PUBLIC NOTICE
Federal Communications Commission
445 12
th
St., S.W.
Washington, D.C. 20554
News Media Information: 202-418-0500
Internet: www.fcc.gov
TTY: 888-835-5322
DA 17-442
           Released:  May 12, 2017
THE INCENTIVE AUCTION TASK FORCE AND MEDIA BUREAU ANNOUNCE
PROCEDURES FOR LOW POWER TELEVISION, TELEVISION TRANSLATOR AND 
REPLACEMENT TRANSLATOR STATIONS
DURING THE POST-INCENTIVE AUCTION TRANSITION
MB Docket No. 16-306
GN Docket No. 12-268
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Heading     Paragraph #
I. INTRODUCTION....................................................................................................................... 1
II. BACKGROUND......................................................................................................................... 3
III. DISPLACEMENT PUBLIC NOTICE........................................................................................ 6
A.  Channel Study ...................................................................................................................... 7
B.   Eligibility to File in Special Displacement Window ............................................................ 8
C.   Application Filing Procedures .............................................................................................. 9
D.   Limits on Modification......................................................................................................... 10
E.   Mutual Exclusivity and Priority for Displaced DRTs and DTDRT Applications ................ 14
F.    Construction Period, Extension of Time, and Tolling.......................................................... 17
G.   Silent Authority .................................................................................................................... 20
IV. DISPLACEMENT PROCEDURES............................................................................................ 23
A.   Stations on Channels 38-51 .................................................................................................. 23
B.   Stations on Channels 2-36 .................................................................................................... 29
V. CHANNEL SHARING ............................................................................................................... 30
VI. NEW DIGITAL-TO-DIGITAL REPLACEMENT TRANSLATORS ....................................... 32
A.   Eligibility.............................................................................................................................. 32
B.   DTDRT Application Filing Procedures ................................................................................ 34
C.   Processing Priority................................................................................................................ 35
VII. DATE FOR LPTV DTV TRANSITION – JULY 13, 2021....................................................... 36
VIII.LIFTING OF FREEZE ON FILING OF DISPLACEMENT AND DIGITAL COMPANION
        CHANNEL APPLICATIONS TO BE ANNOUNCED IN FUTURE PUBLIC NOTICE ........ 40
IX. CONTACTS............................................................................................................................... 43
APPENDIX A - INSTRUCTIONS FOR ACCESSING AND FILING ON LMS
I. INTRODUCTION
1. The Incentive Auction Task Force and Media Bureau (Bureau), in this Public Notice,
provide guidance for low power television (LPTV), television translator (TV translator) and analog-to-
digital replacement translator (DRT) stations (referred to collectively as “LPTV/translator stations”) 
regarding the post-auction transition period, which began on April 13, 2017, with the completion of the 
Federal Communications Commission        DA 17-442
2
broadcast television spectrum incentive auction (Auction 1000).
1
The purpose of this Public Notice is to 
summarize and clarify the rules and procedures governing the post-auction transition for 
LPTV/translator stations.
2. In the discussion below, we address: (1) the special filing window for operating 
LPTV/translator stations that are subject to displacement as a result of the incentive auction and repacking 
process, including the Bureau’s release of data on channel availability in advance of the window;
2
(2) the 
displacement process for LPTV/translator stations;
3
(3) LPTV and TV translator station channel sharing;
4
(4) the procedures to apply for new digital-to-digital replacement translator stations (DTDRTs);
5
(5) the 
final digital transition date for LPTV and TV translator stations;
6
and (6) the lifting of the freeze on the 
filing of displacement applications and applications for digital companion channels.
7
  The Appendix 
includes instructions for filing in the Commission’s Licensing and Management System (LMS).  
II. BACKGROUND
3. Auction 1000 was conducted pursuant to Title VI of the Middle Class Tax Relief and Job 
Creation Act of 2012 (Spectrum Act).
8
  The incentive auction incorporated a repacking process to 
reorganize the broadcast television bands so that the full power and Class A television stations that remain 
on the air after the transition occupy a smaller portion of the ultra-high frequency (UHF) band, thereby 
clearing contiguous spectrum to be repurposed as the 600 MHz Band.
9
  
4. On April 13, 2017, the Incentive Auction Task Force and the Media and Wireless 
Telecommunications Bureaus released the Closing and Channel Reassignment Public Notice, announcing
the completion of the incentive auction and providing the results of the incentive auction and the 
repacking process, including the new channel assignments for full power and Class A television stations
in the repacked TV band.
10
  The release of the Closing and Channel Reassignment Public Notice also
                                                     
1
See Incentive Auction Closing and Channel Reassignment Public Notice:  The Broadcast Television Incentive 
Auction Closes; Reverse Auction and Forward Auction Results Announced; Final Television Band Channel 
Assignments Announced; Post-Auction Deadlines Announced, Public Notice, DA 17-314 (rel. April 13, 2017) 
(Closing and Channel Reassignment Public Notice).  See also Expanding the Economic and Innovation 
Opportunities of Spectrum Through Incentive Auctions, Report and Order, 29 FCC Rcd 6567 (2014) (Incentive 
Auction R&O), aff’d, Nat’l Assoc. of Broadcasters, et al v. FCC, 789 F.3d 165 (D.C. Cir.  2015); Mako 
Communications, LLC v. FCC, 835 F.3d 146 (D.C. Cir. 2016) (Mako); Second Order on Reconsideration, 30 FCC 
Rcd 6746 (2015) (Second Reconsideration); Third Report and Order and First Order on Reconsideration, 31 FCC
Rcd 14927 (2015) (Third Report and Order); Expanding the Economic and Innovation Opportunities of Spectrum 
Through Incentive Auctions, Report and Order, 30 FCC Rcd 12025 (2015) (Commencing Operations R&O). The 
Commission or Media Bureau may amend or supplement the information contained in its public notices at any time, 
so licensees and other entitles also should continue to monitor public notices pertaining to the transition.
2
See Section III, paras. 6-21.
3
See Section IV, paras. 22-29.
4
See Section V, para. 30.
5
See Section VI, paras. 31-35.
6
See Section VII, paras. 36-39.
7
See Section VIII, paras. 40-42.
8
Middle Class Tax Relief and Job Creation Act of 2012, Pub. L. No. 112-96, §§ 6402 (codified at 47 U.S.C. 
§ 309(j)(8)(G)), 6403 (codified at 47 U.S.C. § 1452), 126 Stat. 156 (2012).  “The Act responds to the rapidly 
growing demand for mobile broadband services by granting the Federal Communications Commission authority to 
reallocate a portion of the licensed airwaves from television broadcasters to mobile broadband providers.” Mako, 
835 F.3d at 147.
9
Incentive Auction R&O, 29 FCC Rcd at 6617–80, paras. 109–257.
10
Closing and Channel Reassignment Public Notice, supra at n.1.
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effectuated the 600 MHz Band Plan
11
and triggered the 39-month post-auction transition period that will 
conclude on July 13, 2020 (transition period).
12
  Each full power and Class A station that will be moving 
to a new channel in the repacked TV band was assigned a transition phase and each phase was assigned a 
“testing period start date” and a “phase completion date.”
13
The phase completion date will also be listed 
in each station’s construction permit as its construction deadline.  Absent a waiver or grant of Special 
Temporary Authority (STA), the phase completion date will be the last day that a station may operate on 
its pre-auction channel.
14
5. LPTV/translator stations were not eligible to participate in the incentive auction and were not 
protected in the repacking process.
15
  Accordingly, some LPTV/translator stations will be displaced as a 
result of the incentive auction and the repacking process.  The Commission has adopted measures to help 
mitigate the impact of this displacement.  For instance, displaced stations will have the opportunity to file 
a displacement application to move to another channel in the repacked TV band or to seek to channel 
share.
16
The Commission also directed the Bureau to utilize software used in the incentive auction to help 
identify potential channel assignments for eligible LPTV and TV translator stations, and to issue a public 
notice providing such information not less than 60 days in advance of the filing window for 
LPTV/translator station displacement applications.
17
  In addition, the Commission allowed LPTV and TV 
translator stations to remain on their existing channels in the 600 MHz Band until they are notified of 
likely interference to a new 600 MHz Band licensee that is ready to commence operations or conduct its 
first field application (FFA) testing.
18
  This will enable stations to continue to operate on their current 
channels as long as possible and provide additional time to complete construction of their displacement
facilities.
19
  Further, the Commission has extended the deadline for analog LPTV and TV translator 
stations to complete their transition to digital until July 13, 2021.
20
                                                     
