The FCC has dismissed approximately 60 applications for new NCE FM licenses and major modifications. The reason: not getting their paperwork in time.
The commission said in its decision that each applicant did not file a Form 340 on time or did not electronically amend its pending application by the close of the October 2007 NCE filing window. Instead, the petitioners submitted new and major change applications on paper after the filing window had closed, along with requests that the Media Bureau waive the deadline.
The original filing deadline was Oct. 19, 2007; the FCC extended it to Oct. 22 after the electronic filing system was down for 6-1/2 hours. The applicants told the FCC they still had problems with the electronic filing system and asked that their paperwork be accepted.
The commission said the applicants didn’t provide a compelling reason for filing late, stating in its decision that the agency had given applicants six months to turn in their paperwork and warned them several times that late paperwork would be returned “without further consideration.”
More than 830 applications were filed successfully during the last seven hours of the window, negating the argument that the performance of the agency’s electronic filing system was degraded towards the end of the window, according to the commission.
The list of 58 dismissed applications is on pages 5 and 6 of this notice (PDF).
