW Transmitter: Type Accepted. See Section 73.1660, 73.1665 and 73.1670 of the FCC Rules. Antenna Height Above Mean Sea Level: 115.8 meters HAAT: 86.6 meters Tower Registration Number: 1043512 DTS4 Channel: 25 Antenna Coordinates: N. Latitude: 39-53-44 W. Longitude: 76-14-23 Antenna Type: Radio Frequency Systems, Directional Model No. DX32H-25-0.5 Maximum Effective Radiated Power (average): 1 kW Transmitter: Type Accepted. See Section 73.1660, 73.1665 and 73.1670 of the FCC Rules. Antenna Height Above Mean Sea Level: 335.2 meters HAAT: 193.3 meters Tower Registration Number: 1226446 DTS5 Channel: 25 Antenna Coordinates: N. Latitude: 40-23-53 W. Longitude: 76-19-25 Antenna Type: Radio Frequency Systems, Directional Model No. DX32B-25-0.3 Maximum Effective Radiated Power (average): 1.15 kW Transmitter: Type Accepted. See Section 73.1660, 73.1665 and 73.1670 of the FCC Rules. Antenna Height Above Mean Sea Level: 234.6 meters HAAT: 63.4 meters Tower Registration Number: 1254403 DTS6 Channel: 25 Antenna Coordinates: N. Latitude: 40-23-06 W. Longitude: 74-52-58 Antenna Type: Radio Frequency Systems, Directional Model No. DX32H-25-0.4 Maximum Effective Radiated Power (average): 0.6 kW Transmitter: Type Accepted. See Section 73.1660, 73.1665 and 73.1670 of the FCC Rules. Antenna Height Above Mean Sea Level: 168.3 meters HAAT: 95.4 meters Tower Registration Number: n/a DTS7 Channel: 25 Antenna Coordinates: N. Latitude: 40-02-30 W. Longitude: 75-14-13 Antenna Type: Radio Frequency Systems, Directional Model No. PHP-40T Maximum Effective Radiated Power (average): 126 kW Transmitter: Type Accepted. See Section 73.1660, 73.1665 and 73.1670 of the FCC Rules. Antenna Height Above Mean Sea Level: 443.5 meters HAAT: 378.4 meters Tower Registration Number: 1231524 DTS8 Channel: 25 Antenna Coordinates: N. Latitude: 40-45-20 W. Longitude: 76-02-03 Antenna Type: Radio Frequency Systems, Directional Model No. DX32G-25-0.5 Maximum Effective Radiated Power (average): 4.25 kW Transmitter: Type Accepted. See Section 73.1660, 73.1665 and 73.1670 of the FCC Rules. Antenna Height Above Mean Sea Level: 487.8 meters HAAT: 138.1 meters Tower Registration Number: 1245581 Sincerely, Barbara A. Kreisman Chief, Video Division Media Bureau cc: John W. Bagwell