11
  See Section IV.
12
47 CFR § 27.4; see Incentive Auction R&O, 29 FCC Rcd at 6796, para. 559 and 6799-80, para. 568.
13
See Incentive Auction Task Force and Media Bureau Adopt Post-Incentive Auction Transition Scheduling Plan, 
Public Notice, 32 FCC Rcd 890 (MB 2017) (Transition Scheduling Adoption Public Notice); Closing and Channel 
Reassignment Public Notice at paras. 61-65.
14
Id.; 47 CFR § 73.3700(b)(4)(iii).  
15
See Incentive Auction R&O, 29 FCC Rcd at 6672-73, para. 237 and 6716-17, para. 352.
16
See Incentive Auction R&O, 29 FCC Fcd at 6835-36, para. 659; see also Amendment of Parts 73 and 74 of the 
Commission’s Rules to Establish Rules for Digital Low Power Television and Television Translator Stations,MB 
Docket No. 03-185, Third Report and Order and Fourth Notice of Proposed Rulemaking, 30 FCC Rcd 14927, 14946 
(2015) (LPTV DTV Third R&O).  The Commission also allowed LPTV/translator stations with mutually exclusive 
applications (i.e., those that cannot be granted without causing interference to each other) to explore engineering 
solutions or agree on a settlement to resolve the mutual exclusivity, rather than being resolved through an auction.  
Incentive Auction R&O, 29 FCC Rcd at 6836-37, para. 661.
17
See LPTV DTV Third R&O, 30 FCC Rcd at 14946, para 41.
18
See Incentive Auction R&O, 29 FCC Rcd at 6841-2, paras. 668-71; Commencing Operations R&O, supra at n.1. 
See Incentive Auction R&O, 29 FCC Rcd at 6841-42, paras. 668-71; id. at 6840 n.1863 (“To the extent that 600 
MHz Band licensees are commencing operations in areas of their geographic licenses where harmful interference 
from LPTV or TV translator stations would not be likely, these stations are not required to cease operations.”); see 
also Commencing Operations R&O, supra at n.1 (defining the term “commence operations” for purposes of the 
displacement notification process).  LPTV/translator stations will be required to cease operations on the frequencies 
in the 600 MHz guard band and duplex gap no later than the end of the post-auction transition period.  See Incentive 
Auction R&O, 29 FCC Rcd at 6841, para. 672.
19
See Incentive Auction R&O, 29 FCC Rcd at 6840, para. 670.
20
See Section VII.
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III. DISPLACEMENT PUBLIC NOTICE
6. As the Commission directed, the Media Bureau will announce a limited window (Special 
Displacement Window) for LPTV/translator stations subject to displacement as a result of the incentive 
auction and repacking process to submit displacement applications.
21
  The Special Displacement Window 
will be announced after full power and Class A television stations reassigned to new channels in the 
repacking process have had an opportunity to apply for their preferred facilities.
22
  This will ensure a 
stable database for eligible LPTV/translator stations to identify and apply for available channels.  We 
anticipate the exact dates for the Special Displacement Window will be announced by public notice 
(Displacement Public Notice) approximately seven to eight months after release of the Closing and 
Channel Reassignment Public Notice on April 13, 2017.
23
  The Displacement Public Notice will be 
released not less than 60 days prior to the opening of the Special Displacement Window.  The Special 
Displacement Window will remain open for 30 days.
24
  
A. Channel Study
7. The Displacement Public Notice will provide channel availability data to assist eligible 
LPTV/TV translator stations in identifying potential new channels in the repacked TV bands, consistent 
with the Commission’s direction in the LPTV DTV Third R&O.
25
  Specifically, the data will identify 
locations and channels where LPTV/translator stations cannot propose displacement facilities because of 
the presence of other non-displaced LPTV/translator stations, full power and Class A television stations
or land mobile operations.
26
  The data will be based on use of the incentive auction software nationwide 
and the full power and Class A television station technical parameters in the Closing and Channel 
Reassignment Public Notice, as well as any full power and Class A television modifications proposed in 
the two alternate channel/expanded facilities filing windows.
27
The data will be provided on the same 2x2 
kilometer basis as utilized in “TVStudy,” the repacking software used in connection with the 
                                                     
21
Incentive Auction R&O, 29 FCC Rcd at 6835-36, para. 659.
22
See Incentive Auction Task Force and Media Bureau Announce Procedures for the Post-Incentive Auction 
Broadcast Transition, Public Notice, 32 FCC Rcd 858, 863-64, para. 16 (MB 2017) (Transition Procedures Public 
Notice); Incentive Auction R&O, 29 FCC Rcd at 6793-94, paras. 553-54 (providing for two filing windows for 
stations reassigned to new channels in the repacking process to propose alternate channels and expanded facilities).
23
This approximate time frame was calculated based on the release date of the Closing and Channel Reassignment 
Public Notice on April 13, 2017, the completion of the 90-day initial filing window, and the completion of the two 
30-day alternate channels/expanded facilities windows.  The Displacement Public Notice will be released after all of 
these transition events.
24
LPTV DTV Third R&O, 30 FCC Rcd at 14946, para. 41.
25
Id. at 14946, para. 40.  The Commission concluded that “use of the repacking and optimization software for this 
purpose will expedite and ease the post-auction transition and help many low power stations find new channel 
homes.”  Id.  Providing this data after the filing windows for full power and Class A stations that are reassigned to 
new channels in the repacking process will ensure a stable database for displaced stations.  With the release of the 
Closing and Channel Reassignment Public Notice, however, LPTV/translator stations can independently start 
analyzing potential displacement and alternative channel availability.      
26
See 47 CFR § 74.709.
27
This data will reflect the baseline and subsequently modified full power and Class A television coverage of
stations up to the point in time that it is generated, after the first two full power and Class A alternate 
channel/expanded facilities filing windows.  It will also reflect coverage of non-displaced LPTV/translator stations.  
The data will not, however, include coverage of any displaced LPTV/translator stations.  We further note that the 
data will not and cannot show interference predictions to full power, Class A, or other LPTV/translator stations, as 
such predictions would depend on the specific technical parameters of each LPTV/translator station.  Technical 
showings will be required to demonstrate that LPTV/translator station displacement applications are predicted to 
cause less than the amount of interference prescribed in our rules to other TV stations, including other 
LPTV/translator stations.
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5
incentive auction.
28
  While LPTV/translator stations applying for displacement channels will still be 
required to show that their proposals would not cause impermissible interference to other full power, 
Class A and LPTV/translator stations,
29
identification of the locations and channels where eligible 
LPTV/translator stations cannot propose to operate will facilitate the LPTV/translator displacement 
application process by providing critical information on where applicants can do so.
30
  Stations are 
encouraged to use this information to help identify available channels and to use TVStudy to verify that 
the displacement facilities they propose will satisfy station needs while not creating harmful interference.  
Once a channel is identified, stations are encouraged to file for it during the Special Displacement 
Window.  
B. Eligibility to File in Special Displacement Window
8. To be eligible to file in the Special Displacement Window, an LPTV/translator station 
must be both “operating” and “displaced.”
31
  “Operating” LPTV/translator stations are those that had
licensed their authorized construction permit facilities or had an application for a license to cover on file 
with the Commission on April 13, 2017 - the release date of the Closing and Channel Reassignment 
Public Notice.
32
  In order to be “displaced” for purposes of filing in the Special Displacement Window, an 
LPTV/translator station must: (1) be subject to displacement by a full power or Class A television station
on the repacked television band (channels 2-36) as a result of the incentive auction and repacking 
process,
33
(2) be licensed on frequencies repurposed for new, flexible use by a 600 MHz Band wireless 
licensee, or (3) be licensed on frequencies that will serve as part of the 600 MHz Band guard bands
(which includes the duplex gap).
34
C. Application Filing Procedures
9. Eligible stations may file a displacement application on FCC Form 2100 – Schedule C by 
following the instructions in Appendix A. Displacement applications will be treated as a “minor 
change.”
35
  There is no fee for filing a displacement application.
                                                     
