2026-20038: Television Broadcasting Services Savannah, Georgia

Federal Register, Volume 91 Issue 188 (Wednesday, September 30, 2026) [Federal Register Volume 91, Number 188 (Wednesday, September 30, 2026)] [Proposed Rules] [Pages 61818-61819] From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov] [FR Doc No: 2026-20038] ======================================================================= ----------------------------------------------------------------------- FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION 47 CFR Part 73 [MB Docket No. 26-266; RM-12027; DA 26-1018; FR ID 369623] Television Broadcasting Services Savannah, Georgia

Agency

Federal Communications Commission.

Action

Proposed rule. -----------------------------------------------------------------------

Summary

This document proposes to amend the Table of TV Allotments (Table) of the Federal Communications Commission's (Commission) rules in response to a petition for rulemaking filed by Georgia Public Telecommunications Commission (Georgia Public Broadcasting or Petitioner), the licensee of noncommercial educational television station WVAN-TV (WVAN-TV or Station), Savannah, Georgia (Savannah). The Petitioner requests the substitution of UHF channel *18 in place of its current VHF channel *8 at Savannah in the Table, with the technical parameters specified in the Petition. In support of its channel substitution request, the Petitioner asserts that allowing the Station to move to a UHF channel would serve the public interest by improving the community's access to WVAN-TV's locally produced programs. The Petitioner observes that the Commission has recognized that VHF channels have certain characteristics that have posed challenges for their use in providing digital television service, including propagation characteristics allowing undesired signals and noise to be receivable at relatively farther distances. Additionally, the Petitioner notes that the Commission has observed large variability in the performance of indoor antennas available to consumers, with most antennas receiving fairly well at UHF and the substantial majority not so well to very poor at high-VHF. An engineering statement provided by the Petitioner confirms that the proposed channel *18 contour would provide full principal community coverage to Savannah and that the proposed channel substitution contour would not cause impermissible interference to any [[Page 61819]] other licensed facilities. When taking into account the ability of viewers to obtain PBS programming from other nearby stations, the proposed channel substitution would not cause any loss of service.

Dates

Comments must be filed on or before October 30, 2026 and reply comments on or before November 16, 2026.

Addresses

Federal Communications Commission, Office of the Secretary, 45 L Street NE, Washington, DC 20554. In addition to filing comments with the FCC, interested parties should serve counsel for the Petitioner as follows: Derek Teslik, Gray Miller Persh LLP, 2233 Wisconsin Avenue NW, Suite 226, Washington, DC 20007.

For Further Information Contact

Emily Harrison at [email protected], (202) 418-1665 or Mark Colombo at [email protected], (202) 418-7611.

Supplementary Information

This is a synopsis of the Commission's Notice of Proposed Rulemaking, MB Docket No. 26-266; RM-12027; DA 26- 1018, adopted September 22, 2026, and released September 22, 2026. The full text of this document is available online at https://www.fcc.gov/edocs. This document does not contain information collection requirements subject to the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, Public Law 104-13. In addition, therefore, it does not contain any proposed information collection burden ``for small business concerns with fewer than 25 employees,'' pursuant to the Small Business Paperwork Relief Act of 2002, Public Law 107-198, see 44 U.S.C. 3506(c)(4). Provisions of the Regulatory Flexibility Act of 1980, 5 U.S.C. 601-612, do not apply to this proceeding. Members of the public should note that all ex parte contacts are prohibited from the time a notice of proposed rulemaking is issued to the time the matter is no longer subject to Commission consideration or court review, see 47 CFR 1.1208. There are, however, exceptions to this prohibition, which can be found in Sec. 1.1204(a) of the Commission's rules, 47 CFR 1.1204(a). See Sec. Sec. 1.415 and 1.420 of the Commission's rules for information regarding the proper filing procedures for comments, 47 CFR 1.415 and 1.420. Providing Accountability Through Transparency Act: The Providing Accountability Through Transparency Act, Public Law 118-9, requires each agency, in providing notice of a rulemaking, to post online a brief plain-language summary of the proposed rule. The required summary of this notice of proposed rulemaking is available at https://www.fcc.gov/proposed-rulemakings. List of Subjects in 47 CFR Part 73 Television. Federal Communications Commission. Thomas Horan, Chief of Staff, Media Bureau. Proposed Rule For the reasons discussed in the preamble, the Federal Communications Commission proposes to amend 47 CFR part 73 as follows: PART 73--RADIO BROADCAST SERVICES 0