To win a new LPFM license, your application will have to meet both geographic and frequency separation rules. Determining your success depends on where your antenna will be geographically located.

The rules determining if a new station will be licensed are based on the existing allocations the FCC uses to grant FM licenses. The place on the dial is called the frequency (i.e. 93.5 FM) but the FCC also calls it a Channel - each frequency has an equivalent channel number. [The FCC has a chart with the parallel frequency and channel assignments for the FM band.]

Because FM radio has been in operation for decades, the FCC has a well-established set of rules governing frequency allocation (though this will radically change with digital broadcasting.). With LPFM they are changing these rules somewhat, but most of them still apply. The rules are based on protecting the signals of existing stations, so that new stations can only go on the air if they do not create any interference to stations already on the air.

Basically, this means that the FCC draws an imaginary geographic circle around every existing broadcast antenna, AND a protected space between each FM frequency already assigned on the dial. Then they will try to fit your station into the spaces between these separations. This is actually a complex calculation that must take into account several interrelated factors, including geographic location of the antenna, its height above average terrain (because FM is line-of-sight, the higher an antenna, the further its signal will reach) and the power of the signal (anywhere between 1-100 watts.)

Based on your proposed antenna location, the FCC will determine if there is an available frequency. The new stations will be licensed to operate anywhere they fit in the FM band, not only in the portion of the band dedicated for noncommercial public radio use, and will be assigned frequency allocations separated from existing stations by at least two channels (first and second adjacent channels).

In a change from general practice, the new stations do NOT have to be geographically separated from stations three channels away (third adjacent channel.) For example, under the rules for existing full power stations, if a station is operating on 93.5 FM, there can be no other station nearby on 93.7 (first adjacent channel) 93.9 (second adjacent channel) or 94.1 (third adjacent channel.) According to the LPFM rules, a new station CAN be licensed at 94.1 in the vicinity of the full power station. [This is the rule change that the National Association of Broadcasters is trying very hard to overturn.]

This is the most important part of Section V, because it will determine if your proposed station can be awarded a frequency on the FM dial.

FM signals travel in line-of-sight, which means that the higher the antenna is off the ground, the further the signal will travel. Any physical obstruction in its way will stop the signal. FM antennas are relatively small and light-weight, and can easily be attached to a wide variety of supporting structures without any special reinforcement, such as telephone poles, metal or wooden masts, water towers, elevated roof-top structures, and existing towers. So be flexible in looking for a good location. The FCC requires that your antenna be located within 10 miles of your offices or campus.

Try to find the highest location possible for your antenna, such as a spot above other buildings, on top of a hill, or some other place where the signal will not readily hit a geographic feature or large solid object. This might be a pole on the roof of your own building, the roof of a higher building nearby, or some other tall structure in the vicinity. You can also use an existing tower, either one on a roof top, or freestanding on the ground.

LPFM antennas are small and lightweight, much like a TV antenna that one puts on a roof to improve reception. They do not need a large supporting structure or special reinforcement to hold them up, and they will have little wind load. You can mount them on a mast or something similar to get elevation.

If you do not own or control the location where you want to mount the antenna, offer to put up a pole or small tower to elevate your antenna. In some cases, you should be prepared to offer compensation or pay rent.

Along with the antenna site, you must secure a place nearby for your transmitter. A 100 watt FM transmitter is not very large or heavy - the box is roughly the size of a desk top computer. It can sit on a shelf or table, or be installed in a rack. The location must have electricity, but does not demand any special power requirements, and it must be inside protected from the weather. Be prepared to pay the electric bill.

Determine Your Antenna Location - Once you know where you want to put your antenna, you need two important pieces of information to fill out the Tech Box. The FCC needs this information to determine if there is an available frequency at your proposed location in relation to existing stations in your area .