FM Translator Application Process Will Be Frontloaded; FR Delay Questioned
As the first chance for AM stations to seek FM translators in an upcoming window approaches, the underlying order approved in October (see 1510260062) is missing in action from the Federal Register, panelists noted at an FCBA Mass Media Committee brown bag lunch. The Federal Register told us it usually publishes documents given to it by other agencies within days. Last year, such delayed publication drew scrutiny from within and outside the FCC (see 1509070003 and 1509170046) and that was again on display at Tuesday's event.
Sign up for a free preview to unlock the rest of this article
If your job depends on informed compliance, you need International Trade Today. Delivered every business day and available any time online, only International Trade Today helps you stay current on the increasingly complex international trade regulatory environment.
Rules for applications to relocate an FM translator will lead to a glut of applications being filed Jan. 29, the first day the window for Class C and D AM stations is open, said Fletcher Heald broadcast attorney Matthew McCormick at the FCBA event. The applications process is first-come, first-served, and broadcasters get only one shot to apply, two factors that will cause stations to get in early despite the six-month long application window, he said. The event on the AM revitalization order featured Commissioner Ajit Pai, broker Gregory Guy of Patrick Communications and Senior Engineer Michael Rhodes of Cavell Mertz.
Broadcasters have only one shot to get a translator through either the upcoming windows to relocate translators from within 250 miles or the post-incentive auction window to acquire new translators, McCormick said. An application during one window precludes an application during future windows, and once an application is rejected, the broadcaster can’t reapply during any of the other translator windows, he said. Since the FCC will assign translators in the order they’re requested, a subsequent translator application that is mutually exclusive with an earlier one will be rejected outright, he said. “Lots of activity is going to take place on day one.”
The translator windows are not a “panacea” for AM radio, said Pai. Though he initially didn’t support the translator relocation window, he said the combination of options may keep translator prices from skyrocketing and make it less likely that translators will be relocated only to urban areas. Translator prices connected with the upcoming relocation window are from $25,000 to $50,000 each, said Guy. Those prices don’t represent a significant upswing, broadcast attorneys told us. Urban areas are so congested with signals that there's little room for translators, especially those with large footprints, said Rhodes. Pai said more fixes for the AM band are expected to come out of the Further NPRM and notice of inquiry connected with the AM revitalization order, which looked at eliminating nighttime skywave protections for Class A AM stations and the future of digital radio.
Though Pai said he was looking forward to the comments that would be submitted in response to the AM revitalization FNPRM, there’s no date for those comments to come in because the item hasn't been published in the Federal Register despite being approved in October and the first translator window’s approaching opening. McCormick said he was told the item was submitted to the Federal Register in December. The Media Bureau didn't comment on the publication delay. Items submitted to the FR are typically published three days after submission, said FR Staff Attorney Miriam Vincent in an interview, though editing concerns and other factors can lead to longer delays. Vincent wouldn't comment on the status of the AM revitalization order or any specific document.
Proposals to do away with skywave protections are likely to get a lot of pushback from the larger broadcasters that own Class A stations, said McCormick. Broadcast attorneys connected with smaller stations have said the skywave protection makes it harder for smaller AM stations to remain viable by severely limiting their coverage area. Possession of an FM translator increases the value of AM stations, Guy said. Few investors even consider putting money into AM stations without one, and a larger broadcaster may see buying an AM station with a translator as an easy route to procuring a translator for themselves, he said.