Anxious applicants from the December filing window for new LPFM stations are getting an update on the results.
The commission received 1,336 applications for new LPFM service, as we reported in December. Now it says it has identified more than 700 technically acceptable LPFM applications from that total that are not in conflict with other applications — thus these are singleton applications rather than part of mutually exclusive or MX groups that are in technical conflict with one another.
The commission has put those applications on public notice, announcing them as “accepted for filing.” Its daily LMS Applications Public Notice announces the action and starts a 30-day period for the filing of petitions to deny. The FCC also said it is still sorting applications and identifying acceptable singletons.
The FCC also has lifted its temporary filing freeze on any “minor” amendments to new LPFM applications that were submitted in the filing window.
This was the first LPFM filing window since 2013. There are 1,967 currently licensed LPFM stations, according to the latest data from the commission.
The Media Bureau says it will release notices identifying mutually exclusive application groups in the coming weeks. Then MX applicants will be able to file technical amendments and/or enter into settlement agreements to resolve their application conflicts. Procedures for filing settlement agreements and technical amendments are available on the FCC website.
If the commission follows a schedule similar to its process in 2013, we should be expecting to see the FCC’s MX Group designations in two to three weeks, said Michelle Bradley, a community radio advocate and the founder of REC Networks.
REC already performed studies on the window applicants and Bradley estimates that there will be 127 MX groups.
“As of 5 p.m. on 2/1/24, there had been 12 such amendments filed (since the freeze was lifted). This means that they can file amendments to move up to 11.2 km or further if there is 60 dBu contour overlap between the original and amendment locations, change to an adjacent channel (+/- 1, 2, 3, 53 or 54 channels) as well as make certain administrative changes,” Bradley said in an email to Radio World.
Upon the release of an MX group, applicants will have a 60-day period to resolve conflicts through two methods: settlement agreements or technical amendments. Only minor engineering amendments can be accepted during the 60-day settlement period. MX applicants may also enter into voluntary time-share agreements.
Information about the applicants in the filing window, including REC’s predicted designation of MX Groups, can be found at the REC Filing Window Tracking System.
The FCC said that any party seeking more information on the LPFM filing window is asked to contact James Bradshaw at the commission at [email protected].