28
The latest version of the Commission’s TVStudy software is available at https://www.fcc.gov/oet/tvstudy. The 
version of TVStudy used during the incentive auction, Version 1.3.2 (Patched), remains available on the 
Commission’s LEARN website at http://data.fcc.gov/download/incentive-auctions/OET-69/.
29
See 47 CFR §§ 74.793(e)-(h) that define the levels of protection to the authorized facilities of full power, Class A, 
LPTV and TV translator stations. 
30
LPTV/translator stations have more flexibility to propose facilities than full power or Class A stations due to their 
ability to move transmitter site locations over large distances (up to 30 miles) and the lack of a requirement to 
replicate coverage areas.  See Section III. D.  In addition, although they may not cause harmful interference to other 
TV stations, LPTV/translator stations may choose to accept interference from other stations.  Accordingly, the 
specific channels available to LPTV/translator stations during the Special Displacement Window, and the predicted 
interference caused by the proposed facilities, depends on the choices of individual applicants and cannot be known 
in advance of the Window.  
31
See 47 CFR § 73.3700(g)(1); Incentive Auction R&O, 29 FCC Rcd at 6836, para. 659.
32
See Media Bureau Announces Date By Which LPTV and TV Translator Stations Must Be “Operating” In Order 
To Participate In Post-Incentive Auction Special Displacement Window, Public Notice, 31 FCC Rcd 5383 (MB 
2016) (Operating Public Notice).
33
With respect to the TV bands, the Commission’s rules define displacement as an analog LPTV or TV translator 
station being “predicted to cause or receive interference to or from an authorized TV broadcast station,” or a “digital 
low power television or television translator station … causing or receiving interference or [being] predicted to 
cause or receive interference to or from an authorized TV broadcast station, DTV station or allotment or other 
protected station or service . . . .”  See 47 CFR § 73.3572(a)(4) (analog) and 74.787(a)(4) (digital).
34
See 47 CFR § 73.3700(g)(1); Incentive Auction R&O, 29 FCC Rcd at 6836, para. 659.
35
See 47 CFR §§ 73.3572(a)(4), 74.787(a)(4).
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6
D. Limits on Modification
10. During the Special Displacement Window, all of the requirements of the current 
displacement rules will continue to apply (e.g., required interference showing and limits on transmitter 
moves) except for the requirement that displacement applications be submitted only after the primary 
station obtains a construction permit or license.
36
  Eligible digital stations may propose a change in 
transmitter site of not more than 48 kilometers from the reference coordinates of the existing station’s 
community of license.
37
  Eligible analog stations may propose a change in antenna location of not more 
than 16.1 kilometers.
38
11. In addition, eligible stations may apply only for a channel that remains allocated to 
broadcast television service (i.e., channels 2-36),
39
and not for channels that have been repurposed for the 
new, flexible 600 MHz Band wireless services or reserved for the 600 MHz guard band and duplex gap 
(i.e., former television channels 38-51).
40
  In their displacement applications, stations will be required to 
demonstrate that they would not cause interference to the predicted service of:  (1) all other primary users 
in the repacked TV Band or in adjacent bands including land mobile operations,
41
(2) licenses and valid 
construction permits for LPTV/translator stations; (3) licenses and valid construction permits for full 
power and Class A stations that were not reassigned; (4) the post-auction channels of reassigned full 
power and Class A stations as reflected in the Closing and Reassignment Public Notice, and (5) the 
alternative channels and expanded facilities proposed during the two filing windows by reassigned full 
power and Class A stations.
42
12. So that as many potential channels as possible are available for operating 
LPTV/translator stations that are subject to displacement, we will permit stations to file displacement 
applications proposing pre-auction channels in the repacked television band (channels 2-36) that full 
power and Class A stations will relinquish  as a result of the incentive auction and repacking process.  
This includes channels being voluntarily relinquished by relinquishment stations, channel sharee stations, 
and band changing stations as well as the pre-auction channels of stations assigned to a new channel as a 
result of the incentive auction and repacking process.  Ordinarily, such applications would be prohibited 
by the contingent application rule until such channels are actually vacated.
43
  We expect to look 
                                                     
36
Incentive Auction R&O, 29 FCC Rcd at 6835 n.1833; see 47 CFR §§ 73.3572(a)(4) and 74.787(a)(4).
37
See 47 CFR §§ 76.53 (reference points list) and 74.787(a)(4) (digital displacement).
38
See 47 CFR § 73.3572(a)(4)(i) (analog displacement).
39
  Although channel 37 is one of the “television channels” identified in the Commission’s rules, it is “reserved 
exclusively” for the radio astronomy service (RAS) as well as for the wireless medical telemetry service (WMTS).  
See 47 CFR § 73.603(a), (c).
40
We note that the Commission in 2015 sought comment on whether to preserve a vacant television channel for use 
by unlicensed white space devices and wireless microphones in all areas of the country. See In the Matter of 
Amendment of Parts 15, 73 and 74 of the Commission’s Rules to Provide for the Preservation of One Vacant 
Channel in the UHF Television Band For Use By White Space Devices and Wireless Microphones, MB Docket No. 
15-146, Notice of Proposed Rulemaking, 30 FCC Rcd 6711 (2015).
41
47 CFR § 74.709.
42
See 47 CFR § 73.3700(g)(2); Incentive Auction R&O, 29 FCC Rcd at 6836 n.1836.  If an application filed during 
either of the two alternate channel/expanded facilities filing windows is granted and supersedes the full power or 
Class A station’s facility as listed in the Closing and Channel Reassignment Public Notice, then an LPTV/translator 
station filing an application in the Special Displacement Window need only demonstrate that it will not cause 
interference to the facility authorized in the granted window application.  
43
See 47 CFR § 73.3517.; Savannah College of Art and Design, Memorandum Opinion and Order, 18 FCC Rcd 
26345, 26350 (2003) (“The reason for the rule against contingent applications is that it avoids burdening the 
Commission’s resources with applications that cannot be processed until the applicable contingencies are resolved, 
which may never occur.”) (citing Contingent Applications in the Broadcast Services, Report and Order, 22 RR 299 
(continued….)
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7
favorably, however, upon requests to waive the contingent application rule filed by operating 
LPTV/translator stations that are subject to displacement if the station can demonstrate that the requested 
channel is necessary to allow the station to continue to serve its current viewers.  In addition, in order to 
comply with Section 73.3700(g)(2), the station must agree to a condition that it will not begin 
transmitting on the requested channel prior to discontinuation of operation by the full power or Class A 
station that is licensed to use that channel.
44
If the conditional grant requires an LPTV/translator station to 
be silent for a consecutive 12-month period prior to discontinuation of operation by the full power or 
Class A station, we will consider a request for extension or reinstatement pursuant to Section 312(g) of 
the Act and a request for waiver of the applicable Commission rule.
45
  
