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                 FEDERAL  COMMUNICATIONS  COMMISSION
                            1919 M STREET  NW
                          WASHINGTON  DC  20554
                            May 28, 1998


MASS MEDIA BUREAU                                           PROCESSING ENGINEER:  Dale Bickel
AUDIO SERVICES DIVISION                                            TELEPHONE:  (202) 418-2720
TECHNICAL PROCESSING GROUP                                         FACSIMILE:  (202) 418-1410
APPLICATION STATUS:  (202) 418-2730                                        MAIL STOP:  1800B3
HOME PAGE:  www.fcc.gov/mmb/asd/                            INTERNET ADDRESS: dbickel@fcc.gov


Mr. Jeffrey W. Miller
102 Dean Road
Brookline, MA   02146


                                     In re: NEW; Brookline, MA
                                            Jeffrey W. Miller
                                            Request for Special Temporary    
                                              Authorization

Dear Mr. Miller:

This is in reply to your request, postmarked July 22, 1997, for Special Temporary
Authorization ("STA") for a new noncommercial educational broadcast station in
Brookline,
Massachusetts.  You request authority to operate with the following facilities:

Frequency:                           102.1 MHz
Location:                                      Brookline, MA 02146
Effective Radiate Power:             110 watts daytime
Antenna height AMSL:                 Less than 100 feet
Call letters:                               WXBC
Construction Permit No:              97JDCB

You indicate that you submitted a payment for Special Temporary Authorization and the
call sign "years ago between 9/88 and 8/97."  You further state that the station would be
located 3.7 miles from an international airport, and that the free form format of the station
would consist of classic rock & comedy. (Footnote 1) 

Each request for STA or STA extension must contain an appropriate filing fee (currently
$125.00, accompanied by FCC Form 159 with Fee Payment Code "MGT"). 
See 47 C.F.R. §§1.1101, 1.1104. Additionally, each request for STA
or STA extension must contain an Anti-Drug Abuse certification.  See Report and
Order in GEN Docket No. 90-312, 6 FCC Rcd 7551, 7556 n. 25 (1991).  Because
your July 22, 1997 request lacks both of these requirements, it cannot be processed and will
be dismissed below.  However, for your information, we will address the substance of the
STA request.
 
A station operating with the level of power you have specified would be classified as a
Class D broadcast station.  Because the Commission no longer allows the licensing of new
Class D FM stations under Part 73 of the Commission's Rules, the STA request seeks
authorization pursuant to 47 C.F.R. §15.7(a).  That rule provides for special
temporary authorization in exceptional situations where (1) the operation does not conform
to Part 15 of the Commission's Rules; (2) the operation would be a unique type of station
that cannot be established as a regular service, and (3) the proposed operation would serve
the public interest.

We find that your STA request cannot be granted because it fails to demonstrate the
existence of an "exceptional situation" meeting the requirements of Section 15.7(a).  We
note in particular that, although the subject STA request asserts that the proposed
operation would be in the public interest, it does not include any showing to support this
assertion.  To the contrary, in 1978 the Commission examined the issue of low power 10
watt or Class D stations.  In that rule making proceeding, which included an opportunity
for public comment, the Commission found that low power stations were becoming a
hindrance to the orderly development of the noncommercial educational FM band.  The
need to protect the small service areas of Class D stations precluded the establishment of
larger stations which could serve a greater population and area with greater efficiency. 
Therefore, the Commission decided that it would not authorize new FM stations with
effective radiated powers of less than 100 watts (the minimum power required for a Class A
station).   Changes in the Rules Relating to Noncommercial Educational FM
Broadcast Stations (Second Report and Order), 69 FCC 2d 240 (1978),
reconsideration denied, 70 FCC 2d 972 (1979).  See also 47 C.F.R.
§ 73.512(c).

The Commission reexamined the question of low power radio stations in 1990 in the
context of a notice and comment rule making proceeding in MM Docket No. 88-140.  In
that rule making proceeding, the Commission considered public comments suggesting that
low power FM translator stations should be permitted to originate their own programming. 
(A translator station is essentially a low power repeater station which rebroadcasts the
service of a full service station on a different frequency.)  In that proceeding, most
commenters agreed that the Commission should continue to prohibit the broadcasting of
original programming from translator stations, because allowing original programming
would likely lead to a vast increase in the number of translator stations and degraded FM
service due to increased interference.   Amendment of Part 74 of the Commissions
Rules Concerning Translator Stations, 7 FCC Rcd 7212 (1990); reconsideration
denied in pertinent part, 8 FCC Rcd 5093 (1993). 

In light of these two rule making proceedings, any public interest showing regarding a
proposed station operating with the facilities specified in the STA request would, therefore,
have to meet a very high threshold to warrant grant.  You have not met that burden here.

Moreover, the Communications Act expressly limits the grant of STA's for a period of not
more than 180 days.  Thus, an STA request is not valid as a request for permanent
authorization.  As set forth above, there are no "extraordinary circumstances requiring
temporary operations in the public interest" nor have you shown that "delay in the
institution of such temporary operation would seriously prejudice the public interest." 
See 47 U.S.C. § 309(f).   Consequently, if you wish to obtain
authorization for a radio broadcast station, you must file a completed construction permit
application on FCC Form 340 (completing all the technical and legal information),
requesting an appropriate waiver as necessary, and receive grant of the construction permit
before any construction or broadcast operations may commence.

Consequently, your request for Special Temporary Authorization for a low power FM
radio broadcast station IS DISMISSED.  I have enclosed two Information Sheets, "How to
Apply for a Broadcast Station" and "Low Power AM and FM Broadcast Radio Stations",
for your information, along with a construction permit application on FCC Form 340.  In
addition, we note that three separate parties have filed petitions for rule making pending
with the Commission regarding low power broadcast stations.  See Public Notice,
Rule Making No. 9246 (March 18, 1998); Public Notice, Rule Making No.
9242 (February 20, 1998); Public Notice, Rule Making No. 9208
(February 5, 1998).  While the comment period in these preceedings has closed, you may
also file your own petition for rule making on this matter.  See 47 C.F.R
§1.401.


                                     Sincerely,


                   signed Michael F. Wagner for

                                     Dennis Williams, Assistant Chief
                                     Audio Services Division
                                     Mass Media Bureau

Enclosures


_____________________________

Footnote 1:  Neither the Commission's records nor your request document payment of any
filing fee to the Commission for a request for STA.  Nor do the Commission's records
show that an authorized channel was ever allocated to Brookline on 102.1 MHz with the
call sign WXBC.   The construction permit number to which you refer -- 97JDCB -- is not
of any type issued for a broadcast station.  

 

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