FCC adopts translator public notice. REC releases prequalification tool.
Agency to set "ground rules" in filing window to prevent a repeat of 2003. REC provides a "first look" tool to help applicants narrow down potentially available channels.
At today’s FCC Open Meeting, the Federal Communications Commission has has adopted a Public Notice (MB Docket 26-20, text of adopted notice not available at the time of this writing) to establish a comment period for the “ground rules” for the upcoming filing window for new noncommercial educational (NCE) FM translators operating in the reserved band (88.1~91.9), which is expected in “late 2026”.
Based on the presentation at the Open Meeting, the Media Bureau proposed that there will be limitations on the number of applications filed and the scope of applicants that can participate in this window. Specifically:
Full-service licensee/permittee entities (as determined by attributable interest) will be limited to 10 applications nationwide.
LPFM licensee/permittee entities will be limited to two applications, except for Tribal entities that will be limited to four applications. The limitations that apply to LPFM stations are further restricted by the limitations in §73.860(b) and (c) of the FCC Rules.
Applicants must be the licensee/permittee of the station that the proposed translator will rebroadcast.
According to staff, these proposed limitations are being put in place in order to prevent speculation (such as what happened in 2003 during the “Great Translator Invasion” Auction 83 filing window) and to assure for efficient application handling. REC further notes that these application limits were also proposed by staff in order for this filing window to remain in the spirit of Section 5 of the Local Community Radio Act of 2010, which states that LPFM, FM translator and FM booster licenses will be distributed based on community need. The limit of 10 applications for full-service applicants is consistent with the limits put in place for past full-service NCE FM filing windows in 2007 and 2021.
This is the first ever reserved band filing window since the rules for a translator filing window were first adopted in 2000 following the Bechtel vs. FCC case in the early 1990s that argued that the old “comparative review” process was arbitrary and capricious and was not consistent with the first amendment as it was charged that the FCC could “pick and choose” who can be a broadcast licensee when competing applications are filed. Following Bechtel, noncommercial applications were first handled through “cut-off lists” before these rules were adopted. Commercial applications were settled through auctions.
Like with all adopted items, a comment and reply comment period will be established once the item is published in the Federal Register.
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REC launches prequalification tool to assist potential translator applicants
REC Networks has announced today that a new “toybox” tool has been released to assist with identifying potential channels that may be available for the upcoming filing window.
The NCE FM Reserved Band Translator Prequalification Tool will allow the user to enter a target location and the Tool will search for all nearby facilities and determine which of these facilities put service contours over the target site and then will “eliminate” those channels from consideration or in cases where available, keep the channels but warn of the need for a waiver of §74.1204(a) of the rules (second- and third-adjacent channels). The Tool will also check channels for intermediate frequency short spacing, which would restrict a channel to no more than 99 watts (contingent on the protection of other facilities) and will indicate whether a location may be within the 47 dBu service contour of a Channel 6 TV facility, which further restricts availability.
REC points out that the Tool is not a “channel search” similar to those that the Network had released in the past to support filing windows. Instead, the Tool is a “first step” in the quest to find a suitable channel.
The Tool will show details for all 20 reserved band channels and provide either an explanation on why a channel cannot be used or whether it needs to be examined by a consulting or engineering professional to determine if the channel can be used and what the power and coverage limitations will be. Any positive results received from the Tool must be further researched in order to determine the distance from the target location to the proposed translator’s interfering contour in order to assure compliance with §74.1204(a) of the Rules.
REC recommends that users of the Tool first visit the link below in order to learn the basics of FM translator protection rules, how the Tool works and the Tool’s limitations:
https://recnet.com/nce-translator-check
Once you read the documentation, there will be a link to take you to the Tool.
REC has not yet released details of a limited service offering for potential translator filing window applicants but is accepting shows of interest at their email (lpfm at recnet dot com). REC will eventually establish the amount of workload it will take, the priority on how potential applicants will be selected and proposed rates. These details will be released on a subsequent notice.