A guide to what the FCC really means when it issues dates for filings, takes amendments to applications, and other such matters- plus the truth about who is really at fault for the delays.
Many people have been confused by the FCC's public announcements and website in recent months. This is understandable, since to the casual observer many things you might find on the FCC's website seem contradictory. For example, in some places there are still references to the original schedule for accepting applications from May 2000 to May 2001. In other places, it says that the dates of the last two windows are "to be announced." Another example is the FCC's new policy on taking amendments to applications, which raises more questions than it resolves. I get four or five emails a week asking me questions like "how can it be that the FCC can establish a mere five day window in which you can apply for a license, but sometimes things that they said would happen in August still haven't happened the following April?"
n dealing with the FCC around LPFM, it is important to realize that LPFM is a brand new service and the rules are not all set in stone yet. No one has done this before, and the FCC itself has not really figured out a lot of its procedures and processes that are going to be used in this service. It's important to realize that when you talk to an FCC staff person, sometimes you are just getting their opinion of how things should get done, not necessarily how things will ultimately be decided..
There are a number of inconsistencies on the FCC's website, especially old press releases and documents that have been superceded by more recent actions. There are also strange anomalies that really should be posted, like the fact that you can't apply for a low power radio station with the electronic form 318 using a Macintosh computer. Before you blow a gasket while you are pining for your construction permit, I urge you to put yourself in the FCC staffs' shoes for a moment and consider for a moment the roller coaster policy ride that LPFM has taken for the past year:
The country is divided up into five windows of ten states each, with the first one applying in May 2000 and the last one set to apply inFebruary of 2001. The NAB kicks it's lobbying effort into high gear. Washington insiders scoff at the NAB lobbying effort, telling activists that Congress would have to overstep its authority in the most egregious possible manner to take away the FCC's authority over radio engineering decisionmaking. In all its history, Congress has never passed legislation relating to technical minutiae such as interference standards.
Mid Spring 2000
Defying all reason and precedent, the NAB convinces the mendacious warthogs in the US House of Representatives to limit the authority of the FCC on Low Power FM. Still the Senate is not much interested in the issue, and President Clinton indicates his support for LPFM, suggesting that he would sign no bill that tampered with the FCC's authority to license radio stations.
Late Spring 2000
the FCC opens the first windows for application, as promised. In the first two windows over 1200 apply for LPFM stations, far exceeding the FCC's projections.
Fall of 2000
Anti-LPFM legislation gathers steam. In an effort to appease the Congress, the FCC agrees to delay issuing licenses and opening more windows until the Congress has had the opportunity to act. A major budget battle throws the political process into a tailspin, keeping the Congress in session many months after it was supposed to have closed. This provided more opportunities for the anti-LPFM Congressmen to sneak their heinous legislation into the foul crevices of their appropriations bills. Finally, weeks before the election, Bill Clinton signs the Commerce, State, and Justice Appropriations Bill into law despite his stated objection to the anti-LPFM rider attached to it. Low Power FM is traded away for some money for schools and a limited immigration amnesty.
November 2000
Instead of choosing a president in early November, the country is plunged into crisis as we all realize that our country can send splice fish genes into tomatoes but we do not know how to count ballots. For the next month, Washington melts down in utter chaos. Without knowing who their new Boss is going to be, the FCC staff is unable to take any significant action until late January when Micheal Powell is appointed to be the new chairman of the FCC. All commissioners except for Powell seem like they are clearly preparing to jump ship. Despite the chaos, the FCC announces the January filing window.
January 2001
Wiliam Kennard resigns as chairman of the FCC. The Chairman of the FCC is traditionally from the party of the president, and the Commission is split 3 to 2 in favor of the presidents' party.
February 2001
Mass Media Chief reports to the Commission about the progress of the low power FM. He announces that within a month or two, the bureau will issue a second report and order explaining how it will implement the appropriations rider. "Almost immediately" thereafter, they will release the first 230 construction permits.
