The MaxxKonnect Group has acquired FCCInfo.com, a popular industry data resource, from Cavell, Mertz & Associates.
“The broadcast industry in general is getting smaller, we all know that,” said Josh Bohn, president/CEO of MaxxKonnect, a broadcast technology solutions provider based in Pelham, Ala.
“Resources are getting strained more every day. This site simplifies so many tasks by demystifying the FCC site.”
FCCInfo.com is a free data resource that is used by many broadcast industry professionals including the staff of Radio World. It is not affiliated with the Federal Communications Commission, but most of its data comes directly from public FCC databases.
Its AM, FM and TV data primarily originates from the FCC Media Bureau’s Licensing and Management System database. The Wireless Bureau’s ULS database is the source of its broadcast microwave and land mobile data, while “Places” data comes from the USGS’s list of populated places, and tower information from the FCC Antenna Structure Registration database.
“It’s a chore to hunt through the LMS for things, some of which are almost impossible to find unless you happen to know where to look,” Bohn told Radio World.
Cavell Mertz is a technical consulting firm that since 2023 has been part of Capitol Airspace Group. It is based in Alexandria, Va.
“I, like so many thousands of others in our industry, use FCCInfo almost daily,” Bohn said. “One day, Gary Cavell and I were chatting, and we determined it was the right fit for both of us for MaxxKonnect to take over the care and feeding of it.”
[Read our 2019 profile of Gary Cavell, when he and Cindy Hutter Cavell received NAB’s Engineering Achievement Awards for radio and TV, respectively.]
Much of FCCInfo.com’s code had been written years ago by Dan Ryson for an internal Cavell Mertz software tool. The company later decided to take it public as an industry benefit.
Bohn said MaxxKonnect plans to modernize the back-end code base and eventually may revamp the site’s user interface.
“We have no plans to paywall any of the existing search option services on the site. We may add some premium features which may include a fee, but the existing searches that everyone has been using for more than 20 years will continue as they are, completely free of charge.”
The Cavell Mertz team will remain involved as advisors.
“With all our other workload, we felt that we really haven’t had the time to pursue the improvements and new services we wanted to offer as the industry evolved,” Gary Cavell said.
“The MaxxKonnect team has considerable depth, fresh ideas and available staff, which we feel lends itself to taking the site to the next level. We also wanted to make sure that the tool was preserved for everyone’s use going forward by people whose hair wasn’t as gray as ours. The firm has always been interested in teaching and sharing knowledge whenever we can.”
The FCC publishes LMS (AM/FM/TV) data daily as well as a complete update of ULS (broadcast auxiliary) and Antenna Structure Registration data once weekly. FCCInfo.com’s automated import routine is set to match the FCC’s pace, according to an FAQ. The dates of import are shown at the bottom of pages containing FCC data. The “populated places,” Zip-code and airport databases are updated sporadically.
[Related: MaxxKonnect Offers Free FCC Compliance Password Generator]
