The FCC received three more requests for waivers of its DTV simulcast rules, all from non-commercial educational stations. KEDT-DT, Corpus Christi, Texas, requested a four-month waiver while KTWU-DT, Topeka, Kansas and WQED-DT, Pittsburgh, requested six-month waivers. The FCC granted the KEDT-DT waiver request in full for four months, but agreed to grant the KTWU-DT and WQED-DT waivers only until the simulcasting issues are resolved in the release of an order in the second DTV periodic review. The FCC reiterated that these waivers did not waive existing rules regarding the minimum hours of operation on digital channels.
The stations said they do not have the encoding equipment in place to originate simulcast feeds and are relying on other HDTV feeds, including those from PBS and American Public Television. More information is available in the FCC Order DA 03-3507.
