FCC Commissioner Ajit Pai is pushing the idea of the commission opening an application window for AM owners who want to apply for an FM translator. At the recent NAB Show, Pai said he wanted the window to open no later than 2015.
Today, the GOP commissioner said what needs to happen before that window can open should occur by Halloween.
“If the FCC acts soon, that window could open next year,” Pai told the Pennsylvania Association of Broadcasters this morning.
Many, both in and outside the industry, believe the one-to-a-customer translator window is a short-term solution for AMs ills.
The commission is sorting through some 200 comments filed in its Notice of Proposed Rulemaking to revitalize the senior band. Pai proposes to meet with stakeholders beginning this summer to help sort through which of the short- and long-term ideas “merit action and which ones need further study.”