It’s a call that any prospective licensee would be happy to get — confirmation from the Federal Communications Commission that a pending call sign has been assigned.
In the month of June, more than 30 licensees had either a new call sign assigned to them or had their call sign reassigned. While the majority of assignments involved changing a licensee’s call sign from one sign to another, there were four new call signs handed out by the FCC — three to FM stations and one to a LPFMer.
That low-power call sign went to La Meaestra Family Clinic in El Cajon, Calif., a health center focused on low-income and immigrant residents. A new call sign was also assigned to Bay Broadcasting Co. in Dillingham, Alaska. The new KAKD(FM) joins sister noncommercial station KAKN — also owned by Bay Broadcasting Co. — which is across Bristol Bay in Naknek, Alaska.
Far away in Texas, the nonprofit radio network Radio Bilingue was assigned call sign KHEM(FM) in Zapata, Texas. This network provides stations with news, information and cultural programming in Spanish and musical programs showcasing a variety of Latino formats.
The last new call sign in June was assigned to Canton Seventh-Day Adventist Church in Greenup, Ill., (WLSQ). This Christian-radio station joins WLSE, an affiliate of the LifeTalk Radio network.
When it comes to reassigned call signs, new assignments were issued to religious organizations, media companies, individual licensees as well as nonprofit organizations like OPAL Environmental Justice Oregon, a grassroots environmental advocacy group in Portland that has been assigned KICN(LP), or Radio Free Fort Myers, a youth outreach service who has been reassigned the low-power call sign WOKE(LP).
The complete list of Media Bureau call sign actions can be found here.
