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If you need the complete document, download the WordPerfect version or Adobe Acrobat version, if available. ***************************************************************** Before the Federal Communications Commission Washington, D.C. 20554 In re: ) ) Complaint of Central Missouri ) CSR-3890-M State University against Douglas ) Cable Communications ) ) Petition for Reconsideration ) MEMORANDUM OPINION AND ORDER Adopted: October 3, 1997 Released: October 10, 1997 By the Deputy Chief, Cable Services Bureau: INTRODUCTION 1. Douglas Cable Communications II ("Douglas") has filed a petition for reconsideration seeking review of the Commission's decision ordering Douglas to carry Station KMOS-TV (Educ., Ch. 6), Sedalia, Missouri on its systems serving Garden City and East Lynne, Missouri. An opposition to this petition was filed by KMOS-TV. ARGUMENTS 2. In support of its request, Douglas states that KMOS-TV fails to deliver a good quality signal to Douglas' principal headends and submits engineering data to substantiate that allegation. Douglas states that measurements taken of KMOS-TV's signal at the system's Garden City headend indicate a signal strength of -64.75 dBm while the signal strength measured at the East Lynne headend was -63.25 dBm. Douglas states that both these measurements are substantially below the level of -49 dBm required by the Commission's rules for mandatory carriage of VHF stations. 3. KMOS-TV argues in its opposition that the engineering data submitted by Douglas are at best incomplete. KMOS-TV states that: 1) the field survey analysis conducted by Douglas did not include periodic measurements of its signal; 2) the field survey analysis did not indicate the orientation of the reception antenna used to measure KMOS-TV's signal; and 3) the field survey analysis antenna was purportedly placed at 20-feet above ground level at the Garden City and East Lynne test sites. KMOS-TV states that it is unlikely that Douglas normally uses an antenna mounted at only 20 feet above ground level to obtain the best possible signal of a station emanating from a comparable distance. Consequently, KMOS-TV argues that Douglas' signal reception study was not conducted using standard engineering practices. Moreover, KMOS-TV states that in correspondence dated June 8, 1993, it offered to cooperate with Douglas in whatever way necessary to obtain a sufficient quality signal at the Garden City/East Lynne, Missouri sites. While KMOS-TV has offered its assistance, Douglas has not requested such assistance to date. Further, KMOS-TV states that in a letter dated December 16, 1993, Douglas notified public officials in Garden City that KMOS-TV would be added to the cable system in that community. KMOS-TV argues that to reevaluate and reconsider the Commission's initial order at this late date, after all parties have been notified about carriage, would cause further confusion and add to the administrative burden of the Commission, KMOS-TV and the community of Garden City. Finally, KMOS-TV requests that the Commission reaffirm its initial Order calling for the carriage of KMOS-TV on Douglas' cable systems serving Garden City and East Lynne, Missouri. DISCUSSION 4. We are not persuaded by the arguments raised by Douglas. First, with respect to the standard to be used to determine what constitutes a "good quality" signal, we note that 614(h)(1)(b)(iii) of the Communications Act of 1934, as amended, and the 1992 Cable Act, provide the requisite signal levels for VHF and UHF commercial stations at a cable system's headend. To establish the availability of a VHF station's signal, a standard of -49 dBm was set at a cable system's headend while a standard of - 45 dBm was established for UHF stations' signals. In this case, Douglas has allegedly determined that KMOS-TV's signal strength falls below the requisite level for a VHF station at both of its systems' principal headends. However, we find the engineering data it used to support its determination is unacceptable. 5. We note that the measurements taken by Douglas at the Garden City, Missouri headend site were taken over a four hour period. As we set out in our initial decision, in instances where the readings fall between -55 dBm and -49 dBm inclusive, a cable operator is required to take measurements over a 24-hour period, with readings no more than 4 hours apart to establish reliable test results. Since Douglas has not provided signal measurements according to this criteria, we cannot conclude that KMOS- TV provides an inadequate signal at Garden City, Missouri. Further, with regard to its East Lynne headend, Douglas took the necessary readings at 20 feet. The Commission's criteria requires that the height of the antenna used in the test of a VHF signal be equivalent to the antenna height of other VHF stations carried by the system. Douglas has not stated that the 20-foot height used in its measurements at the East Lynne headend is the normal height above ground level for the antennas it uses to receive other VHF stations. Moreover, Douglas failed to indicate the orientation of the reception antenna used to measure KMOS-TV's signal. In view of the above, we find that Douglas has failed to show that KMOS-TV does not provide a good quality signal. ORDERING CLAUSES 6. Accordingly, in view of the foregoing, and pursuant to 1.106 of the Commission's Rules, the petition for reconsideration filed on behalf of Douglas Cable Communications IS DENIED. 7. This action if taken pursuant to authority delegated by 0.321 of the Commission's Rules. FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION William H Johnson Deputy Chief Cable Services Bureau