MAY NEWSLETTER

Vol. VII, No. 5 -- May 2000

New Non-Commercial Standards

(And A Freeze On The Side)

In late April, the Commission announced it had established new criteria to determine which applicant for new non-commercial stations and translator stations will be selected when there are mutually exclusive applications. Each mutually exclusive applicant will be given "points" for its respective application as follows. An established local entity filing for a new non-commercial station will receive three points. If the applicant is part of a state wide system, it would be eligible for two points. Two points will be awarded if the applicant has no other local broadcast stations. Additional points would be assigned for technical criteria.

If the point system does not provide for a single winning applicant, then the applicant with the fewest stations will be awarded the permit. In cases requiring a tie-breaker, the applicant with the fewest pending applications would be the winner. Failing this, the Commission will establish a mandatory time sharing for the applicants. This criteria will apply only to applications for non-commercial band stations. For these pending applicants specifying non-commercial operation on allotted commercial channels for which there are pending commercial applications as well, the commercial auction process will apply. Applications for minor changes can still be submitted.

Along with this announcement, the Commission has imposed a temporary freeze on the submission of new non-commercial FM and translator applications, as well as non-commercial major change applications. Applications for new or major changes must be submitted in a "to be announced" window. The window will be limited to five days, during which all new and major change applications must be filed. The advantage of the window is that it will limit parties from filing mutually exclusive applications on top of other applicants. Once the window closes, mutually exclusivity between the applications filed during the window will be determined.

The Season Of Low Power

The Commission has set May 30^th through June 5^th for the first Low Power FM window. Applications for low power stations for Alaska, California, the District of Columbia, Georgia, Indiana, Louisiana, Maine, the Marianna Islands, Maryland, Oklahoma, Rhode Island and Utah must be submitted during this window. Parties seeking new low power stations must adhere to the current spacing rules for the facilities; protection to existing co-channel, 1^st and 2^nd adjacent stations. However, the Commission has warned prospective applicants of pending Congressional proceedings which may require 3^rd adjacent channel protection. A thorough review of the possible channels available should be made and where possible, only channels meeting the 3^rd adjacent protection should be proposed in case of a future rules change. If the only frequencies available require ignoring the 3^rd adjacent channel protections, a change in the rules may result in the dismissal of your application.

On the heels of the Low Power FM window, the Commission issued a Public Notice announcing a limited Low Power TV window. During the window, applications for new LPTV and TV translators will be accepted, as well as major change applications for existing stations. The limitation is that the proposed LPTV or TV translator site must be at least 121 kilometers (75 miles) from a long list of communities in over 200 markets. Applicants may request terrain shielding waivers if the proposed facilities are within the 121 kilometer radius of the markets. The window will open on July 31^st through August 4^th. All Channels (2-69) can be proposed in this window. However, the Commission is re-allotting channels 60-69 to other services, thus making LPTV a secondary service on these channels. Further, at some point, Channels 52-59 may also be removed from the TV service band.

Here We Go Again

The weather is getting hotter and it is time once again for the infamous afternoon and early evening thunderstorms. Now is the time to make sure that your station's generator(s) is operational and the tank is full. Relying on a generator whose status is unknown won't keep the station on the air during power outages. In addition, since the weather has been very active along the east coast with hurricanes resulting in mandatory evacuations over the past few years, station personnel should review their emergency plans. Who's staying and where can they stay safely yet still disseminate information? Are there sufficient resources and food on hand to survive for at least five days without power? Don't wait until the grocery store shelves are empty and there's no generator to be had for hundreds of miles. Being prepared for the summer weather might be your best operational move.