11 FCC Red No. 2 Federal Communications Commission Record DA 95-2450 
Before the 
Federal Communications Commission 
Washington, D.C. 20554 
MM Docket No. 95-43 
In the Matter of 
Amendment of Section 73.202(b), 
Table of Allotments, 
FM Broadcast Stations. 
(Grand Junction, Colorado) 
REPORT AND ORDER 
(Proceeding Terminated) 
RM-8580 
Adopted: December 11, 1995; Released: January 19, 1996 
By the Chief, Allocations Branch: 
1. Before the Commission for consideration is the Notice 
of Proposed Rule ,\faking, 10 FCC Red 4016 (1995), issued 
in response to a petition filed on behalf of Grand Valley 
Public Radio Company, Inc. ("petitioner"), permittee of 
noncommercial educational Station KAFM(FM), Channel 
201A, Grand Junction, Colorado, proposing the allotment 
of FM Channel 264Cl to Grand Junction to provide an 
additional wider coverage area FM service to that commu­
nity. Petitioner filed comments in response to the Notice. 
No other comments were received. 
2. Petitioner's proposal is premised on a desire to im­
prove the service Station KAFM(FM) provides to Grand 
Junction. As stated in the Notice, according to petitioner, 
its present operation on Channel 201A is precluded from 
service improvements in the educational band due to the 
existence of other domestic noncommercial authorizations 
therein. Therefore, petitioner requested the allotment of 
Channel 264Cl to Grand Junction for its use to achieve its 
service improvement goal. 1 Although petitioner's technical 
engineering statement (at page 1) requested that the allot­
ment of Channel 264C 1 be "classified as a reserved channel 
for educational use". petitioner indicated that regardless of 
the ultimate channel designation, it intended to continue 
offering educational service to Grand Junction. In further 
support of its modification request, petitioner advised that 
1 In addition to Station KAFM. Grand Junction is also served 
locally by noncommercial educational FM Stations KCIC 
(Channel 203A), KPRN (Channel 208Cl), KJOL (Channel 
212C3) and KMSA (Channel 217A). 
2 In support of its continuing modification request, petitioner 
notes that while the Notice did not propose such action, the 
Commission's Daily Digest released April 14, 1995, summarized 
its request as proposing the allotment of Channel 264Cl to 
Grand Junction and modification of the construction permit of 
noncommercial educational Station KAFM(FM), Grand Junc­
tion, accordingly. However, the Daily Digest advises readers that 
the information contained therein constitutes unofficial an­
nouncements of Commission actions, and that the release of the 
499 
two higher class channels are available to Grand Junction 
in the event there are other expressions of interest in the 
proposal. 
3. The Notice stated that Commission policy generally 
does not reserve channels in the commercial band for 
noncommercial educational use in allotment proceedings, 
except where the use of channels in the reserved FM band 
(Channels 201-220) are precluded due to VHF television 
Channel 6 interference, or the existence of Mexican or 
Canadian allocations, citing Butte Montana, 9 FCC Red 
2180 (1994); Buhl, Montana, 9 FCC Red 2606 (1994). As 
the petitioner failed to demonstrate that either of the enu­
merated exceptions to the Commission's policy are present 
to enable it to be modified to specify operation on Channel 
264Cl at Grand Junction, the Notice proposed to allot it 
for commercial use, based upon the expression of interest 
in providing an additional wider coverage area FM service 
to the community. Further, petitioner was advised that 
should Channel 264Cl be allotted to Grand Junction, it 
could submit an application therefor specifying 
noncommercial educational programming. 
4. In its comments, petitioner renewed its interest in the 
proposed allotment of Channel 264Cl to Grand Junction, 
and urged that its modification request be implemented 
pursuant to the rrovisions of Section 1.420(g) of the Com­
mission's Rules. Petitioner believes such modification is 
warranted in the absence of any other expressions of inter­
est in this proceeding, citin~ in support Vero Beach, Flor­
ida, 4 FCC Red 2184 (1989). 
5. On the basis of the information provided, we affirm 
our belief that petitioner's proposal does not meet the 
criteria established to reserve a channel in the commercial 
band. See Collegeville, Minnesota, 10 FCC Red 3328 ( 1995). 
Moreover, although there are higher -class channels that 
could have been allotted to Grand Junction in the event 
other expressions of interest in applying for Channel 
264Cl had been received, we . believe it is improper· to 
apply the provisions of Section l.420(g) of the Commis­
sion's Rules in this instance. While that rule allows the 
modification of an authorization to specify a non-adjacent 
higher class channel provided an additional equivalent or 
superior class channel is also available for use by other 
interested parties, that procedure does not apply to 
interband exchanges. See Rosendale, New York, 60 FR 
54954, October 27, 1995 (recon. pending), and Amendment 
of the Commission's Rules Regarding the Modification of FM 
and Television Station Licenses, 56 R.R. 2d 1253, 1257 
(1984). 
6. Nevertheless, based upon the petitioner's continuing 
expression of interest in Channel 264Cl, we will allot the 
channel to Grand Junction and specify an application fil­
ing window therefor. As indicated above, petitioner may 
full text of a Commission document constitutes official action, 
citing MCI v. FCC, 515 2d 385 (O.C. Cir. 1974). 
3 The Vero Beach, Florida, proceeding concerned inter alia, the 
question of channel equivalency as it pertained to other expres­
sions of interest in the petitioner's nonadjacent modification 
request for a commercial authorization. In that proceeding, it 
was established that the identity of a second equivalent channel 
for other expressions of interest enabled the petitioner to be 
modified as requested, since the second equivalent channel was 
made available for general application to other interested par­
ties. However, petitioner's reliance on Vero Beach is misplaced 
in this instance. See paragraph 5, infra. 
DA 95-2450 Federal Communications Commission Record 
submit an application for the allotment during the des­
ignated filing window specifying noncommercial education­
al programming. 
7. Channel 264Cl can be allotted to Grand Junction, 
Colorado, consistent with the provisions of Section 
73.207(b) of the Commission's Rules, without the imposi­
tion of a site restriction. Coordinates used in this deter­
mination are 30-04-06 and 108-33-00. 
8. Accordingly, pursuant to the authority contained in 
Sections 4(i), 5(c)(l), 303(g) and (r) and 307(b) of the 
Communications Act of 1934, as amended, and Sections 
0.61, 0.204(b) and 0.283 of the Commission's Rules, IT IS 
ORDERED, That effective March 4, 1996, the FM Table of 
Allotments, Section 73.202(b) of the Commission's Rules, 
IS AMENDED with respect to Grand Junction, Colorado, 
as follows: 
City 
Grand Junction, 
Colorado 
Channel No. 
222C, 226C, 
264Cl, 282C, 300C 
9. IT IS FURTHER ORDERED, That this proceeding IS 
TERMINATED. 
10. The window period for filing applications for Chan­
nel 264Cl at Grand Junction, Colorado, will open on 
March 4, 1996, and close on March 19, 1996. 
11. For further information concerning the above, con­
tact Nancy Joyner, Mass Media Bureau, (202) 418-2180. 
Questions related to the window application filing process 
for Channel 264Cl at Grand Junction, Colorado, should be 
addressed to the Audio Services Division, Mass. Media Bu­
reau, (202) 418-2700. 
FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION 
John A. Karousos 
Chief, Allocations Branch 
Policy and Rules Division 
Mass Media Bureau 
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11 FCC Red No. 2