13. Some LPTV/translator stations on channels in the repacked television band (channels 2-
36) that would otherwise qualify as displaced stations may be able to avoid displacement by making 
minor changes to their existing facilities that bring those facilities into compliance with the interference 
rules.  For example, an LPTV/translator station that will cause interference to a full power or Class A 
television station post-repack may make a minor change in power, antenna height or location that would 
eliminate such interference and allow the LPTV/translator station to continue broadcasting on its channel.  
LPTV/translator stations are encouraged to file such minor change applications as soon as possible.  
To create a stable database for stations filing in the Special Displacement Window, approximately 30 
days before the release of the Displacement Public Notice (which itself will be released no later than 60 
days before the Special Displacement Window opens), we will issue a public notice freezing the filing of 
minor change applications by LPTV/translator stations.  The freeze will be lifted upon the issuance of a 
later public notice after completion of the Special Displacement Window.  
E. Mutual Exclusivity and Priority for Displaced DRTs and DTDRT Applications
14. All displacement applications submitted during the window will be considered filed on 
the last day of the window and will be processed in accordance with the existing rules.
46
  Consistent with 
the Commission having found that doing so would serve the public interest, applicants will be given an 
opportunity to resolve their mutual exclusivity through settlement or engineering amendment that may be 
submitted during a settlement window to be announced by the Media Bureau by separate public notice.
47
15. Should submitted applications remain mutually exclusive after the close of the settlement 
window, any application filed by a displaced analog-to-digital replacement translator (DRT) and any 
application for a new digital-to-digital replacement translator (DTDRT) will have priority over any 
application by a displaced LPTV and TV translator station.
48
  DRT displacement applications and 
(Continued from previous page)                                                            
(1961); Amendment of Sections 1.517 and 1.520 of the Commission's Rules, Report and Order, 61 F.C.C. 2d 238 
(1976)), affirmed sub nom. Savannah College of Art and Design v. FCC, 115 Fed. Appx. 444 (D.C. Cir. 2004) 
(unpublished).  
44
See 47 CFR 73.3700(g)(2) (requiring a displaced LPTV/translator station to demonstrate that its proposed 
operations on the requested channel “would not cause interference to the predicted service of broadcast television 
stations on . . . pre-auction channels”).   Displaced stations that do not seek to operate on a pre-auction channel 
relinquished by a full power or Class A station and otherwise comply with our rules can begin operating at any time 
following the grant of the construction permit for their displacement facilities.  See Transition Scheduling Adoption 
Public Notice, 32 FCC Rcd at 925-26, para. 72.
45
See infra Section III. G.
46
Incentive Auction R&O, 29 FCC Rcd at 6836 n.1837 citing 47 CFR §§ 73.3572(a)(4) and 74.787(a)(4).
47
47 CFR § 73.3700(g)(3); Incentive Auction R&O, 29 FCC Rcd at 6836-37, para. 661.  The Communications Act 
provides that the Commission shall use engineering solutions, negotiation, threshold qualifications, and other means 
to avoid mutual exclusivity where the Commission determines that doing so would serve the public interest.  See 47 
U.S.C. § 309(j)(6)(E).
48
47 CFR § 73.3700(g)(3); 47 CFR § 74.787(a)(5)(iii); Incentive Auction R&O, 29 FCC Rcd at 6837, para. 661.
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8
DTDRT applications have co-equal processing priority.
49
  Unless mutually exclusive with a co-equal 
application, a DRT displacement application or DTDRT application will be processed and, if granted, any 
pending LPTV and TV translator displacement application that is mutually exclusive with the granted 
application will be dismissed.
50
    
16. If two or more DRT and DTDRT applications remain mutually exclusive with one 
another after the close of the settlement window, the applications will be subject to the Commission’s 
competitive bidding rules.
51
  Likewise, if two or more LPTV or TV translator applications are not subject 
to a priority application by a displaced DRT or for a new DTDRT and remain mutually exclusive after the 
close of the settlement window, the applications will be subject to the Commission’s competitive bidding 
rules.
52
F. Construction Period, Extension of Time, and Tolling
17. Displaced LPTV/translator stations may be analog or digital and different construction
periods apply to each type.  A displaced LPTV/translator station operating in digital will have three years 
to construct its displacement facility.
53
  A displaced LPTV/translator station operating in analog is not
subject to the three-year construction period.  Rather, displaced analog stations are subject to the digital 
transition deadline of July 13, 2021 adopted in the LPTV DTV Third Report and Order.
54
  No later than 
this date, the displaced analog station must begin operating a digital facility or go silent.
55
  Upon 
completion of construction and initiation of service on their new channel, stations are required to submit 
an application for license by electronically filing FCC Form 2100 – Schedule F on LMS within 10 days,
56
following the instructions in Appendix A.
18. Until March 13, 2021, any displaced LPTV/translator station (either analog or digital) 
that is unable to complete construction of its displacement facility by its deadline may seek an extension 
of time to construct of up to 180 days.
57
  Stations anticipating the need for an extension must submit an 
extension application electronically via LMS on FCC Form 2100 – Schedule 337 following the 
instructions in Appendix A.  An application for extension of time to construct must include an exhibit 
demonstrating that failure to meet the construction deadline is due to circumstances that are either 
                                                     
