The FCC’s Media Bureau has been busy since our last update, granting fifty-six new construction permits for low-power FM stations. That’s the biggest one-week total in a year!
The deluge is mostly due to the Commission beginning to pick winners in groups competing for frequencies in the third MX window states of Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Oklahoma and Texas. No timeshares were approved in theses states. Permits were assigned only to single winners.
In fact, there was only one LPFM approved outside these states. That one went to Montana Ethical Hackers in Helena. According to its application the group says it will use the station to offer “free and cheap classes over the airwaves,” in topics like computer laws and ethics, programming and technology in science. Amusingly, the group hopes to connect to “freaking really old guys,” who “can contribute to the knowledge pool by coming on over and using our recording studio to record a full on-air course.”
Twenty-four applications were dismissed in the last week. Not surprisingly, all but three of these dismissals came from the third window MX groups.
With 1,678 construction permits issued, the FCC is now 84% of the way through all LPFM applications.
