In perhaps the slowest week in LPFM news so far this year, only two additional applications were approved. They went to the Oklahoma Jazz Hall of Fame, in Tulsa, and the Fayette Community Service Organization in Fayette, Mississippi.
This doesn’t mean that low-power FM isn’t still on the front burner. The FCC’s five commissioners–along with the rest of us–will hear a presentation with an update on low-power FM at the agency’s June open meeting, Friday, June 13. It’s probable we’ll learn more about the status of the hundreds of MX group applications that are competing for frequencies. This is particularly important for the nation’s largest 20 markets, which, despite the strong need and demand for stations, have not yet seen many new stations approved.
LPFM is on Chairman Tom Wheeler’s mind, too. He mentioned the service in his Memorial Day weekend blog post, wherein he wrote,
“The success of the Media Bureau in this area is one of the Commission’s recent success stories and has truly helped to bring new voices to the American public.”