49
See 47 CFR § 74.787(a)(5)(iii); LPTV DTV Third R&O, 30 FCC Rcd at 14960, para. 71 (“All applications for new 
DTDRTs and displacement applications for existing DRTs filed during the post-auction displacement window will 
be considered filed on the last day of the window, will have priority over all other displacement applications filed 
during the window by LPTV and TV translator stations, and will be considered co-equal if mutually exclusive.”).
50
47 CFR § 73.3700(g)(3); 47 CFR § 74.787(a)(5)(iii); Incentive Auction R&O, 29 FCC Rcd at 6837, para. 661.
51
Consistent with Section 309(j) of the Communications Act, our rules require resolution of mutual exclusivity 
through competitive bidding. See 47 C.F.R. § 73.5000, et seq.
52
Id.
53
See 47 CFR § 73.3598(b); LPTV DTV Third R&O, 30 FCC Rcd at 14931 n.17.
54
See 47 CFR § 74.731(m); LPTV DTV Third R&O, 30 FCC Rcd at 14932-33, para. 9.  In that decision, the 
Commission extended the LPTV/translator station digital transition date until 12 months following the completion 
of the 39-month post-incentive auction transition period (or 51 months from the completion of the incentive auction 
and the release of the Closing and Channel Reassignment Public Notice).  Given the April 13, 2017 release date of 
the Closing and Channel Reassignment Public Notice, the new LPTV/translator station digital transition date is July
13, 2021.
55
If a displaced analog LPTV/translator station is granted a construction permit for an analog displacement facility, 
it must nonetheless cease transmitting in analog no later than the new digital transition date – July 13, 2021.  Analog 
stations transitioning to digital must provide notification to viewers of their planned transition.  See infra Section 
VII.   
56
See 47 CFR § 73.1620(a)(1).
57
See 47 CFR § 74.788(c).
Federal Communications Commission        DA 17-442
9
unforeseeable or beyond the licensee’s control and that the licensee has taken all reasonable steps to 
resolve the problem expeditiously.
58
  Such circumstances include, but are not limited to: (1) delays in 
obtaining zoning or other approvals, or similar constraints; (2) inability to obtain equipment; or (3) 
financial hardship.
59
  The grant of an extension of time to complete construction on a new channel will in 
no way extend the deadline by which a station must terminate operations on its displaced channel.
19. After March 13, 2021, additional time to construct may be sought only pursuant to the 
Commission’s “tolling” rule.
60
  The tolling rule provides that a construction permit deadline may be tolled 
only for specific circumstances not under the licensee’s control, such as acts of God or delays due to 
administrative or judicial review.
61
  Stations must electronically file tolling requests via LMS, in 
accordance with the instructions in Appendix A.  Stations may also seek a waiver of the tolling rule to 
receive additional time to construct in the case where “rare or exceptional circumstances” prevent 
construction, following the instructions for requesting tolling in Appendix A.
62
  With respect to tolling 
waivers, we expect to look favorably upon requests where a displaced station can demonstrate that it is 
unable to construct due to circumstances resulting directly from the post-auction transition, such as the 
inability to procure necessary resources because resources are unavailable due to the full-power and Class 
A post-auction transition.   
G. Silent Authority
20. If a station must go silent on its licensed channel prior to completing construction on its 
displacement channel, it may file a request for silent authority.  We remind stations that a station may 
suspend operations for a period of not more than 30 days absent specific authority from the 
Commission.
63
  Stations that remain silent for more than 10 days must notify the Commission not later 
than the tenth day of their suspended operations by filing a Suspension of Operations Notification via 
LMS as outlined in Appendix A.
64
  Stations that need to remain silent for more than 30 days must file a 
Silent STA via LMS as outlined in Appendix A.  There is no fee for this filing.
21. We also remind stations that the license of any station that remains silent for any 
consecutive 12-month period expires automatically at the end of that period, by operation of law, except 
that the Commission may extend or reinstate such station license if the holder of the license prevails in an 
administrative or judicial appeal, the applicable law changes, or for any other reason to promote equity 
and fairness.
65
                                                     
58
Id.
59
Id.
60
See LPTV DTV Third R&O, 30 FCC Rcd at 14934, para. 13.
61
See 47 CFR § 73.3598(b).  We note that the Section 73.3598(b) tolling standard does not provide relief for 
financial hardship, except that paragraph (b)(2) would toll the construction deadline for a station that could not build 
because of a pending bankruptcy court action.  See Implementation of the DTV Delay Act, MB Docket No. 09-17, 
Third Report and Order and Order on Reconsideration, 24 FCC Rcd 3399, 3429 n.156 (2009).
62
See 1998 Regulatory Review - Streamlining of Mass Media Applications, Rules and Processes, Memorandum 
Opinion and Order, 14 FCC Rcd 17525, 17536, para. 42 (1999).
63
See 47 CFR §§ 73.1740(a)(4) and 74.763(b).
64
Id.
65
See 47 U.S.C. § 312(g).  The Commission’s rules also provide that the “license of . . . [a]  TV translator or TV 
broadcast booster, or low power TV station will expire as a matter of law upon failure to transmit broadcast signals 
for any consecutive 12-month period notwithstanding any provision, term, or condition of the license to the 
contrary.”  47 CFR § 74.15(f).  See 47 CFR § 74.763(c).  See also 47 CFR §§ 73.1020(c), 73.1615(c)(2), 
73.1635(a)(4), 73.1740(c), 73.1750.
Federal Communications Commission        DA 17-442
10
IV. DISPLACEMENT PROCEDURES
22. Following the initiation of service by a repacked full power or Class A television station 
or receipt of notice of likely interference to a new 600 MHz Band wireless licensee, LPTV/translator 
stations must immediately eliminate the likelihood of interference or discontinue operations.
66
  In 
addition, LPTV and TV translator stations must cease operations on the 600 MHz guard band and duplex 
gap no later than the end of the transition period (July 13, 2020).
67
  In this section, we outline the 
displacement procedures for LPTV/translator stations.
A. Stations on Channels 38-51  
23. The repurposed spectrum associated with the 600 MHz Band Plan affects LPTV/TV 
translator stations operating on television channels 38-51 (614-698 MHz).  The 600 MHz Band Plan is 
indicated in the table below.  The 600 MHz Band Plan is comprised of an uplink band (663-698 MHz) 
and a downlink band (617-652 MHz) for the 600 MHz Band wireless service (the 600 MHz Band), a 
duplex gap (652-663 MHz) between these bands (the 600 MHz duplex gap), and a guard band (614-617 
MHz) between the downlink band and channel 37 (the 600 MHz guard band).
68
  The various television
channels that correspond to the 600 MHz Band wireless service (blocks A-G in the 617-652 MHz / 663-
698 MHz band), the 600 MHz guard band, and the 600 MHz duplex gap are illustrated below.
Figure 1: 600 MHz Band Plan
69
24. In the Incentive Auction R&O, the Commission established a process under which 
LPTV/translator stations may continue operating on channels that were reallocated for use by 600 MHz 
Band wireless licensees unless the stations are notified in advance by a 600 MHz Band wireless licensee 
of likely interference with its operations in areas where it intends to commence operations.
70
  In addition, 
the Commission required that LPTV/TV translator stations must cease operations on the 600 MHz guard 
band and the duplex gap no later than the end of the transition period.
71
                                                     
