Audio Division Dismisses, Denies Objections to 994 FM Translator Applications
The FCC Media Bureau Audio Division dismissed and denied objections to 994 FM translator applications said a letter listed in Friday’s Daily Digest. The objections were raised by Prometheus Radio Project, the Center for International Media Action and Common Frequency.…
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The groups have filed “an undated Informal Objection to virtually every FM translator application pending” since May, the letter said. The objections are based on the argument that the Local Community Radio Act requires the FCC to ensure that equal numbers of licenses are available for low-power FM, FM translators and FM boosters in all markets, and said the FCC hasn’t acted to ensure the availability of LPFM licenses in its recent series of FM translator windows. The objections are “overbroad” and don’t include enough factual basis, the division said. “We reject Objectors’ conclusion that equality of status as secondary services necessarily implies that the Commission must ensure that all remaining available spectrum in all markets is equally apportioned,” staff said. “The consistent application of our codified FM translator and LPFM licensing rules does not constitute ‘bias’ against LPFM applications,” they said. “It merely reflects the fact that the applications in these two services are not similarly situated.” A Prometheus appeal of translator siting rules that it also saw as a threat to LPFM also was recently rejected (see 1805220073).