Late last year, EchoStar Satellite told the FCC it opposed requests from 36 TV stations for waivers from the commission's digital signal tests. Scripps Howard Broadcasting Company, which owns the licenses of two of the stations named in the EchoStar Opposition, filed an objection earlier this month, telling the commission that EchoStar should have served a copy of its filing on the stations or their counsel. EchoStar Satellite electronically filed a consolidated opposition to the requests of 36 stations on Dec. 30, 2005 for a waiver of digital signal testing outlined in Docket 05-317.
The FCC extended the time for filing responses to the opposition "in order to ensure that all parties are given an opportunity to review and respond to the issues raised in the Opposition," it said in Public Notice DA-06-579. The notice stated that documents for which service is required must be served in paper form, even if the documents are electronically filed with the FCC, unless the party to be served agrees to accept service in some other form. Parties are also required to provide proof of service to the commission.
EchoStar has now served all 36 stations with its opposition. Stations may file a response no later than this Friday, March 24, 2006. The statutory deadline for the FCC to act on waiver requests is April 30, 2006.
See Public Notice DA-06-579 for additional information. See FCC Sets Deadlines for SHVERA Waivers in the Nov. 22, 2005 RF Report for information on waiver requests.
