An LPFM operator in southern Connecticut has entered into a consent decree with the FCC after it was found to be operating above its licensed transmitting power and falsely certifying that it was in compliance.
107.5 WNHA(LP) is licensed to New Haven and operated by Alma Radio, running Spanish-language Christian programming. It has been silent under a special temporary authority since June.
The Media Bureau had launched an investigation into WNHA’s technical facilities following a petition filed by an entity called the WBLS Listeners’ Coalition.
The consent decree resulted in the commission terminating its investigation. But it admonished WNHA for falsely certifying that it was, in fact, operating with its proper transmitting power output. As a result, WNHA must revert to its previously licensed parameters and submit a full compliance report.
There is no financial forfeiture as part of the agreement.
WBLS listener coalition
The issue traces back to February 2022, when WNHA filed an application for a construction permit to relocate its antenna to a higher space on its tower, which lowered its authorized effective radiated power to 18 watts. The commission granted the application that February.
According to the Media Bureau, a few weeks later, the “WBLS Listeners’ Coalition” filed a petition for reconsideration of the grant. 107.5 WBLS(FM), the same-channel New York City R&B station, is approximately 65 miles southwest of New Haven, but it places 54 dBu coverage into much of neighboring Fairfield County.
The coalition claimed WNHA was operating at a power higher than authorized, causing interference to WBLS throughout towns such as Fairfield, Easton, Trumbull, Monroe and Milford. Its study concluded that the station was operating with approximately 975 watts of power.
(Read the details of the FCC’s consent decree with Alma Radio.)
Three years later in February 2025, WNHA responded, stating it was operating at its authorized ERP. However, according to the commission, one of its supporting documents showed the station was actually running with 50 watts of transmitter power output. Based on its documented antenna, this would have resulted in an ERP above 18 watts, according to the commission.
That discrepancy led the Media Bureau to issue WNHA a letter of inquiry, requiring complete technical information on its transmitter and antenna.
The WBLS Listeners’ Coalition then submitted a supplement that included photos of WNHA’s transmitter and a statement from an engineer, Dave Anderson.
The coalition provided a photo that it said showed the station was using a two-bay antenna rather than the single-bay system authorized in its 2022 license. Thus, the coalition asserted, WNHA violated both the antenna type and maximum ERP set out in its authorization. The coalition estimated that a two-bay installation with the deployed coaxial cable would result in an ERP of approximately 47 watts.
The FCC granted the coalition’s petition in June. Some back and forth resulted, eventually leading to WNHA acknowledging that the station had operated at 50 watts TPO “for a brief time” in 2022, though it denied its earlier “misstatement” was intentional.
Ultimately, the FCC agreed to end its investigation and return the station’s 2017 license to active status in exchange for Alma Radio admitting to the investigation’s factual findings.
Alma Radio is now required to relocate its antenna to the previously authorized antenna placement and adhere to a maximum permitted ERP of 66 watts at a height of approximately 65 feet.
Before broadcast resumption, the station must submit and receive approval for a comprehensive compliance report verifying the installation with photos, calculations and tower owner confirmation.
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