Though we’ve been waiting some three years, the Federal Communications Commission has finally announced the third-ever application window for low-power FM (LPFM) stations, running November 1 – 8, 2023. An application window is a set period of time during which qualified organizations and entities may submit their applications to get a broadcast license. The FCC otherwise does not issue broadcast licenses outside these windows.
The last LPFM application window was in November, 2013, which resulted in the greatest growth of community radio in history. Limited to 100 watts of power and inexpensive to build and operate, LPFMs are designed for community groups to get on their air with hyper-local programming. Consistent with this mission, only state registered non-profit corporations, non-profit schools, government entities and tribal entities may apply.
While not all stations that went on the air from the 2013 window have survived – there were 182 fewer LPFMs in March, 2023 compared to March, 2019 – there are nearly three times as many LPFMs today than in September, 2013, the quarter before that year’s licensing window.
Although today’s communication landscape is ever-evolving, radio is still a popular medium, especially in cars. But a licensed radio station often serves as more than just a broadcast, providing a locus for community organizing. Even though an internet-only station can provide similar public service, having an actual broadcast license confers a sense of permanency that online enterprises often lack. That same license also confers responsibility, and is a community asset.
The 2023 LPFM licensing window is unlikely to ignite the same sort of explosion in community radio we saw in 2013. That’s because the FM dial is much fuller in nearly every community. In the last decade the FCC conducted a licensing window for translator repeater stations, which broadcast with similar technical specifications and can occupy many of the same frequencies suitable for LPFM. Moreover, the FCC now permits AM stations to apply for translators on the FCC dial, increasing the demand for these valuable slices of broadcast real estate.
There was also a licensing window for full-power non-commercial and educational stations (NCE) in 2021. Though these stations don’t necessarily compete directly with LPFMs, adding any new station to an area’s dial can squeeze out the opportunities for new ones.
Most opportunities will be in rural areas, or on the edges of urban areas. Very few available frequencies are left in cities, though the spots vacated by some stations that have left the air may be up for grabs.
If you’re part of an organization that would like to get on the air with a LPFM radio station, now is the time to begin organizing. We maintain an About LPFM info page, and the broadcast services firm Rec Networks maintains a very comprehensive site where you can search your area to see if a frequency might be available. Common Frequency is a non-profit that assists qualified community groups in applying for licenses (full disclosure: I serve on their board of directors), as is the Prometheus Radio Project. All these organizations played critical roles in the establishment of LPFM in the US, and have continued to advocate for and support the service.
