New Low Power FM Opportunity for YOUR Station?

If your station is operating legally with out an FCC license over the net, cable FM, carrier current or the like, there may be a new opportunity for you to apply for a Low Power FM (LPFM) station next summer.  Under orders from the U.S. Congress, the FCC is trying to put the opportunity to apply for a new LPFM station on the fast track.  In governmental terms, this means the likely earliest opportunity will be next summer.

The process to make this happen is a complicated issue as the FCC has to address the issue of a large number of applications that are on hold from a previous filing window in 2003 for translators, which are stations that rebroadcast another station.  In order to make way for LPFM stations, the FCC has to make frequencies available and all of those old applications preclude some LPFM applications on any frequency in many markets.   The FCC has proposed eliminating all of the old applications in many large markets  in order to make room for the LPFM stations.  Those who filed applications in the previous window and may have their applications dismissed aren’t happy and many have filed comments with the FCC objecting to the proposed changes.  One of the biggest complaints they make is that the rules for translators and LPFM stations are different in a way that makes the loss of their potential translator not an opportunity for an LPFM station.  In fact, it appears, according to some comments filed with the FCC,  that in some markets that even if all the outstanding translator applications are dismissed, no LPFM stations would be able to get on the air because of the differences in the rules.

The FCC will have to sort through all the various opinions and facts it receives and then issue a final rule or ask for additional comments before opening an opportunity for parties to file an application for an LPFM station.

What should you take away from this if you are interested in obtaining an FM frequency?  Now is the time to start asking questions, making proposals to obtain permission to file an LPFM license and make plans to have someone competent keep an eye on this issue even over the summer months.  If a window of opportunity to file an application does open, you need to be prepared to file the application with the assistance of an engineer and an FCC knowledgeable lawyer.  That will require some money and someone at the station making sure the work gets done!

If you are in a large market, your chances at finding a frequency to use is very small.  Outside of the large markets, particularly in rural areas, you have a much better chance of obtaining a license.

Have questions?  Join the CBI email list and/or come the convention to learn about this topic and a whole lot more while meeting peers at student stations from around the country.