66
See Incentive Auction R&O, 29 FCC Rcd at 6839-41, paras. 668-71; see also 47 CFR §§ 74.704(b) and 
73.3700(g)(4).
67
Incentive Auction R&O, 29 FCC Rcd at 6841, para. 672.
68
Id. at 7021-22, paras. 128-29.
69
The lettered squares in the chart represent the paired wireless blocks that will be licensed, while the sequentially
numbered squares (35 through 51) represent television (TV) channels. The rectangles labeled 3 and 11 are the guard 
band and duplex gap, with the numbers representing their respective sizes in megahertz.  See Closing and Channel
Reassignment Public Notice at 8, para. 15. 
70
See 47 CFR § 73.3700(g)(4); Incentive Auction R&O, 29 FCC Rcd at 6839-40, paras. 668-70. The wireless 
licensee must determine the likelihood of interference by applying the Commission’s interservice interference 
(ISIX) methodology.  See id. at n.1862; see Second Report and Order, 30 FCC Rcd at 55221, Appx. A paras. 8-14 
(2014). In the subsequently released Commencing Operations R&O, the Commission defined “commencing 
operations” and also provided for displacement on notice of likely interference with a 600 MHz Band licensee’s  
first field application (FFA) testing.  See Commencing Operations R&O, 30 FCC Rcd at 12028, para. 7. Appx. A 
paras. 8-14 (2014).
71
Incentive Auction R&O, 29 FCC Rcd at 6841, para. 672.
Federal Communications Commission        DA 17-442
11
25. Continued Operation Permitted in the 600 MHz Band for Wireless Services Until 
Wireless Licensees Commence Operations or Conduct FFA Testing.  Subject to the advance notification 
requirements below, LPTV/translator stations on channels that overlap with the 600 MHz Band (617-652 
MHz / 663-698 MHz) may continue operating until a 600 MHz Band wireless licensee commences 
operations (as defined below) or conducts FFA testing in an area where a station operates.
72
  As 
illustrated above, the 600 MHz Band for wireless services overlaps with frequencies associated with 
television channels 38-51, except channel 45.
73
  The obligation to cease operations or eliminate the 
likelihood of harmful interference will apply even if the LPTV/translator station has yet to receive a 
displacement construction permit.
74
  To the extent that a 600 MHz wireless licensee commences 
operations or conducts FFA testing in an area of its geographic license where harmful interference from 
LPTV/translator stations would not be likely, these stations may continue to operate.
75
26. As discussed in the Commencing Operations R&O, “commencing operations” is defined 
as the time when a 600 MHz Band wireless licensee conducts site commissioning tests.
76
  In this context, 
“site commissioning tests” include site activation and commissioning tests using permanent base station 
equipment, antennas and/or tower locations as part of wireless licensee’s site and system optimization in 
the area of its planned commercial service infrastructure deployment.
77
  The Commission provided for a 
limited exception to permit 600 MHz Band wireless licensees to undertake FFA testing (which occurs 
prior to site commissioning tests) on their licensed 600 MHz Band frequencies in limited areas, free from 
potential interference from secondary and unlicensed users, because such testing will speed deployment 
of the 600 MHz Band.
78
27. The 600 MHz wireless licensee must provide notice to the LPTV/translator station of its 
intent to commence operations and the likelihood of receiving harmful interference from the station in 
the form of a letter, by certified mail, return receipt requested.
79
  The notice must indicate the date that 
the 600 MHz Band licensee intends to commence operations or conduct FFA testing, and must be 
delivered to the LPTV/translator station not less than 120 days in advance of that date.
80
28. Operations in the 600 MHz Guard Band and Duplex Gap.  LPTV/TV translator stations 
must cease operations on the 600 MHz guard band (614-617 MHz) and the 600 MHz duplex gap (652-
663 MHz) no later the end of the transition period (July 13, 2020).
81
  The 600 MHz guard band at 614-
617 MHz band overlaps with a portion of television channel 38, and the 600 MHz duplex gap at 652-663 
MHz overlaps with all of television channel 45 and portions of channels 44 and 46. LPTV/TV translator 
stations may need to cease operations on these channels earlier than the end of the transition period to 
the extent that the station operations on specific frequencies associated with these channels are likely to 
cause harmful interference to 600 MHz Band wireless licensees that commence operations or conduct 
FFA testing, subject to the advance notification requirements summarized above. 
                                                     
72
Id. at 6840, para. 670.
73
More specifically, the 600 MHz Band corresponds with all of channels 39-43 and 47-51, and portions of channels 
38, 44, and 46.
74
Incentive Auction R&O, 29 FCC Rcd at 6840, para. 669.  
75
Id. at 6840 n.1863.
76
See Commencing Operations R&O, 30 FCC Rcd at 12028, para. 7.
77
Id.
78
Id. at 12034-35, paras. 18 and 20. 
79
47 CFR § 73.3700(g)(4); see Incentive Auction R&O, 29 FCC Rcd at 6840, para. 669.
80
Incentive Auction R&O, 29 FCC Rcd at 6840, para. 669.
81
Id. at 6841, para. 672.
Federal Communications Commission        DA 17-442
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B. Stations on Channels 2-36
29. LPTV/translator stations on channels 2-36 displaced by full power and Class A television 
stations as a result of the incentive auction and repacking process must eliminate the actual or predicted 
harmful interference or discontinue operations upon initiation of service by the displacing full power or 
Class A television station on its new channel.
82
  
V. CHANNEL SHARING 
30. In the LPTV DTV Third R&O, the Commission adopted rules to permit channel sharing
between LPTV and TV translator stations.
83
  In the event that the incentive auction and repacking process 
causes either (1) the sharer station to be subject to displacement or (2) both the sharer and the sharee
84
stations to be subject to displacement, the applicable station(s) must file FCC Form 2100 Schedule C -
application for a construction permit – specifying the identical technical facilities during the Special 
Displacement Window described in Section III proposing to share the channel, including a copy of the 
channel sharing agreement as an exhibit. If only a potential sharee’s station is subject to displacement as 
a result of the incentive auction and repacking process, the potential sharee station may file an application 
to propose sharing the sharer’s non-displaced facilities at any time after April 13, 2017 and is not limited 
to filing during the Special Displacement Window.
85
Channel sharing stations will have three years to 
implement their shared facilities and may avail themselves of the extension and tolling provisions 
outlined in Section III.F.
86
VI. NEW DIGITAL-TO-DIGITAL REPLACEMENT TRANSLATORS
31. In the LPTV DTV Third R&O, the Commission established a new digital-to-digital 
replacement translator (DTDRT) service to allow eligible full power television stations to recover lost 
digital service area that could result from the repacking process.
87
  The Commission concluded that full 
power stations may begin to file for DTDRTs beginning with the opening of the Special Displacement 
Window outlined in Section III and ending one year after completion of the incentive auction 
transition period.
88
  Accordingly, DTDRT applications must be filed by July 13, 2021.  This section
                                                     
82
See Advanced Television Systems and Their Impact upon the Existing Television Broadcast Service, Sixth Report 
and Order, 12 FCC Rcd 14588, 14654, para. 142 (1998) (“LPTV and TV translator stations will be able to continue 
to operate until a displacing DTV station . . . is operational and would receive interference from the low power TV 
or TV translator station.”); 47 CFR § 74.703(b).  Because full power and LPTV/translator stations follow informal 
notification procedures with respect to interference and displacement, the Commission declined to adopt notification 
requirements for these situations.  Incentive Auction R&O, 29 FCC Rcd at 6840 n.1866.  In this context “initiation of 
service” includes operation by the full-power or Class A station after the testing period start date for that station. 
See Closing and Channel Reassignment Public Notice at para. 64.
83
See LPTV DTV Third R&O, 30 FCC Rcd at 14937, para. 20. We note that on March 23, 2017, the Commission 
adopted rules to allow channel sharing outside of the auction between primary (full power and Class A) and 
secondary (LPTV and TV translator) stations. See Channel Sharing by Full Power and Class A Stations Outside the 
Broadcast Television Spectrum Incentive Auction Context, MB Docket 15-137, Report and Order, FCC 17-29 (rel. 
Mar. 24, 2017).  Authority to apply to channel share under these newly-adopted rules will commence upon a date 
specified by the Media Bureau in a Public Notice issued after the approval of the new rules and form changes by the 
Office of Management and Budget (OMB).  Id. at para. 35 n. 112.
84
“Sharee” stations are stations that return their channel to the Commission in order to share with another “sharer” 
station. 
85
We clarify that an LPTV or TV translator station that is subject to displacement but is not yet required to 
discontinue operations on its current channel may act as a sharer for another displaced station that is required to 
discontinue operations.
86
See LPTV DTV Third R&O, 30 FCC Rcd at 14942, para. 31.
87
Id. at 14956-57, para. 65.
88
47 CFR § 74.787(a)(5)(i); LPTV DTV Third R&O, 30 FCC Rcd at 14959, para. 70.
Federal Communications Commission        DA 17-442
13
describes the eligibility requirements, filing procedures, and licensing and operating rules for 
DTDRT service.
A. Eligibility
32. Eligibility for DTDRTs is limited to full power television stations reassigned in the 
repacking process that can demonstrate: (1) a loss of a portion of their pre-auction digital service area;
89
and (2) that the proposed DTDRT will be used solely to fill in such loss areas, subject to an allowance for 
a de minimis expansion of the station’s pre-auction digital service area.
90
  Applicants for DTDRTs must 
demonstrate a digital loss area through an engineering study that depicts the station’s pre- and post-
incentive auction digital service areas.
91
  In addition, applicants must demonstrate that the loss resulted 
from the station being repacked.
92
33. The Commission has recognized that it may be impossible to locate a DTDRT that replaces a 
digital loss area without also slightly expanding the station’s pre-auction digital service area.
93
  To 
accommodate such situations, the Bureau may grant de minimis expansions of pre-auction digital service 
areas.
94
  Stations are required to show the need to site their proposed DTDRT facility with a de minimis
expansion of the station’s pre-auction digital service area.
95
  The Bureau will determine whether an 
expansion is de minimis on a case-by-case basis.
96
  
