Federal Communications Commission FCC 14-52
Before the
Federal Communications Commission
Washington, D.C. 20554
In the Matter of
Puerto Rico Public Broadcasting Corp.
       
Application for a Permit to Construct a New     
Noncommercial Educational FM Station 
at Mayaguez, Puerto Rico 
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File No. BNPED-20071022DXS
Facility ID No. 123286    
MX Group No. 221                      
MEMORANDUM OPINION AND ORDER
Adopted:  April 23, 2014 Released: April 23, 2014
By the Commission:
1. The Commission has before it for consideration an Application for Review filed on May 
19, 2011 by Puerto Rico Public Broadcasting Corporation (“PRPBC”), concerning dismissal of its 
October 22, 2007 application for a permit to construct a new noncommercial educational (“NCE”) FM 
station at Mayaguez, Puerto Rico.  PRPBC seeks review of an April 19, 2011 decision letter by the Media 
Bureau, Audio Division (the “Bureau”)
1
which found that the proposed station would violate the 
Commission’s rules by causing interference to an existing NCE-FM broadcast station.
2
  The Letter denied 
PRPBC’s request for a waiver of section 73.509 of the Commission’s Rules despite PRPBC’s prediction 
that the area’s rugged terrain would limit the number of people receiving interference to fewer than 4,000 
and PRPBC’s showing that the affected broadcaster was willing to accept the interference.  The Bureau 
reasoned that although grant of such waiver requests might seem appealing when viewed individually, 
they can cause substantial damage when combined with numerous similar waivers over time.  The Bureau 
noted that, in particular, while a single waiver grant might provide new service to many while causing 
interference to a few, the cumulative impact of multiple such waivers would be a serious degradation of 
existing FM reception quality throughout the entire portion of the FM band reserved for NCE service.
3
Accordingly, the Bureau dismissed the application.  On review, PRPBC contends that the Bureau’s 
reasoning was flawed because PRPBC presents circumstances that are “so unique” that any waiver 
granted to PRPBC would not establish precedent for similar waivers to others.
4
  Specifically, PRPBC 
argues that it is an “instrumentality” of the government of Puerto Rico with a statutory mission to assess 
and attend to Puerto Rico’s population as a whole, and is located on an especially rugged island with 
difficult signal propagation characteristics.
2. With respect to PRPBC’s offering its mission and its relationship with the government as 
potential grounds for a waiver, PRPBC did not make this argument in its original waiver request and the 
                                                     
1
See Puerto Rico Public Broadcasting, Letter, Ref. No. 1800B3 (MB Apr. 19, 2011) (“Letter”).  The Bureau 
independently dismissed two mutually exclusive applications after denying their similar waiver requests.  PRPBC, 
as the only applicant to seek reconsideration and review, is the sole remaining applicant in the group.
2
See 47 C.F.R. § 73.509 (specifying contour protection standards for NCE-FM applications).
3
Letter at 2-3.
4
Application for Review at 3-6.
Federal Communications Commission FCC 14-52
2
Bureau therefore had no opportunity to address it in that context.
5
  Similarly, PRPBC failed to raise before 
the Bureau any of the precedent that it now cites in its Application for Review.
6
Accordingly, we will 
dismiss this portion of PRPBC’s Application for Review.
7
  Upon consideration of the remaining portion 
of the Application for Review and the entire record, we conclude that PRPBC has failed to demonstrate 
that the Bureau erred.  The Bureau properly decided the matters raised, and we uphold its decision for the 
reasons stated in its Letter.   
3. ACCORDINGLY, IT IS ORDERED that, pursuant to section 5(c)(5) of the 
Communications Act of 1934, as amended, 47 U.S.C. § 155(c)(5), and section 1.115(g) of the 
Commission’s rules, 47 C.F.R. § 1.115(g), the Application for Review IS DISMISSED IN PART and 
DENIED IN PART.  
FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION
Marlene H. Dortch
Secretary
                                                     
5
To the extent that PRPBC provided information in its application about its relationship with the government or its 
mission, it did so specifically to demonstrate its eligibility to hold an NCE authorization.  See File No. BNPED-
20071022DXS, Exhibit 3, (Eligibility/Organizational Documents).  In contrast, in the application, PRPBC stated 
that the “details” of its waiver request were contained in its Comprehensive Technical Exhibit (Exhibit 17 to the 
application).  That technical waiver showing found at pages 4-6 of that Exhibit, makes no reference to these 
additional grounds for waiver.  
6
Application for Review at 4-5. This precedent includes an unreported 1996 Mass Media Bureau decision that was 
cited by each of the two mutually exclusive applicants in support of their requests for similar waivers that were 
denied by the Bureau. Family Educational Association, Inc. (File No. BNPED-20071019AJT) and Hispanic 
Broadcast System Puerto Rico, Inc. (File No.  BNPED-20071022ALK). 
7
See 47 C.F.R. § 1.115(c) (“No application for review will be granted if it relies on questions of fact or law upon 
which the designated authority has been afforded no opportunity to pass.”).  BDPCS, Inc. v. FCC, 351 F.3d 1177, 
1184 (D.C. Cir. 2003).