LPFM Applicants Wait for FCC Media Bureau to Review Applications Post-LPFM Window
As the FCC begins sorting through low-power FM permit applications submitted during the Oct. 17-Nov. 15 filing period, LPFM hopefuls can expect the selection of mutually exclusive groups to be a lengthy process, some attorneys and LPFM advocates said. The filing window closed last week after it was extended for one day after the Consolidated Database System crashed (CD Nov 18 p23). The Media Bureau plans to disclose the number of applications it received in about one week, an FCC spokeswoman said. The process to identify singletons is expected to begin in the next several weeks, she said. This will allow the commission to begin granting applications and issuing new station construction permits in January, she said.
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The “singletons,” or applications that don’t have other applications vying for the same frequency, should be fairly easy to process, said Sanjay Jolly, policy director for Prometheus Radio Project. The mutually exclusive groups will be more complicated, he said. Some of these groups are going to be very big and “I think you're going to see some very contentious petitions to deny,” he said. The Audio Division is keeping this in mind and wants to get this over with as quickly as possible, he added.
Figuring out the mutually exclusive groups will take months at the least, said Harry Cole, broadcast attorney at Fletcher Heald. Once the singletons are identified, sorting out the mutually exclusive groups usually takes considerably longer, he said. The bureau will have to engage in a series of analyses, including having to “weed through the qualifications” to identify whether there are people who filed multiple applications but shouldn’t have, he said.
The vast majority of LPFM applications will likely face mutually exclusive challenges, said Jim Ellinger, a member of Austin Airwaves, a community advocacy group in Texas. After the FCC publishes the list of successful applicants, Austin Airwaves, which helped about 10 organizations apply for LPFMs, plans to invite all LPFM applicants in central Texas to a reception and urge them to start working towards mutually exclusive resolutions, he said. When applicants in a mutually exclusive group have negotiations, they talk about sharing the frequency, Ellinger said. “Many of these LPFM stations will be shared facilities."
Applicants shouldn’t expect to see new construction permits until 2015, said Ellinger. Applicants aided by Austin Airwaves include a group that provides a support group for soldiers at Fort Hood, Texas, he said. If the group’s application is granted, its signal will reach soldiers on that base, he said. “We've been telling our friends that nothing will happen this year, nothing will happen next year, but maybe something will happen in 2015.” It’s just not in the nature of the Media Bureau to move quickly, he said: “They are glacier-like.” In 2015, the FCC will likely start issuing construction permits for singletons, he added.
A proceeding aimed at allowing AM licensees to apply for FM translators could complicate matters for LPFM hopefuls, Jolly said. In an NPRM, the FCC proposed to open an FM translator filing window for AM licensees in an effort to improve the AM band (CD Nov 4 p8). “My hope is that it doesn’t complicate matters in terms of scooping up the valuable channels, especially in urban markets,” Jolly said. Jolly said he expects the LPFM applications to be protected: “Certain channels will be protected but there is an opportunity for ‘LPs’ to move around in a technical settlement."
The Local Community Radio Act mandates that the services for LPFM and AM remain equal in status, the FCC spokeswoman said. All LPFM applications filed in the window will be filed first vis-a-vis any filing opportunity that results from the window proposal in the AM revitalization NPRM, she added.
If it turns out that the number of applications filed is far less than expected, then there could be more space for FM translators, said Cole. But the space that’s available could be a location that’s undesirable for a translator, he said. “Any spectrum shoveled off to LPFM is not going to be spectrum that can be used by new translators.” Any applications for translators that are filed now will have to protect LPFM stations, he added.
The bureau will allow the filing of amendments to change channel positions after it releases a public notice on mutually exclusive groups (CD Oct 25 p17). It’s not unusual for applicants to file amendments, Cole said. “The trouble is shoehorning a lot of LPFMs into the narrow spaces that were available for them may not leave them much opportunity for amendment.” There are restrictions in terms of technical amendments, Jolly said. “I don’t expect a lot of amendments for swapping channels.”