I read on another board that there are only 14000 radio stations in this country. While I don't know if I believe the number is that low, I don't think it's nearly as high as the facility ID numbers suggest. There are 100 fm channels, and I estimate that there are 100 radio stations per channel, making the total number of fm stations in this country 10,000. I think I figured that there were 110 am channels, and let's say there are the same number of stations per channel on am as on fm, that would be 11000 am stations in this country. Now, let's go back to fm and tackle translators, which there are probably the same number of as there are full power stations. Now, let's look at TV stations, I don't know how many there are, but I've heard the number of channels is 69, that allows 6,900 TV stations, bringing the highest facility ID number to 37900. So why is the facility ID number for a new station upwards of 170,000?
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Facility ID numbers
- Thread starter bobdavcav
- Start date
http://fjallfoss.fcc.gov/edocs_public/attachmatch/DOC-315231A1.doc
All applications get a new Facility ID number.
The numbers are not re-used for dismissed/failed applications.
The Faciilty ID number of stations that go dark and are deleted are not re-used.
All applications get a new Facility ID number.
The numbers are not re-used for dismissed/failed applications.
The Faciilty ID number of stations that go dark and are deleted are not re-used.
The official total as of July 19 is 15,082 radio stations. This figure doesn't count 824 LPFMs or 6,105 FM translators.
http://hraunfoss.fcc.gov/edocs_public/attachmatch/DOC-315231A1.pdf
FWIW there are also 1,783 TV stations; 6,171 LPTVs & TV translators; and 471 Class A TV stations.
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They didn't start assigning facility IDs with some large number. (look up WRCT (FM) in Pittsburgh) However...
- There are facility IDs for foreign stations. These stations are in the FCC DB, as we're signatory to treaties which require us to not assign stations that would interfere with them. The database contains facility IDs for AM stations throughout the Americas -- all the way down to Argentina & Chile. FM and TV are only listed for Canada & Mexico, and there only for stations close enough to the border to require protection from interference. Still, there are a few thousand such stations.
- Facility IDs are not reused if a station is deleted. (indeed, stations are not removed from the database when they're deleted; they are simply marked as "archive records")
- Facility IDs are assigned to applications. There are for example five facility IDs for 98.9 at Two Rivers, Wisconsin. One of these reflects station WEMP, which holds a construction permit to build on this channel. The other four represent competing applicants who failed to win the frequency.
- There are a few "phantoms" in there. When a TV station requests that its channel assignment be changed, they assign another facility ID for the proposed new channel. I see some (quite a few) IDs that don't seem to represent actual stations or proposals.
- When a LPTV station requests a "Digital Companion Channel", that "DCC" receives a separate facility ID. (strange, as when they did the full-power analog-to-digital transition, a station's DTV facility got the same facility ID as its analog)
- There are some gaps. For example, there is no facility_id 24715, or 34893, or 100982. Among many others.
- Canada notified 1,038 unused TV channel assignments, which dutifully received facility IDs in the FCC DB with the callsign "VACANT". (which ironically would be a valid Canadian callsign
)
As of last night it appears the highest valid facility_id in the table is 190827.
http://hraunfoss.fcc.gov/edocs_public/attachmatch/DOC-315231A1.pdf
FWIW there are also 1,783 TV stations; 6,171 LPTVs & TV translators; and 471 Class A TV stations.
_________________________________________________
They didn't start assigning facility IDs with some large number. (look up WRCT (FM) in Pittsburgh) However...
- There are facility IDs for foreign stations. These stations are in the FCC DB, as we're signatory to treaties which require us to not assign stations that would interfere with them. The database contains facility IDs for AM stations throughout the Americas -- all the way down to Argentina & Chile. FM and TV are only listed for Canada & Mexico, and there only for stations close enough to the border to require protection from interference. Still, there are a few thousand such stations.
- Facility IDs are not reused if a station is deleted. (indeed, stations are not removed from the database when they're deleted; they are simply marked as "archive records")
- Facility IDs are assigned to applications. There are for example five facility IDs for 98.9 at Two Rivers, Wisconsin. One of these reflects station WEMP, which holds a construction permit to build on this channel. The other four represent competing applicants who failed to win the frequency.