B. DTDRT Application Filing Procedures
34. Eligible stations may file an application for a DTDRT electronically through LMS on 
FCC Form 2100 – Schedule C, following the instructions in Appendix A.  DTDRT applications will be 
minor change applications, and will be exempt from filing fees.
97
  Full power television stations shall 
have a three-year construction period to build their authorized DTDRT facilities.
98
  The provisions for 
extension of time and tolling, including the tolling waiver policy, outlined in Section III. F. apply to 
DTDRTs.
99
                                                     
89
The station’s “pre-auction digital service area” is defined as the geographic area within the full power station’s 
noise-limited contour of its facility as set forth in the Baseline Public Notice.  47 CFR § 74.787(a)(5)(v); LPTV DTV 
Third R&O, 29 FCC Rcd at 14958, para. 68 citing Incentive Auction Task Force Releases Revised Baseline Data 
and Prices For Reverse Auction, 30 FCC Rcd 12559 (WTB 2015) (Baseline Public Notice).  In the Baseline Public 
Notice, the Commission established the final baseline facility for each full power and Class A television station that 
will be used in the incentive auction and repacking. Id.
90
47 CFR § 74.787(a)(5)(v); LPTV DTV Third R&O, 30 FCC Rcd at 14958, para. 67. The Commission concluded 
that such limits were “consistent with the limited scope of our objective in proposing this new service: to assist full 
power television stations to maintain their pre-auction digital service areas following the completion of the 
repacking process and auction . . . but not to expand such service areas.”  Id.
91
47 CFR § 74.787(a)(5)(v); LPTV DTV Third R&O, 30 FCC Rcd at 14958, para. 68.
92
Id.
93
LPTV DTV Third R&O, 30 FCC Rcd at 14958-59, para. 69.
94
47 CFR § 74.787(a)(5)(v); LPTV DTV Third R&O, 30 FCC Rcd at 14958-59, para. 69.
95
Id.
96
Id..
97
47 CFR § 74.787(a)(5)(iv); LPTV DTV Third R&O, 30 FCC Rcd at 14962, para. 78.
98
47 CFR § 74.787(a)(5)(ii); LPTV DTV Third R&O, 30 FCC Rcd at 14963, para. 82.
99
47 CFR § 74.787(a)(5)(ii).
Federal Communications Commission        DA 17-442
14
C. Processing Priority
35. DTDRT applications will be afforded co-equal processing priority with displacement 
applications filed by full power television stations for their displaced analog-to-digital replacement 
translator stations (DRTs).
100
  Therefore, applications for new DTDRTs and displacement applications for 
existing DRTs will have processing priority over all other LPTV and TV translator applications including 
new, minor change, and displacement applications.
101
  As noted above, applications for DTDRTs may be 
filed commencing with the opening of the Special Displacement Window.  All applications for new 
DTDRTs and displacement applications for existing DRTs filed during the Special Displacement 
Window will be considered filed on the last day of the window, will have priority over all other 
displacement applications filed during the window by LPTV and TV translator stations, and will be 
considered co-equal if mutually exclusive.
102
  Following the close of the Special Displacement Window, 
applications for new DTDRTs will be accepted on a first-come, first-served basis, will continue to have 
priority over all LPTV and TV translator new, minor change or displacement applications, even if those 
applications were first-filed, and co-equal priority with displacement applications for existing DRTs filed 
on the same day.
103
VII. DATE FOR LPTV AND TV TRANSLATOR DTV TRANSITION – JULY 13, 2021
36. In the LPTV DTV Third R&O, the Commission extended the September 1, 2015 digital 
transition date until July 13, 2021.
104
  All construction permits related to the LPTV and TV translator
digital transition and construction permits for new digital LPTV and TV translator stations are hereby 
extended to July 13, 2021, and stations’ records in LMS will be updated to reflect this date.  All LPTV 
and TV translator stations must terminate all analog operations by 11:59 p.m. local time on July 13, 2021 
regardless of whether their digital facilities are operational.
105
37. As the Commission stated in the LPTV DTV Third R&O, although the digital deadline 
has been extended, stations that are not affected by the incentive auction “are encouraged to complete 
their transition to digital as soon as feasible after the completion of the auction.”
106
38. Transitioning LPTV and TV translator stations, including permittees of new digital 
LPTV/TV translator stations, that experience delays in completing their digital facilities may seek one last 
extension of time, of not more than six months, to be filed not later than March 13, 2021, which is four 
months prior to the new transition date of July 13, 2021.
107
  Instructions for filing an extension application 
are included in Appendix A.  After March 13, 2021, LPTV and TV translator stations seeking additional 
time to construct digital facilities will be able to obtain additional time to construct only through the 
tolling provisions in the rules.  Instructions for filing a tolling request are also included in Appendix A.  
Stations may also seek a waiver of the tolling rule to receive additional time to construct in the case where 
                                                     
