FOX-GM's Blog

WFXS FOX55 DTV Update

By Robert Raff – Vice President

 

It has been a while since we had any relevant information to update our viewers on. The process with the FCC is still extremely slow and torturous.

 

In June 2008, we were finally given the opportunity to file our long awaited channel change request with the FCC. The commission finally lifted the freeze on applications that had been blocking our path for the last 7 years. Our filing essentially shows the FCC that the channel 50 that was allocated late last year is technically insufficient and that channel 31 can be substituted to provide better service to our viewers.

 

The FCC’s process is somewhat bewildering to outsiders. Once the commission looked at our filing and agreed it would work, they then had to publish that finding in the Federal Register as a Notice Of Proposed Rulemaking (NPR). This was published on July 25th, well over a month after our application was accepted.

 

In an NPR the government basically tells everyone what they “think they want to do”, in this case to allow channel 31 to be used here for DTV, and then they give interested parties 30 days to file comments on the proposal  followed by another 15 day reply window.  Once those two “waiting periods” have passed, the FCC then re-evaluates the technical parameters again and hopefully will make channel 31 available to the Wausau-Rhinelander area table of allotments.  This might happen by mid September if all goes as planned

 

Once all of the above FCC process is completed, we then are finally able to submit another  application for a construction permit for channel 31.  Here, we could see another 30 or more days while the FCC basically looks it over again.

 

Once the FCC grants a final construction permit, we are then legally authorized to begin the build-out process on that channel.

 

For WFXS’s part, contracts are already in place for the necessary orders for the transmitter and antenna components that we will need to have custom made. Delivery on most of this equipment is three to five months, so as you can see making the February 17th 2008 DTV deadline will be challenging. An additional major wildcard in the process is the fact that this equipment must be installed on our 1,000 foot tower in the dead of winter. Very few tower crews have the experience and ability to perform such an installation in Wisconsin’s severe weather.  We have all the players in place ready to start the process, as soon as the government says we can. All we can do now is to hope the FCC hurries along and that the Wisconsin winter is as mild as possible.

For those of you who bought an HDTV set when they first started coming out, I understand this has been a painfully slow process, but it is after all being run by the government. For those of you thinking about taking the plinge into a new HDTV or even a converter box, my advice is to wait until next February.. The sets will be cheaper, the technology better, more programming will be available in HD and you won't miss a bit of this NFL, MLB and FOX Fall Programming season trying to figure out this whole mess.

For more information on HDTV, TV/Antenna Reception issues or WFXS, check out the "About Us Tab" on our website, or feel free to drop me a note at rraff@wfxs.com.

See Ya!!!