- There are a few "phantoms" in there. When a TV station requests that its channel assignment be changed, they assign another facility ID for the proposed new channel. I see some (quite a few) IDs that don't seem to represent actual stations or proposals.
- When a LPTV station requests a "Digital Companion Channel", that "DCC" receives a separate facility ID. (strange, as when they did the full-power analog-to-digital transition, a station's DTV facility got the same facility ID as its analog)
- There are some gaps. For example, there is no facility_id 24715, or 34893, or 100982. Among many others.
- Canada notified 1,038 unused TV channel assignments, which dutifully received facility IDs in the FCC DB with the callsign "VACANT". (which ironically would be a valid Canadian callsign
)As of last night it appears the highest valid facility_id in the table is 190827.
The facility ID numbers were assigned when the FCC implemented the CDBS database system. That wasn't as early as 1984. I think it was early 1990s. There wasn't a lot of rhyme or reason to the numerical order of facility ID numbers; it's just a database field, after all. I think it may simply have reflected the order in which the entries were transferred from the FCC's paper files.
I am pretty certain we didn't hit six-digit facility ID numbers until early in the 21st century, after the "Great Translator Invasion of 2003" and the AM and noncomm FM windows of 2004 flooded the system with applications.
I am pretty certain we didn't hit six-digit facility ID numbers until early in the 21st century, after the "Great Translator Invasion of 2003" and the AM and noncomm FM windows of 2004 flooded the system with applications.
I'm almost certain CDBS was launched on Y2K day, Jan. 1 2000.
However, it appears the first application for a new facility after that date, FM translator W201DM in Georgia, received facility_id 122159.
Facility_id 100,000 is a Brazilian AM station. (and all facility_ids in that vicinity are foreign-notified AM stations other than Canada & Mexico)
It looks like the 2003 Translator Invasion landed IDs around 140,000 +/-.
Anyway, when CDBS was launched, the FCC had to import records from the old system. The old system would have exported records in random order. (that's pretty much standard for database systems, unless you explicitly ask them to sort the output -- which causes it to take a LOT longer) So WRCT simply happened through total chance to be #1. It appears they may have imported records from several other unrelated databases (ITU for foreign stations, Industry Canada, etc.) as part of the same operation.
It would appear facility_ids began to be issued in chronological order with #122159 (which does seem to hold with subsequent translator applications in the 2000 window) but don't hold me to that...
However, it appears the first application for a new facility after that date, FM translator W201DM in Georgia, received facility_id 122159.
Facility_id 100,000 is a Brazilian AM station. (and all facility_ids in that vicinity are foreign-notified AM stations other than Canada & Mexico)
It looks like the 2003 Translator Invasion landed IDs around 140,000 +/-.
Anyway, when CDBS was launched, the FCC had to import records from the old system. The old system would have exported records in random order. (that's pretty much standard for database systems, unless you explicitly ask them to sort the output -- which causes it to take a LOT longer) So WRCT simply happened through total chance to be #1. It appears they may have imported records from several other unrelated databases (ITU for foreign stations, Industry Canada, etc.) as part of the same operation.
It would appear facility_ids began to be issued in chronological order with #122159 (which does seem to hold with subsequent translator applications in the 2000 window) but don't hold me to that...
Do the following stations have facility ID numbers? If they do, I've never seen them.
CIOC Victoria
CHBE Victoria
CHTT Victoria
CKKQ Victoria
CFUN Vancouver
CFBT Vancouver
CKZZ Vancouver
CBU both am and fm and all the fm's repeaters. I have not seen a facility ID number for any of these stations.
CIOC Victoria
CHBE Victoria
CHTT Victoria
CKKQ Victoria
CFUN Vancouver
CFBT Vancouver
CKZZ Vancouver
CBU both am and fm and all the fm's repeaters. I have not seen a facility ID number for any of these stations.
bobdavcav said:
There are facility ID numbers associated with records for these stations in the FCC's CDBS database (CBU-FM, for instance, is 96405.)
But that's not really the same thing as saying that those stations "have facility ID numbers." They're not licensed by the FCC or answerable to any US authority, and those facility ID numbers don't appear on their Canadian licenses. They are attached to records in the FCC database solely for the convenience of US licensees so they can know what they need to be protecting across the border.
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