100
47 CFR § 74.787(a)(5)(iii); LPTV DTV Third R&O, 30 FCC Rcd at 14959-60, para. 71.
101
Id.
102
Id.
103
LPTV DTV Third R&O, 30 FCC Rcd at 14959-60, para. 71.
104
See LPTV DTV Third R&O, 30 FCC Rcd at 14932-33, para. 9.  In that decision, the Commission extended the 
LPTV digital transition date until 12 months following the completion of the 39-month post-incentive auction 
transition period (or 51 months from the completion of the incentive auction and the release of the Closing and 
Channel Reassignment Public Notice). Given the April 13, 2017 release date of the Closing and Channel
Reassignment Public Notice, the new LPTV digital transition date is now July 13, 2021.
105
Those without operational digital facilities will be required to remain silent while they complete construction.  Id. 
at 14934, para. 14.
106
Id.
107
Id.
Federal Communications Commission        DA 17-442
15
“rare or exceptional circumstances” prevent construction.  Instructions for filing a tolling waiver request 
are also included in Appendix A.  We expect to look favorably upon waiver requests where a station can 
demonstrate that it is unable to construct due to circumstances resulting directly from the post-auction 
transition, such as the inability to procure necessary resources because such resources are unavailable due
to the full power and Class A post-auction transition.
39. To ensure that viewers are aware of the impending termination of analog service, stations 
must provide notification to viewers of their planned transition to digital.
108
  Stations have the flexibility 
to determine the frequency, length, and content of their notifications.
109
  For those stations with the 
technical ability to locally originate programming,
110
viewer notification must be done on the air at a time 
when the highest number of viewers are watching.
111
  For those stations that lack the technical ability to 
locally originate programming, or conclude that airing of viewer notifications would pose a hardship, they 
may notify viewers by some other reasonable means, e.g., publication of a notification in a local 
newspaper or by contacting the originating station to relay a crawl or service advisory to the communities 
that would be affected.
112
VIII. LIFTING OF FREEZE ON FILING OF DISPLACEMENT AND DIGITAL COMPANION 
CHANNEL APPLICATIONS TO BE ANNOUNCED IN FUTURE PUBLIC NOTICE
40. To facilitate the Special Displacement Window outlined in Section III, and to protect the 
opportunity for LPTV/translator stations displaced as a result of the incentive auction and repacking 
process to obtain a new channel from the limited number of channels likely to be available, the Media 
Bureau, on January 19, 2017, froze the filing of digital companion channel (DCC) applications.
113
  For 
similar reasons, the Media Bureau, on June 11, 2014, froze the filing of displacement applications.
114
  The 
DCC and displacement application freeze will be lifted after the closing of the Special Displacement 
Window.  The Media Bureau will announce the date the freezes are lifted in a future public notice, 
whereupon the Commission will once again accept DCC applications and displacement applications by 
LPTV/translator stations that are displaced pursuant to the rules.
41. We remind displaced LPTV/translator stations that do not qualify for the Special 
Displacement Window (e.g., permittees that were not operating as of the Closing and Channel 
Reassignment Public Notice) and stations that were eligible but do not file during the Special 
Displacement Window that they must wait until the freeze is lifted to submit a displacement application.  
In addition, the provisions concerning construction periods, extensions of time, tolling and tolling waivers 
outlined in Section III. F. apply to these displaced permittees/stations.
42. With respect to tolling waivers submitted by these displaced stations, we announce that 
we expect to look favorably upon requests where a displaced station can demonstrate that it is unable to 
construct due to circumstances resulting directly from the post-auction transition, such as the inability to
                                                     
108
See 47 CFR § 74.798; Amendment of Parts 73 and 74 of the Commission’s Rules to Establish Rules for Digital 
Low Power Television and Television Translator Stations, MB Docket No. 03-185, Second Report and Order, 26 
FCC Rcd 10732, 10755, para. 49 (2011)(LPTV DTV Second R&O).
109
See id.
110
  All stations in the low power television service are permitted to originate some amount of local programming, 
such as public service announcements (PSAs).  See 47 CFR § 74.731(f) and (g) and 47 CFR § 74.701(f).  PSAs 
originated by TV translators are limited to 30 seconds each and not more than once per hour.
111
See 47 CFR § 74.798(c); LPTV DTV Second R&O, 26 FCC Rcd at 10755, para. 49.
112
See 47 CFR § 74.798(d); LPTV DTV Second R&O, 26 FCC Rcd at 10755, para. 49.
113
See Freeze On the Filing of Applications for Digital Companion Channels, Public Notice, 32 FCC Rcd 566 (MB 
2017).
114
See Freeze On the Filing of Applications for Digital Replacement Translator Stations and Displacement 
Applications, Public Notice, 29 FCC Rcd 6063 (MB 2014).
Federal Communications Commission        DA 17-442
16
procure necessary resources because such resources are unavailable due to the full power and Class A 
post-auction transition.    
IX. CONTACTS
43. Additional questions concerning the matters addressed in this Public Notice may be 
referred to the contact persons below.
Licensing (legal): Shaun Maher at 202-418-2324 or
Shaun.Maher@fcc.gov
Licensing (technical): Hossein Hashemzadeh at 202-418-1658 or
Hossein.Hashemzadah@fcc.gov
LMS: (877) 480-3210 TTY: (717) 333-2824
General Auction 1000 Information: www.fcc.gov/auctions/1000
– FCC –
Federal Communications Commission        DA 17-442
17
APPENDIX A
INSTRUCTIONS FOR ACCESSING AND FILING ON LMS
General Log-in Instructions
Access the LMS applicant data entry home page here:
https://enterpriseefiling.fcc.gov/dataentry/login.html
Login using the FRN associated with the station.  
For more information and help using the LMS system, contact: (877) 480-3201 TTY: (717) 333-
2824.
Fees
Applicants must pay the requisite filing fee where applicable. 
Instructions For Specific Filings
After logging into LMS, follow these instructions for the particular type of filing.
  
FCC Form 2100 – Schedule C – Displacement Application
1. Login using station’s FRN and password;
2. Click on the facility tab on top of the page;
3. Click on facility ID of the desired station;
4. Click on “file an application;”
5. Select Form 2100 – Schedule C from the drop down menu. 
FCC Form 2100 – Schedule F – Application for License
1. Click on “Authorizations” tab on the left top of the page.
2. Click on construction permit authorization.
3. Click on “File an Application” button.
4. Select “license to cover” from drop down menu.
5. Complete the application and click “Submit.”
FCC Form 2100 – Schedule C - Digital-to-Digital Replacement Translator (DRT) Application
1. Login using station’s FRN and password;
2. Click on the facility tab on top of the page;
3. Click on facility ID of the desired station;
4. Click on “file an application;”
5. Select Form 2100 – Schedule C from the drop down menu. 
FCC Form 2100 – Schedule C - Digital Companion Channel Application
1. Login using station’s FRN and password;
2. Click on the facility tab on top of the page;
3. Click on facility ID of the desired station;
4. Click on “file an application”;
Federal Communications Commission        DA 17-442
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5. Select Form 2100 – Schedule C from the drop down menu. 
Engineering, Legal, and Silent STAs
1. Click on “Facilities” tab on the left top of the page. 
2. Click on Facility ID of the station.
3. Click on “File an Application” button.
4. Select “STA – engineering, legal or silent” from the drop down menu.
5. Complete the application and click “Submit.”
Suspension of Operations Notification
1. Click on “Facility” tab on the left top of the page.
2. Click on facility ID of the station.
3. Click on “File an Application” button.
4. Select “Suspension of Operations Notification” from the drop down menu.
5. Complete the application and click “Submit.”
Request to Cancel License
1. Click on “Facility” tab on the left top of the page.
2. Click on facility ID of the station.
3. Click on “File an Application” button.
4. Select “Request to Cancel License” from the drop down menu.
5. Complete the application and click “Submit.”
FCC Form 2100 – Schedule 337 – Application for Extension of Time
1. Click on “Authorization” tab on the left top of the page.
2. Click on construction permit authorization.
3. Click on “File an Application” button.
4. Select “Schedule 337” from the drop down menu.
5. Complete the application and click “Submit”
FCC Form 2100 – Schedule Tolling – Application for Tolling or Waiver of Tolling Rule
1. Click on “Authorizations” tab on the left top of the page.
2. Click on construction permit authorization.
3. Select “File an Application” button.
4. Select “Tolling” from the drop down menu.
5. Complete the application and click “Submit.”