What Now?
People on the staff at the FCC, even now, have much to consider. Micheal Powell has given the go- ahead for the first licenses to be released. The report and order explaining how the FCC is dealing with the congressionally imposed changes has been voted on and this order has been signed, sealed and delivered. But staff know that Powell is not as interested in low power FM as Chairman Kennard was, and it could be that all the work on processing the thousands of applications could get consigned to some intern in a broom closet in the basement of the FCC complex. Staff that support LPFM have to argue amongst themselves about what is the best way to get as many deserving applicants on the air as quick as possibly, sometimes at a cost of flexibility in processing. We are severely disappointed at the FCC's lack of flexibility on several counts in their new rules. An instance of this is their refusal to allow changes in frequency to avert a mutually exclusive application. If, for instance, two groups applied for LPFMs in a given city, and there are two available frequencies there, but they both applied for the same frequency-: they will have to share that frequency rather than have one of them simply move to the other available frequency. As ridiculous as this seems on its face, we recognize that the staff may not be getting the support that they should in implementing the new service. There seem to be just a few people there dealing with all of these thousands of applications, and these people have other responsibilities to full power stations as well.
If you are upset about the "Hurry Up And Wait" routine that we are getting from the FCC on LPFM, don't blame the staff. They are actually all pretty nice in the broadcast bureau (I can't say the same for the enforcement bureau). Like any government workers, they have a lot of bosses to contend with, and more weird legal and bureaucratic obligations than you would even want to know about. If you want to put your frustration to good use, call your Congressperson and hold them accountable for screwing up the orderly conduct of business at the FCC with their atrocious bill.
I hope to reassure you that while the application process is somewhat agonizing it could be much worse (see illustration to the left). Seriously, once you get your license from the FCC, things will be much easier. Chances are that they will probably never get around to contacting you again for 8 years, until license renewal time. Renewal is simple, too- just a postcard and you're ready for your next 8 years. The FCC has been sued into submission by big broadcasting companies that did not want their monopoly over the airwaves regulated, and you will be the beneficiary of the FCC's benign inattention once the application process is over and you are the operator of a radio station.
A few things you can be sure of, even amidst the chaos:
1) Even if the FCC doesn't keep to the dates that it projected months ago, you won't get a license if you don't file inside the filing window. There is a chance that there will be a make-up window in which applicants from everywhere in the US can apply for any as yet untaken 100 watt frequencies. The FCC has not decided whether they will do this or not. The best way to know when your filing window is to regularly check the FCC's website at www.fcc.gov/mmb/asd, and look for a link to low power radio information - if you are on our "Making Waves" mailing list, you will be promptly notified.
2) Whenever your window is, it is best to go to the FCC website and fill out your application now online (only online applications are accepted now- paper applications can not be submitted). If you do it now, then you get a chance to confirm that you have all your answers right. When you apply online, you will get an account and a password. So fill it out now, leave it there on line (no one can see it but you and anyone who you give your password to). Then when your window opens, log into your account and hit the submit button. Do not wait till the last minute- there is no benefit to waiting till the last day of the window, since no one can see them until after the window is closed anyway. The FCC website is notorious for hitting weird snags with interfaces with browsers and so on. The website application has a very nifty "validate" you can validate the form now, and it will tell you if you are making some of the most common, egregious mistakes.
3) If you find a location that meets the current spacing criteria, and your application is otherwise in order, you will definitely get a license- or at least the opportunity to share one. The new chairman, despite his lack of enthusiasm, has publicly committed to at least this much.
4) If you did meet the channel spacing criteria before the legislation, don't hang up your hat yet. You still have a good chance and we are continuing to fight for the reinstatement of the original rules. It may take time, but the science and precedent is clearly on our side. There are only so many ridiculous new tests that our opponents can come up with to delay its implementation. LPFM radio will prevail, eventually. It is too good an idea to be stopped by the platitudinous whining of the self-interested thugs at NPR and the NAB.
