E9-796. Digital Television Distributed Transmission System Technologies

AGENCY:

Federal Communications Commission.

ACTION:

Final rule; announcement of effective date.

SUMMARY:

In this document, the Commission announces that the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) has approved, for a period of six months, the information collection(s) associated with section 73.626(f) of the rules, and that this rule will take effect as of the date of this notice. On December 5, 2008, the Commission published the summary document of the Report and Order, In the Matter of the Digital Television Distributed Transmission System Technologies, MB Docket No. 05-312, FCC 08-256, at 73 FR 74047. The Ordering Clause of the Report and Order stated that the Commission would publish a notice in the Federal Register announcing when OMB approval for this rule section which contains information collection requirements has been received and when the revised rule will take effect. This notice is consistent with the statement in the Report and Order.

DATES:

Effective January 15, 2009.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

For additional information, please contact Evan Baranoff, [e-mail], of the Media Bureau, Policy Division, [phone].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

This document announces that, on December 29, 2008, OMB approved, for a period of six months, the information collection requirement(s) contained in Section 73.626(f) of the rules. The Commission publishes this notice to announce the effective date of this rule. If you have any comments on the burden estimates listed below, or how the Commission can improve the collections and reduce any burdens caused thereby, please contact Cathy Williams, Federal Communications Commission, Room 1-C823, 445 12th Street, SW., Washington, DC 20554. Please include OMB Control Numbers 3060-0027 and 3060-0029, in your correspondence. The Commission will also accept your comments via the Internet if you send them to [e-mail].

To request materials in accessible formats for people with disabilities (Braille, large print, electronic files, audio format), send an e-mail to [e-mail] or call the Consumer & Governmental Affairs Bureau at [phone] (voice), [phone] (TTY).

Synopsis

As required by the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (44 U.S.C. 3507), the Commission is notifying the public that it received OMB approval on December 29, 2008, for the information collection requirement(s) contained in the Commission's rules at 47 CFR 73.626(f).

Under 5 CFR 1320, an agency may not conduct or sponsor a collection of information unless it displays a current, valid OMB Control Number.

No person shall be subject to any penalty for failing to comply with a collection of information subject to the Paperwork Reduction Act that does not display a valid OMB Control Number.

The OMB Control Numbers are 3060-0027 and 3060-0029 and the total annual reporting burdens for respondents for these information collections are as follows:

OMB Control Numbers: 3060-0027.

OMB Approval Date: December 29, 2008.

Expiration Date: June 30, 2009.

Title: Application for Construction Permit for Commercial Broadcast Station, FCC Form 301.

Form Number: FCC Form 301.

Type of Review: Revision to a currently approved collection.

Respondents: Business or other for profit entities; Not for profit institutions.

Number of Respondents/Responses: 4,378 respondents; 7,814 responses.

Estimated Hours per Response: 1-5 hours per response.

Frequency of Response: On occasion reporting requirement; Third party disclosure requirement.

Total Annual Burden: 14,808 hours.

Total Annual Cost: $52,580,197.

Obligation to Respond: Required to obtain or retain benefits. The statutory authority for this information collection is contained in Sections 154(i), 303 and 308 of the Communications Act of 1934, as amended.

Nature and Extent of Confidentiality: There is no need for confidentiality with this collection of information.

Privacy Act Assessment: No impact(s).

Needs and Uses: On November 3, 2008, the Commission adopted a Report and Order, In the Matter of Digital Television Distributed Transmission System Technologies; MB Docket No. 05-312, FCC 08-256 (released Nov. 7, 2008). In this Report and Order, the Commission adopts rules for the use of distributed transmission system (“DTS”) technologies in the digital television (“DTV”) service. See 47 CFR 73.626. DTS technology allows stations to employ multiple synchronized transmitters spread around a station's service area, rather than the current single-transmitter approach. Each transmitter would broadcast the station's DTV signal on the same channel, similar to analog TV booster stations but more efficiently. Due to the synchronization of the transmitted signals, DTV receivers should be able to treat the multiple signals as reflections or “ghosts” and use “adaptive equalizer” circuitry to cancel or combine them to produce a single signal.

Congress has mandated that after February 17, 2009, full-power television broadcast stations must transmit only in digital signals, and may no longer transmit analog signals. Emergency OMB approval is necessary for this collection to allow full-power DTV stations to use DTS technologies to meet their statutory responsibilities and begin operations on their final, post-transition (digital) channels by their construction deadlines. DTS will provide DTV broadcasters with an important tool for providing optimum signal coverage for their viewers. For some broadcasters that are changing channels or transmitting locations for their digital service, DTS may offer the best option for continuing to provide over-the-air service to current analog viewers, as well as for reaching viewers that have historically been unable to receive a good signal due to terrain or other interference.

FCC Form 301 is being revised to accommodate the filing of DTS applications.

OMB Control Numbers: 3060-0029.

OMB Approval Date: December 29, 2008.

Expiration Date: June 30, 2009.

Title: Application for TV Broadcast Station License, Form FCC 302-TV; Application for DTV Broadcast Station License, FCC Form 302-DTV; Application for Construction Permit for Reserved Channel Noncommercial Educational Broadcast Station, FCC Form 340; Application for Authority to Construct or Make Changes in an FM Translator or FM Booster Station, FCC Form 349.

Form Number: FCC Forms 302-TV, 302-DTV, 340 and 349.

Type of Review: Revision of a currently approved collection.

Respondents: Business or other for profit entities; Not for profit institutions.

Number of Respondents/Responses: 4,425 respondents; 6,425 responses.

Estimated Hours per Response: 1-4 hours per response.

Frequency of Response: Recordkeeping requirement; On occasion reporting requirement; Third party disclosure requirement.

Total Annual Burden: 14,450 hours.

Annual Burden Cost: $21,869,625.

Obligation to Respond: Required to obtain or retain benefits. The statutory authority for this information collection is contained in Sections 154(i), 303 and 308 of the Communications Act of 1934, as amended.

Nature and Extent of Confidentiality: There is no need for confidentiality with this collection of information.

Privacy Act Assessment: No impact(s).

Needs and Uses: On November 3, 2008, the Commission adopted a Report and Order in the Matter of Digital Television Distributed Transmission System Technologies; MB Docket No. 05-312, FCC 08-256 (released Nov. 7, 2008). In this Report and Order, the Commission adopts rules for the use of distributed transmission system (“DTS”) technologies in the digital television (“DTV”) service. See 47 CFR 73.626. DTS technology allows stations to employ multiple synchronized transmitters spread around a station's service area, rather than the current single-transmitter approach. Each transmitter would broadcast the station's DTV signal on the same channel, similar to analog TV booster stations but more efficiently. Due to the synchronization of the transmitted signals, DTV receivers should be able to treat the multiple signals as reflections or “ghosts” and use “adaptive equalizer” circuitry to cancel or combine them to produce a single signal.

Congress has mandated that after February 17, 2009, full-power television broadcast stations must transmit only in digital signals, and may no longer transmit analog signals. Emergency OMB approval is necessary for this collection to allow full-power DTV stations to use DTS technologies to meet their statutory responsibilities and begin operations on their final, post-transition (digital) channels by their construction deadlines. DTS will provide DTV broadcasters with an important tool for providing optimum signal coverage for their viewers. For some broadcasters that are changing channels or transmitting locations for their digital service, DTS may offer the best option for continuing to provide over-the-air service to current analog viewers, as well as for reaching viewers that have historically been unable to receive a good signal due to terrain or other interference.

FCC Form 340 is being revised to accommodate the filing of DTS applications.

Federal Communications Commission.

Marlene H. Dortch,

Secretary.