All those forms — long and short, pre- and post-auction — must be filed on time when applying for a new construction permit with the Federal Communications Commission.
That’s the situation a licensee finds itself in after applying for a new FM broadcast construction permit in Hugo, Colo.
ScarboroughRadio LLC took part in the July auction (known as Auction 109) and was deemed to be a winning bidder of the Hugo permit. Winning bidders were required to file a post-auction long-form application — specifically FCC Form 2100, Schedule 301. And bidders were reminded through a Public Notice that if a winning bidder fails to submit the required application before the deadline — and also fails to establish a good reason for the delay — their application will be dismissed and they will be subject to a forfeiture payment.
In Scarborough’s case, it submitted its long-form application more than two weeks past the deadline, according to the FCC. It also did not request any sort of waiver to explain the late filing.
As a result, the Media Bureau sent a notice of apparent liability for forfeiture to Scarborough after finding that the licensee violated the FCC rules by failing to file the post-auction Form 2100 application on time.
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Ordinarily, as the Media Bureau has said, a winning bidder that fails to file the required long-form application on time is deemed to be in default. That typically means that the application is dismissed and the licensee is subject to payments laid out in the commission’s rules.
But sometimes special circumstances might lead the bureau to determine that a late-filed application can still be accepted. In this case, the bureau noted that Scarborough complied with all previous Auction 109 requirements. The bureau also noted that the licensee made a late payment on the balance of its auction bid just before filing its long-form application. And it said that the FM licensing process was not significantly delayed by Scarborough’s late filing.
“We find it in the public interest to avoid a delay in implementing new service to Hugo, Colo., by having to re-auction the FM construction permit, and therefore on our own motion grant a waiver as discussed below,” the bureau said in the order it released.
However, even though the commission agreed to accept the late-filed long-form application, the bureau still found that Scarborough failed to comply with the rules and said it would grant the construction application on the premise that Scarborough will submit a $3,000 forfeiture.
The licensee has 30 days to either pay or file a written statement seeking reduction or cancellation.
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