After mulling over comments that were filed back in March, the Federal Communications Commission has established eligibility parameters for the forthcoming 88–92 MHz FM translator window.
There will be a 10-application cap for most filings and a requirement that each applicant be the licensee or permittee of either an existing noncom FM station, noncom AM station or an LPFM station that the proposed translator will rebroadcast.
In addition, it will move forward with a four-application cap for Tribal LPFM applicants and a two-application cap for all other LPFM applicants.
Finally, there will be a four-year “holding period” for each translator granted, in an effort to dissuade speculative filings.
As we reported, the filing period is expected to open later this year. However, in the FCC’s public notice, there is no mention of forthcoming dates for the translator window.
(Read the FCC’s May 28 public notice.)
Precedent
The FCC’s Media Bureau said it has employed application caps in prior full-service noncom FM windows and commercial FM translator windows to promote efficiency, curb speculative applications and expedite the processing of applications and new services, while preserving spectrum and future licensing opportunities.
It did so in the 2007 and 2021 filing windows for full-service noncom stations.
“In each window, this application limit helped restrict the number of mutually exclusive applications and allowed the commission to expeditiously process and grant thousands of applications to a wide range of local and diverse applicants,” the bureau said.
The commission also imposed restrictions in prior FM translator filing windows.
The FCC had sought comment on whether the 10-application cap and additional restrictions for Tribal and LPFM applicants were warranted. The commenters uniformly agreed that some limits are advisable, the commission said, but they were not in agreement on a specific cap and set of restrictions.
One commenter, Kyle Magrill, suggested a larger application limit contingent on broadcast market size.
Cedar Cove Broadcasting recommended allowing “established” noncom FM stations to file 30 applications, but capping the number of each applicant’s mutually exclusive applications.
Michelle Bradley’s REC Networks and Dave Solomon’s LPFM Advocacy Group each opposed Cedar Cove’s proposal.
In the end, the commission said it found a 10-application as the best solution to provide parties with “a meaningful opportunity to file for and obtain” new noncom FM translator licenses, while preserving spectrum for future secondary services and detering speculative filings.
Primary station restriction
Several commenters — including REC Networks, K-Love and the National Religious Broadcasters — endorsed the FCC’s proposal to require that each applicant be the licensee or permittee of an existing primary station that the proposed FM translator would rebroadcast.
Only one commenter, it said, opposed the restriction.
The FCC cited NRB’s comment which stated that “tying translator authorizations to a primary station provides a clear and workable standard that aligns with the commission’s longstanding commitment to localism and community service.”
Game theory
REC Networks recommended imposing a four-year holding period on CPs granted in the filing window to strike an appropriate balance in determining whether an application was filed for the purpose of being “gamed” or whether it was originally intended to provide a valid service. This provision was not originally in the FCC’s proposal.
The LPFM Advocacy Group wanted the holding period to be one year to address the risk of “immediate flipping, paper shuffling of primaries, or rapid untethering of translators shortly after the grant or license.”
The FCC opted for REC’s parameters. As a result, from the time the FCC grants a construction permit in the translator filing window until the facility has reached four years of on-air operations, the permittee or licensee:
- Must maintain, and cannot change, the primary station to be rebroadcast by the FM translator.
- Cannot assign or transfer its FM translator authorization to a different entity unless it is in conjunction with the assignment or transfer of the primary station to that same entity.
Some commenters requested that it make material changes to several rules before opening the window, but the FCC noted that since they fall outside the scope of the proceeding, they would not be considered.
According to REC Networks, some of those modifications included modifying the selection process to reconsider the priority for fill-in FM translators, as well as changes to the LPFM requirement that translators must receive their primary station over the air.
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