Rule2025-09278
FM Terrestrial Digital Audio Broadcasting Systems
Primary source
Metadata and text below are from the Federal Register, a public-domain U.S. government work. Always verify the official published version before relying on it for any legal matter.
Published
May 23, 2025
Effective
May 23, 2025
Issuing agencies
Federal Communications Commission
Abstract
In this document, the Federal Communications Commission (Commission) announces that the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) has approved revisions to the information collection requirements under OMB Control Number 3060-1034, as associated with the amended adopted in the Federal Communications Commission's First Report and Order: Rules for FM Terrestrial Digital Audio Broadcasting Systems, FCC 24-105 (FM Digital First R&O). This FM Digital First R&O permits the operation of digital FM stations with asymmetric power levels on the digital sidebands and the accompanying use of FCC 2100, Schedule 335-FM to notify the Commission of such operations. This document is consistent with the FM Digital First R&O, which states that the Commission will publish a document in the Federal Register announcing the effective date for these amended rule sections and revise the rules accordingly.
Full Text
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<title>Federal Register, Volume 90 Issue 99 (Friday, May 23, 2025)</title>
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[Federal Register Volume 90, Number 99 (Friday, May 23, 2025)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 22021-22023]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2025-09278]
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FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION
47 CFR Part 73
[MB Docket No. 22-405; FCC 24-105; FR ID 292650]
FM Terrestrial Digital Audio Broadcasting Systems
AGENCY: Federal Communications Commission.
ACTION: Final rule; announcement of effective date.
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SUMMARY: In this document, the Federal Communications Commission
(Commission) announces that the Office of Management and Budget (OMB)
has approved revisions to the information collection requirements under
OMB Control Number 3060-1034, as associated with the amended adopted in
the Federal Communications Commission's First Report and Order: Rules
for FM Terrestrial Digital Audio Broadcasting Systems, FCC 24-105 (FM
Digital First R&O). This FM Digital First R&O permits the operation of
digital FM stations with asymmetric power levels on the digital
sidebands and the accompanying use of FCC 2100, Schedule 335-FM to
notify the Commission of such operations. This document is consistent
with the FM Digital First R&O, which states that the Commission will
publish a document in the Federal Register announcing the effective
date for these amended rule sections and revise the rules accordingly.
DATES: Effective May 23, 2025. The amendments to instruction 4 (47 CFR
73.404) and instruction 5 (47 CFR 73.406), published at 89 FR 84096 on
Oct. 21, 2024, are effective May 23, 2025.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Cathy Williams, Office of the Managing
Director, Federal Communications Commission, at (202) 418-2918 or
<a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#ffbc9e8b9786d1a8969393969e928cbf999c9cd1989089"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="91d2f0e5f9e8bfc6f8fdfdf8f0fce2d1f7f2f2bff6fee7">[email protected]</span></a>.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: This document announces that the Office of
Management and Budget (OMB) approved the information collection
[[Page 22022]]
requirements in 47 CFR 73.404 and 73.406 on April 18, 2025. These rule
sections were adopted in the FM Digital First R&O, FCC 24-105. The
Commission publishes this document as an announcement of the effective
date for these amended rules.
If you have any comments on the burden estimates listed below, or
how the Commission can improve the collections and reduce any burdens
caused thereby, please contact Cathy Williams, <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#2b684a5f4352057c424747424a46586b4d4848054c445d"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="92d1f3e6faebbcc5fbfefefbf3ffe1d2f4f1f1bcf5fde4">[email protected]</span></a>.
Please include the OMB Control Number in your correspondence. The
Commission will also accept your comments via email at <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#c797958687a1a4a4e9a0a8b1"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="cb9b998a8bada8a8e5aca4bd">[email protected]</span></a>.
Synopsis
As required by the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (44 U.S.C.
3507), the Commission is notifying the public that it received final
OMB approval on April 18, 2025, for the information collection
requirements contained in 47 CFR 73.404 and 73.406. Under 5 CFR part
1320, an agency may not conduct or sponsor a collection of information
unless it displays a current, valid OMB Control Number.
No person shall be subject to any penalty for failing to comply
with a collection of information subject to the Paperwork Reduction Act
that does not display a current, valid OMB Control Number. The OMB
Control Number for the information collection requirements in 47 CFR
73.404 and 73.406 is 3060-1034.
The foregoing notice is required by the Paperwork Reduction Act of
1995, Public Law 104-13, October 1, 1995, and 44 U.S.C. 3507.
The total annual reporting burdens and costs for the respondents
are as follows:
OMB Control Number: 3060-1034.
Title: Digital Audio Broadcasting Systems and their Impact on the
Terrestrial Radio Broadcast Service; Form 2100, Schedule 335-FM--FM
Digital Notification; Form 2100, Schedule 335-AM--AM Digital
Notification.
Form Number: Form 2100, Schedule 335-FM.
Respondents: Business or other for-profit entities.
Number of Respondents and Responses: 215 respondents; 215
responses.
