The Chief of the FCC Media Bureau’s Audio Division has ruled that the licensee of a currently silent 5-watt FM translator at 96.3 MHz in the Kendall Square area of Boston can move ahead with the facility’s modification — a decision that came just months after a cancellation request was made.
The approval means GBH can proceed with an action it has wanted to do, but was met with an objection from another licensee.
W242AA, a tiny facility designed to serve a patch of the city that includes MIT, Kendall Square and Beacon Hill, is licensed for 96.3 MHz.
WGBH Educational Foundation, which brands itself as “GBH,” wrote to the Commission on August 18, 2020 seeking the cancellation of its construction permit for W242AA.
Six days later, Beanpot License Corp. filed an objection to GBH’s request.
Then, on Nov. 2, 2020, WGBH changed its mind. It filed a Second Modification Application, which Beanpot also objected to.
In both instances, Beanpot’s objections were dismissed by Al Shuldiner, the Audio Division Chief.
What does this mean? One must go back to June 3, 2020. That’s when WGBH requested a move of the translator’s transmitter to a new site on the MIT campus immediately adjacent to its current one. At that time, a change from 96.3 MHz to 97.3 MHz was sought.
This would have moved the translator to the same frequency as Class B WJFD-FM 97.3 in New Bedford, Mass., a Portuguese-language facility.
However, such a move would have ended interference with first-adjacent WSRS-FM 96.1 in Worcester, Mass., and the Media Bureau granted this change.
Then, on June 25, 2020, Beanpot submitted an application that would allow it to modify W243DC — a move that could only transpire if the relocation to 97.3 MHz were to happen for GBH’s FM translator. This was granted, but with a big caveat: The Beanpot Translator may not operate or be licensed at its modified facilities until the WGBH Translator commences operation or is licensed at the facility proposed in the First Modification Application.
This is at the root of Beanpot’s subsequent objections, as this change didn’t occur for GBH. Why? GBH scuttled its plans for the move in deference to WJFD’s predicted interference from such a change.
With no change, Beanpot couldn’t build its FM translator. It protested. Then came the Second Modification Application from GBH. Undeterred, it said it would move forward with a 3-watt microstation and rebroadcast WGBH-FM HD2, which rebroadcasts Classical WCRB, instead of WCRB’s signal directly. Importantly, GBH said the modification would not cause any prohibited contour overlap with the licensed Beanpot Translator. Beanpot responded with another argument against such a move by GBH.
Shuldiner’s decision? “We find no merit to Beanpot’s objections to the Cancellation Letter and Second Modification Application,” he said, shooting down references to the FCC’s Krum and Price decisions as irrelevant to FM translator facilities. “We reject Beanpot’s contention that the rules, statutory considerations, and policies applicable to full service FM commercial channel assignments should also govern translator channel changes,” Shuldiner added. “[W]hen the Commission issues a construction permit for a translator channel change, the station’s license is not modified until the permittee voluntarily constructs the proposed facility and applies for a license to cover.”
Shuldiner then admits that the Media Bureau flubbed in giving Beanpot an opportunity to build the Construction Permit. “We find that the Beanpot Construction Permit was issued in error,” he said. “Although grant of the Beanpot Modification Application is final and not subject to reconsideration, we note that because we are cancelling the WGBH Construction Permit, Beanpot cannot satisfy the Beanpot Contingency Condition. Therefore, the Beanpot Construction Permit is essentially a nullity.”
