FCC To Accept LPFM Apps in June for Remaining States
4/12/01
The FCC has announced that from June 11 through 15, 2001, it will accept applications for 100-watt Low Power FM stations in the following states and territories: Alabama, Arizona, Arkansas, Florida, Guam, Iowa, Kentucky, Massachusetts, Montana, Nebraska, New Jersey, New Mexico, North Carolina, North Dakota, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Texas, U.S. Virgin Islands, Vermont, Washington, and West Virginia. Applications must be filed electronically on FCC Form 318.
On March 22, 2001, the FCC revised its LPFM regulations to provide protection to full power third-adjacent channel broadcast and translator stations, in accordance with the Congressional action of last December. They have accepted for filing 255 LPFM applications out of the approximately 1200 that were filed in the first two windows. The FCC will hold a remedial filing window in the next several months for those who filed applications that do not meet the third-adjacent channel spacings.
The upcoming June filing window is the last major step in the process of the filing of applications for 100-watt Low Power FM stations across the country, which started at the end of May 2000.
FM searches for any U.S. State or possession are available from Evans Associates, Consulting Telecommunications Engineers.
The FCC has divided the 50 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico and other territories under FCC jurisdiction into five groups of approximately twelve geographically diverse areas. LPFM applicants proposing to locate transmitters in a particular state or jurisdiction must file during the time period representing the window for the group that includes that state or jurisdiction.
The five groups, and the order in which applications for these groups are being accepted, are as follows:
Group V: Alaska, California, District of Columbia, Georgia, Indiana, Louisiana, Maine, Mariana Islands, Maryland, Oklahoma, Rhode Island, Utah. - window dates: May 30 - June 8, 2000
Group I: Connecticut, Illinois, Kansas, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, Nevada, New Hampshire, Puerto Rico, Virginia, Wyoming. - window dates: August 28 - September 1, 2000
Group II: American Samoa, Colorado, Delaware, Hawaii, Idaho, Missouri, New York, Ohio, South Carolina, South Dakota, Wisconsin. - window dates: January 16 - 22, 2001
Group IV: Arizona, Florida, Iowa, New Jersey, North Dakota, Oregon, Tennessee, Texas, U.S. Virgin Islands, Vermont, West Virginia. - window dates : June 11 - 15, 2001
Group III: Alabama, Arkansas, Guam, Kentucky, Massachusetts, Montana, Nebraska, New Mexico, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, Washington. - window dates : June 11 - 15, 2001
(Groups IV and III combined into one filing window)
At least 30 days prior to each filing window, a public notice will announce the dates of that window.
Window filings for 10-watt LPFM stations will be announced after the last 100-watt application window is over.
For the first time since 1978, the Commission, on January 20, 2000, authorized the construction of new low-power broadcast stations on the FM band. The Commission created two classes of LPFM stations; LP100, authorized for 50 to 100 watts effective radiated power at 30 meters antenna height above average terrain (HAAT), and LP10, from 1 to 10 watts at 30 meters HAAT. Any frequency on the FM band (from 88.1 MHz to 107.9 MHz) can be assigned to an LPFM station, subject to minimum distance spacings to other FM stations. Instructions on how to file an application are posted on the FCC's LPFM web page (www.fcc.gov/mmb/asd/lpfm).
LPFM will be strictly a non-commercial service. Educational institutions, religious organizations, public safety organizations, or other associations with an educational purpose are eligible to apply, but not individuals. Any party with an attributable interest in any other broadcast station or other media will not be able to also hold an interest in any LPFM stations. Anyone who has ever operated a station without a license in violation of FCC rules is not eligible to apply (as per Congressional mandate).
License periods are for eight years, renewable. Construction permits will be effective for 18 months, and no extensions can be expected, no matter what the cause of delay. Construction permits and licenses will not be transferable.
In situations where more than one application for an LPFM station in a community has been filed and only one can be granted (mutually-exclusive applications), the FCC will evaluate all applicants based on a point system. Points will be awarded based on community presence, proposed number of hours of operation, and proposed number of hours of locally originated programming. The applicant with the highest number of points will be awarded the license. If there is a tie among two or more applicants, the situation can be resolved either by settlement, in which applicants voluntarily withdraw their applications, or by a time-share agreement among the tied applicants. If a tie is not resolved through a settlement or time-share agreement, up to eight tied applicants will be awarded successive license terms of at least one year over an total period of eight years.
In the first two years of LPFM availability, only local applicants will be eligible and no one may own more than one LPFM station. In the third year, a party may own up to five LPFM stations nationwide. After three years of LPFM availability, a party may own up to 10 LPFM stations nationwide. No one will be able to own two LPFM stations separated by less than seven miles.
Other highlights of LPFM as adopted by the Commission:
Contact Ben Evans, P.E. at Evans Associates for a frequency search in your area of interest, or to prepare an FCC application for an LPFM station.
For more information please contact:
Evans Associates
210 South Main Street
Thiensville, Wisconsin 53092
(262)242-6000
fax: (262)242-6045
http://www.evansassoc.com
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