Estimated Hours per Response: 1 hour-8 hours.
Frequency of Response: On occasion reporting requirement.
Total Annual Burden: 345 hours.
Total Annual Cost: $128,250.
Obligation to Respond: Required to obtain or retain benefits. The
statutory authority for this collection of information is contained in
sections 154(i), 303, 310 and 553 of the Communications Act of 1934, as
amended.
Needs and Uses: On September 24, 2024, the Commission adopted the
First Report and Order in the Modifying Rules for FM Terrestrial
Digital Audio Broadcasting System, MB Docket No. 22-405, FCC 24-105 (FM
Digital First R&O) proceeding, to allow digital FM station operation
with asymmetric power on the digital sidebands. This asymmetric
sideband operation will allow digital FM stations to operate with
different power levels on the upper and lower digital sidebands, as a
way to facilitate greater digital FM radio coverage without interfering
with adjacent-channel FM stations, upon notification to the Commission
on FCC Form 2100, Schedule 335-FM. Prior to adoption of the FM Digital
First R&O, an FM digital station that wished to employ asymmetric
sideband operation had to apply for an experimental authorization and
renew that authorization annually. Initiating such operation by
notification rather than experimental authorization will be simpler and
less expensive to the licensee, and thus less burdensome. Additionally,
eliminating the requirement of annual experimental authorization will
remove a regulatory barrier and incentivize more digital FM stations to
adopt such operations. This submission was therefore made to OMB for
approval of new or modified Information Collection requirements
stemming from the FM Digital First R&O.
The changes as adopted in the FM Digital First R&O require
modifications to Schedule 335-FM and rule Sec. Sec. 73.404 and 73.406.
Specifically, the FM Digital First R&O permits digital FM stations to
use asymmetric sideband operation by notifying the Commission using
Schedule 335-FM, and modifies that schedule by including fields to
report the digital ERP being transmitted on each digital sideband, as
well as the total digital ERP. Therefore, Schedule 335-FM is being
amended to provide fields for the notifying station to indicate the
digital ERP transmitted on each digital sideband, as well as the total
digital ERP.
The Commission also made an administrative change to the procedures
used by FM station licensees seeking to increase digital power above -
14 dBc. Those requests, previously submitted by ``informal request,''
will now be submitted using Schedule 335-FM. After the effective date
of the rules adopted in the First Digital R&O, digital FM stations must
use Schedule 335-FM to request an increase in total digital ERP above -
14 dBc, using Table 1 to 73.404(f), and will also report certain
digital power decreases on Schedule 335-FM. In sum, after the effective
date of the FM Digital First R&O, a digital FM station will report the
following actions (or request authority in the case of an increase of
total digital ERP above -14 dBc) by submitting Schedule 335-FM: the
initiation of hybrid digital operation; the initiation of asymmetric
sideband operation at any power level, as well as the discontinuance of
asymmetric sideband operation; an increase of total digital ERP above -
14 dBc; or a decrease in total digital ERP from a level above -14 dBc
to a level at or below -14 dBc. As required with the current informal
request process, a station choosing to operate with total digital ERP
between -14 dBc and -10 dBc must attach an exhibit demonstrating that
the proposed FM digital ERP is permitted for each digital sideband,
using Table 1 to 73.404(f). This exhibit will now be an attachment to
the Schedule 335-FM submission. As is the case with the current
informal request process, a digital FM station choosing to operate with
total digital ERP above -14 dBc may initiate such operation upon
approval from the Commission.
Schedule 335-FM is amended as follows:
a. To include a question for the notifying station to report when
asymmetric sideband operations commenced.
b. To provide fields for the notifying station to indicate the
digital ERP transmitted on each digital sideband, as well as the total
digital ERP.
c. To include a question for the notifying station to report that
it has discontinued digital broadcasts and/or asymmetric sideband
operations, and provide the date of the discontinuance.
d. To include a question for the notifying station to report that
the total digital ERP (listed in a previous item of the schedule) is
greater than -14 dBc. A station choosing to operate with total digital
ERP between -14 dBc and -10 dBc must attach an exhibit demonstrating
that the proposed FM digital ERP is permitted for each digital
sideband, using Table 1 in Sec. 73.404(f).
e. To include a question for the notifying station to report a
decrease in the total digital ERP to -14 dBc or below, and provide the
date on which such decreased digital ERP operations commenced.
Moreover, to implement the new or modified information collection
requirements contained in the FM Digital First R&O, Sec. 73.404(e) and
(f) of
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the rules are revised to allow digital FM stations to use asymmetric
power on the digital sidebands and to use the ``Maximum permissible FM
digital ERP per-sideband'' Table to comport with the current limits on
FM digital ERP.
Additionally, the newly adopted digital FM notification
requirements are added to rule Sec. 73.406 in new paragraphs (d)(5)
and (d)(6).
Federal Communications Commission.
Marlene Dortch,
Secretary.
[FR Doc. 2025-09278 Filed 5-22-25; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6712-01-P
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