knoxbob said:
I would rather see them go to local AM"s with flea power at night than to an out of town group trying to extend there programming from half way across the country.
Agreed. In fact, many LPFM operators have a lot in common with small "mom & pop" AM stations. Other than the ability to run commercials, the concept and the usual problems are very much the same. Many of those local broadcasters are a vanishing breed, but they still exist in many communities. This might be just the thing to bring them back to life.
The next problem is actually getting a translator to use. That is not going to be so easy. As was pointed out elsewhere, the FCC has decided recently to limit the assignment of Construction Permits granted in the last translator window to ten per applicant. I'm assuming that they won't retroactively revoke licenses they have already approved, even if that applicant has more than ten already on the air.
I think about 3-4000 translator applications were approved before the freeze. Since the last CP was granted over three years ago, those who got them should have them on the air by now. The CP’s expired 36 months after the date of issue. Admittedly, there are a few stragglers who have the legal where-with-all to delay the process. The rest are presumably on the air, re-broadcasting something. That doesn't leave a lot of available translators, even if the FCC gives the green light.
Of the remaining 9-10,000 applications, a good percentage of them will be dismissed. I’m guessing 60-70% will eventually go away. YMMV. The ones that are left will be up for grabs, but there’s a catch. It is possible that not all of them can be used, even if they are available. Translator rules are very inconsistent. Some translators are licensed as commercial and some are licensed as non-commercial. Many can be changed, but it is one more hurdle along the road. Currently, translators in the commercial band are not allowed to be supported financially by the originating station, although that station may provide technical support (whatever that is). I take that to mean that a commercial station couldn’t enter into a paid lease agreement with thee translator operator. Translators in the noncommercial band are supposed to be noncommercial. On the other hand, if the originating station is in the noncommercial band, then it can own its translators, regardless of the frequency, but a non commercial LPFM can’t own a translator, although it can us one that is owned by someone else. Sound confusing? It is.
I'm sure all these technicalities can be fixed, but the big winners will be the lawyers and consultants who specialize in FCC applications.
In the mean time, who know when there will be another LPFM filing window....
