83 FR 58249 - Incentive Auction Task Force and Media Bureau Announce Settlement Opportunity for Mutually Exclusive Displacement Applications Filed During the Special Displacement Window

FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION

Federal Register Volume 83, Issue 223 (November 19, 2018)

In this document, the Federal Communications Commission's Incentive Auction Task Force and Media Bureau announce that certain displacement applications filed during the Special Displacement Window by low power television, TV translator, and analog-to-digital replacement translator stations that were displaced by the incentive auction and repacking process were deemed to be mutually exclusive. The document provides a list of mutually exclusive applications and announces a settlement period opening October 30, 2018 and closing January 10, 2019 at 11:59 p.m. ET.

[Federal Register Volume 83, Number 223 (Monday, November 19, 2018)]
[Notices]
[Pages 58249-58250]
From the Federal Register Online  [www.thefederalregister.org]
[FR Doc No: 2018-25109]


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FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION

[DA 18-1108]


Incentive Auction Task Force and Media Bureau Announce Settlement 
Opportunity for Mutually Exclusive Displacement Applications Filed 
During the Special Displacement Window

AGENCY: Federal Communications Commission.

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: In this document, the Federal Communications Commission's 
Incentive Auction Task Force and Media Bureau announce that certain 
displacement applications filed during the Special Displacement Window 
by low power television, TV translator, and analog-to-digital 
replacement translator stations that were displaced by the incentive 
auction and repacking process were deemed to be mutually exclusive. The 
document provides a list of mutually exclusive applications and 
announces a settlement period opening October 30, 2018 and closing 
January 10, 2019 at 11:59 p.m. ET.

DATES: The settlement period will open October 30, 2018 and close on 
January 10, 2019 at 11:59 p.m. ET.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Shaun Maher, Video Division, Media 
Bureau, Federal Communications Commission, [email protected], (202) 
418-2324, or Hossein Hashemzadeh (technical), 
[email protected], (202) 418-1658.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: On February 9, 2018, the Incentive Auction 
Task Force and the Media Bureau announced a displacement application 
filing window for low power television (LPTV), TV translator, and 
analog-to-

[[Page 58250]]

digital replacement translator (DRT) stations (referred to collectively 
as ``LPTV/translator stations'') that were displaced by the incentive 
auction and repacking process (Special Displacement Window). The filing 
window was open from April 10, 2018, through June 1, 2018. The 
Commission received over 2,100 displacement applications during the 
Special Displacement Window.
    Appendix A of document DA 18-1108 lists all displacement 
applications received in the Special Displacement Window that are 
mutually exclusive with other applications. Parties with applications 
in the mutually exclusive groups listed in Appendix A may resolve their 
mutual exclusivity by unilateral engineering amendment, legal 
settlement, or engineering settlement during a settlement period 
beginning today, October 30, 2018, and ending at 11:59 p.m. ET, January 
10, 2019.
    The applications listed in Appendix A are subject to the 
Commission's competitive bidding procedures unless their mutual 
exclusivity is resolved. The Media Bureau will withhold further action 
on the mutually exclusive proposals listed in Appendix A pending 
submission of settlement agreements or engineering amendments to 
resolve mutual exclusivity prior to the close of the settlement period. 
Thereafter, the Wireless Telecommunications and Media Bureaus will 
announce an auction date and propose auction procedures for the 
remaining mutually exclusive applications.
    Unilateral Engineering Amendments. Applicants may resolve their 
mutual exclusivity by filing an engineering amendment to their 
application. An amendment that does not implicate the application of 
another station may be filed by the station during the settlement 
period without coordination with any other entity. All such amendments 
must be submitted by filing an amended FCC Form 2100--Schedule C in the 
Media Bureau's Licensing and Management System (LMS) by 11:59 p.m. ET 
on January 10, 2019. Engineering amendments submitted by applicants to 
unilaterally resolve their mutual exclusivity must be minor, as defined 
by the applicable rules, and must not create new mutual exclusivities 
or application conflicts.
    Legal Settlements. Applicants may also resolve their mutual 
exclusivity through a legal settlement that provides for the dismissal 
of one or more of the application(s) in their mutually exclusive group. 
Such agreements must be submitted for Commission approval. Parties 
submitting a legal settlement for approval must ensure that their 
agreements comply with the provisions of Section 311(c) of the 
Communications Act of 1934, as amended, and the pertinent requirements 
of Section 73.3525 of the Commission's rules, including, inter alia, 
the settlement reimbursement restrictions. Parties filing a request for 
approval of settlement agreement must include a copy of their agreement 
and: (1) A statement outlining the reasons why such agreement is in the 
public interest; (2) a statement that each party's application was not 
filed for the purpose of reaching or carrying out such agreement; (3) a 
certification that neither the dismissing applicant nor its principals 
has received any money or other consideration in excess of the 
legitimate and prudent expenses of the applicant; (4) a statement 
outlining the exact nature and amount of any consideration paid or 
promised; (5) an itemized accounting of the expenses for which it seeks 
reimbursement; and (6) the terms of any oral agreement relating to the 
dismissal or withdrawal of its application.
    Requests for approval of settlement agreement and the above-
outlined documents required by Section 73.3525 must be submitted in the 
form of an amendment to each party's pending application in LMS by 
11:59 p.m. ET on January 10, 2019.
    Engineering Settlements. Applicants may also enter into a 
settlement agreement to resolve their mutual exclusivity by means of an 
engineering solution. As with unilateral engineering amendments, 
engineering amendments submitted in conjunction with a settlement must 
be minor, as defined by the applicable rules, and must not create new 
mutual exclusivities or application conflicts. Such settlements may 
include proposing channel sharing as means to resolve their mutual 
exclusivity. Engineering settlement agreements must also be filed with 
the Commission for approval and must include the documentation required 
by Section 73.3525 outlined above.
    Requests for approval of engineering settlement agreements, 
accompanying documentation, and corresponding technical amendments must 
be submitted in the form of an amendment to each party's pending 
application in LMS by 11:59 p.m. ET on January 10, 2019. In the case of 
channel sharing settlements, the proposed sharee station shall file to 
modify its current license, specifying the technical parameters in the 
proposed host station's displacement application and request that its 
displacement application be dismissed upon grant of the channel 
sharing.
    In the case of legal and engineering settlements, the parties 
should endeavor, wherever possible, to resolve their mutual exclusivity 
through minor engineering amendments, as defined by the applicable 
rules. However, applicants that are unable to resolve their mutual 
exclusivity through a minor engineering amendment may, as part of their 
legal or engineering settlement, amend their application(s) to propose 
a new available channel. The new channel proposal may not create a new 
mutual exclusivity or conflict with any other application previously-
filed in the Special Displacement Window.

Federal Communications Commission.
Barbara Kreisman,
Chief, Video Division, Media Bureau.
[FR Doc. 2018-25109 Filed 11-16-18; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6712-01-P