Some LPFM Hopefuls Ready to File Applications; Others Get Information Outside FCC Site
Organizations hoping to apply for a low-power FM station license when the filing window opens have found resources outside the FCC to aid them in the weeks the agency has been shut down, they said. Applicants said they aren’t able to access the website for the window, which, until the government shutdown occurred, was set to open Tuesday. Some organizations are ready to file a complete, accurate application as soon as the FCC re-opens, while others said blocked access has prevented them from obtaining information necessary for preparing their applications. The shutdown had canceled the agency’s LPFM webinar earlier this month, and the lack of the commission’s online tools was causing applicants problems (CD Oct 4 p2).
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North Austin Community Radio still plans to file an application when the window opens, said Lloyd Ewing, on NACR’s board. The group plans to have a new LPFM station in Austin airing jazz, classical, ska and other music, he said. “We can’t fill out the applications that are online and we can’t get data that we need from the FCC,” like older applications, he said. “When you're an amateur trying to deal with these complex things, it’s real helpful to look at other applications that have been through the system before and use those as examples.” But that’s all been taken down, too, he added.
Ewing probably won’t be prepared to file the application as soon as the FCC site is restored, he said. “Within a week or so I'd be ready.” NACR still needs to find a proper frequency, he said. “In Austin, we have very limited space on the FM dial, and there are limited places where we can put a new station.” This week, Ewing plans to connect with other local would-be applicants to figure out a way for all their stations to fit, he said. Many people probably wouldn’t be ready, “because of where they were in the process when the website went down,” said Ewing. “They were expecting to have two weeks of access to the website before the window opened.”
The FCC site could help an applicant find other organizations that also want to apply in the same area, said Nick Clark, a producer at Rochester Free Radio in New York. “We don’t know what the competition is in the city,” he said. “I don’t know if we have another organization that is trying to get an LPFM slot here in Rochester.” Having that information can help the organization identify another group with similar interests and a similar mission “that we could work with to help share costs,” he said. Rochester Free Radio is ready to file a complete and accurate application, Clark said. RFR has been preparing for the application process since February 2012, and received sufficient engineering assistance, he said.
Hollow Earth Radio is trying to confirm the location of its potential LPFM station, said Forrest Baum, a board member at the Seattle-based online radio station. “Other than that, we're pretty much there.” The station is working with a radio engineer who is assessing the location, and “we have some studies and maps we can look at,” he said.
Some applicants in tribal areas are ready to go, said Loris Ann Taylor, CEO of Native Public Media. But the shutdown’s effect on tribal governments could disrupt plans for new LPFM stations, she said. There are a lot of questions, “because the delay of reopening the government is placing a lot of uncertainty on what tribes will prioritize in the future,” she said. Tribal governments already are affected financially by the shutdown, she said. “The longer the shutdown continues, we believe that the consequences will be much more serious.” Negative impacts on the financial standing of tribal governments “will translate into a reduction in programs and services or the workforce,” she said. “When that happens, it definitely will have an impact on whether some of our applicants will be able to move their applications forward for low power FM.”
When the government resumes operations, the FCC should make adjustments to the filing window, said Tom Norton, general manager of WKTV Wyoming, Mich. The public access channel applied for an LPFM station in 2000, when the commission authorized LPFM service, he said. If the government were to open on the 20th, “I hope they don’t keep the closure of the window on the 29th,” Norton said. “They should honor the full period of 14 days,” the length of time the window had been set to run, he said. WKTV employees are contacting members of Congress and urging them to ensure that the FCC goes forward with the window, he said.
Most organizations are ready to file the moment the window opens, said Clark. But perhaps a delay “would give a chance for them to take a breather and go back over their work and find any holes that need to be filled in,” he said. “I don’t think it’s a bad idea to extend the window for as long as the FCC’s been down."
"A delay would be totally justified because some of the resources that people have been wanting to use haven’t been there,” said Baum. However, “I don’t think I'd be in favor of pushing it all back too far, but giving people some notice, rather than opening it without some notice would be really helpful,” he said.
Information from the Prometheus Radio Project and other websites have been alternative resources for potential LPFM seekers, said those future applicants. “There are certain things I can do without the site and we have some very good tools online,” said Ewing. Recnet.com is a good resource for LPFM information, he said. “Everything we do is preliminary and tentative because things can still change when they bring the government back.” There are plenty of resources offline and there are plenty of people helping, like Brown Paper Tickets, a group that donates its profits to non-profit organizations, Baum said.