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                            Before the
                Federal Communications Commission
                      Washington, D.C. 20554

                                 

                                 
In the Matter of                )
                                )
Amendment of Section 73.606(b), )
Table of Allotments,            )
TV Broadcast Stations.          )
(Helena, Montana)               )

                                 

                   MEMORANDUM OPINION AND ORDER
                     (Proceeding Terminated)

Adopted:  May 19, 1999                                            Released: May 28, 1999   

By the Chief, Policy and Rules Division:

     1.  The Commission has before it the Petition for Reconsideration filed by KFBB Corporation,
L.L.C. ("KFBB Corporation") directed to the staff action returning its Petition for Rule Making
proposing the dereservation of NTSC Channel *15 in Helena, Montana.  For the reasons discussed
below, we deny the Petition for Reconsideration.

     2.  In its Petition for Rule Making, KFBB Corporation, licensee of Station KFBB-TV,
Channel 5, Great Falls, Montana, proposed the dereservation of Channel *15 in order that it may
apply for that allotment and operate it as a satellite of its commercial Station KFBB-TV.  Currently,
KFBB Corporation provides this television service to Helena via its translator Station K21DU.  After
review of the proposal, we determined that it would not be in the public interest to dereserve the only
noncommercial educational allotment at Helena.  There were two reasons for this determination.  The
first reason concerned the Commission action in the Sixth Further Notice of Proposed Rule Making
in MM Docket No. 87-268, Advanced Television Systems and Their Impact upon the Existing
Television Broadcast Service ("Sixth Further Notice"), 11 FCC Rcd 10968 (1996), in which it
announced that it would not accept petitions proposing new television stations after July 25, 1996. 
Our analysis indicated that, prior to this date, Channels 21, 27, 28, 34, 36, 37 and 40 had been
available for allotment to Helena.  In view of this fact, we did not believe that it would be in the public
interest to dereserve the only noncommercial educational allotment in Helena because KFBB
Corporation did not file a petition for rule making to allot a commercial channel to Helena prior to
the July 25, 1996, date for filing such petitions.  In our earlier decision we also referred to the Sixth
Further Notice in which the Commission stated that it would attempt to find replacement DTV
allotments for all vacant noncommercial educational allotments.  The Commission effort to
accommodate the existing Channel *15 allotment in Helena in the DTV Table of Allotments was
premised on its status as a noncommercial educational allotment.      

     3.  In support of its Petition for Reconsideration, KFBB Corporation states that in view of
the freeze on the acceptance of petitions for new NTSC allotments, the dereservation of Channel *15
"provides the only viable option" of providing Helena with an additional local television service. 
KFBB Corporation also argues that the Commission should not be reluctant to dereserve Channel
*15 because there has been no interest in applying for this allotment.  Finally, KFBB Corporation
asserts that in view of the lack of spectrum congestion in the Helena area, a commercial Channel 15
allotment would not have an adverse impact on the existing DTV Table of Allotments or the ability
of the Commission to provide a paired DTV allotment for NTSC Channel 15.

     4.  We deny the Petition for Reconsideration.  First of all, in order to provide for an orderly
and predictable process to establish the DTV Table of Allotments, the Commission will no longer
accept applications for new NTSC allotments. See Sixth Further Notice supra at para. 60.  We do
not believe that the facts of this case justify a recommendation to the Commission that it should waive
the freeze with respect to any eventual application for a commercial Channel 15 allotment at Helena. 
In regard to the facts of this case, KFBB Corporation proposes to operate Channel 15 as a satellite
for its commercial Station KFBB-TV in Great Falls.  This service is currently being provided to
Helena by its translator Station K21DU.  Contrary to the statement in its Petition for Reconsideration,
our earlier reference to the availability of other television channels for allotment to Helena was
relevant to this case.  KFBB Corporation could have filed a Petition for Rule Making proposing a
new commercial NTSC allotment for Helena at any time prior to the July 25, 1996.  It did not do so. 
Instead, less than two months later, it filed a Petition for Rule Making proposing the dereservation
of Channel *15.  At this juncture, we do not believe that it would be in the public interest to dereserve
Channel *15 and waive the freeze on the acceptance of applications for NTSC allotments in order
to accommodate the fact that KFBB Corporation did not file a petition for rule making prior to the
July 25, 1996, final date for the filing of such petitions.  In effect, KFBB Corporation is attempting
to circumvent the decision in the Sixth Further Notice to stop accepting petitions for rule making to
add an allotment for a new NTSC television station.  In a separate vein, we also note that the
Commission has specifically stated that new television broadcast stations should operate with the new
DTV technology. See Sixth Report and Order in MM Docket No. 87-268, 12 FCC Rcd 14588
(1997).        




     5.  Accordingly, IT IS ORDERED, That the aforementioned Petition for Reconsideration filed
by KFBB Corporation, L.L.C.  IS DENIED.          


                              FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION


                              Charles W. Logan
                              Chief, Policy and Rules Division
                              Mass Media Bureau